Samuel Roger Smith also known as S. R. Smith (1853 – 1916) was a co-founder and the first president of Messiah College in Pennsylvania. Samuel Roger Smith was born on a farm in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania near Hershey, Pennsylvania on September 16, 1853 to Michael and Mary Anna Shoop Smith. Smith became a teacher at a young age before eventually attending Eastman National Business College in Poughkeepsie, New York where he graduated first in his class and went on to earn a master's degree at Columbia College. In 1874, he married Elizabeth Light (1853-1919) after experiencing a conversion while courting her.He eventually became an active member of the Brethren in Christ Church eventually becoming General Conference secretary.