Hi Alan,
The link with Buffalo Bill turns out to be an illusion of my grandmothers'. Her family name was CODE and she came from Cork; there is a branch of the family whose name had mutated to Cody and hence her confusion. I believed it as gospel until only a few years ago, when a cousin who has researched our family extensively, blew the story, rather too late for me, I fear, as I've used the name Cody for years as a result! (its easier to spell than SMAILES)
Anyway I'm always interested in new Smaileses, so if you'd like to pursue that aspect I'd be glad to. My father, the eldest of 9, was born in Chilcompton, somerset, in 1914, and died in 2004 at 89. There were 9 siblings, of whom only 3 still survive, my auntie Mary in Barnstaple is 90, my uncle John in Toronto is 80-something, and my auntie Joan in NZ is 80-something. Her twin Kate died only last Nov.
Are you descended from the somerset branch?
Best wishes, Jane