Janet McOmie Sherlock Smith

The Wyoming Clan

This is Janet McOmie Sherlock Smith on the left and three of her children

The South Pass City Hotel

This is the hotel that was owned by Janet. Janet McOmie, born May 3, 1844 in Edinburgh, Scotland. One of 8 children born to Peter and Janet pringle McOmie. Her father was a tailor to the British royal family at the summer palace called Holyrood House in Edinburgh. They were converted to Mormanism in 1843 and became influential in the LDS church in Scotland. They emigrated from Liverpool, England for America, May 11, 1860 aboard the ship William Tapscott. Janet married Richard Sherlock in Salt Lake. They were intrigued with stories of the great gold strikes and that is when they moved to South Pass City. Richard died in 1872 and left Janet (29) a widow with 5 small children. She then leased the hotel in order to support her family. From there she became the first postmistress, a position she held until 1908. She later married a local man named James Smith and he owned the mercantile. They decided to combine their interests together. I was thrilled to find pictures of Janet father and mother (my gr gr grandparents) hanging on the wall in her bedroom. This trip to South Pass City was so fun and now I wish we had taken more photos to share.

The Smith-Sherlock Mercantile Store

This store was owned and operated by Janet and her husband, James Smith.