Edward Curtis Smith

Edward Curtis Smith (January 5, 1854 – April 6, 1935) was an American attorney, businessman, and politician from Vermont. A Republican, he was most notable for his service as governor of Vermont from 1898 to 1900.

Edward Curtis Smith
The Vermonter magazine, July 1, 1898
47th Governor of Vermont
In office October 6, 1898 – October 4, 1900
Lieutenant	Henry C. Bates
Preceded by	Josiah Grout
Succeeded by	William W. Stickney
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from St. Albans Town
In office 1890–1892
Preceded by	Henry M. Stevens
Succeeded by	William H. Hunt
Personal details
Born	January 5, 1854 St. Albans Town, Vermont
Died	April 6, 1935 (aged 81) St. Albans City, Vermont
Resting place	Greenwood Cemetery, St. Albans Town, Vermont
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Anna Bailey James
Education	Yale University AB, 1875 Columbia Law School LL.B., 1877
Profession	Attorney Businessman

Early life

Edward Curtis Smith was born in St. Albans Town, Vermont on January 5, 1854.[1] The Smith family was one of Vermont's most prominent, with business holdings in railroads, manufacturing and other enterprises.[2] Smith's father J. Gregory Smith served as Governor of Vermont,[2] and his mother Ann Eliza (Brainerd) Smith was a noted author.[3]

Smith's uncle Worthington Smith served in Congress.[4] His grandfathers were also involved in politics, with John Smith serving in the United States House of Representatives[2] and Lawrence Brainerd serving in the United States Senate.[4] An uncle by marriage, Farrand Stewart Stranahan, served as Lieutenant governor of Vermont.[4]

Smith attended the schools of St. Albans and Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.[1] He graduated from Yale University in 1875, where he was a member of the Skull and Bones Society.[5] Smith received his LL.B. degree from Columbia Law School in 1877, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in St. Albans.[1]

Business career

In addition to practicing law, Smith was active in several of the family's businesses.[1] He succeeded his father as president of the Central Vermont Railroad.[1] He was also president of Welden National Bank, and was a founder of People's Trust Bank of St. Albans and the Sherman National Bank in New York City.[1] His other holdings included an ammunition manufacturing company and various mining ventures.[1]

In 1876 Smith enlisted in Company D, 1st Vermont Militia Regiment (the Ransom Guards), in which he served for several years.[1] He attained the rank of colonel while serving on the military staff of Governor Samuel E. Pingree from 1884 to 1886.[1]

Political career

A Republican, Smith was elected as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1890.[1] He served from 1890 to 1892, and held a leadership role as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.[1] In 1892 he declined the Republican nomination for Vermont State Senator from Franklin County.[1] He was a delegate to the 1896 Republican National Convention.[1]

Election as governor

In 1898 Smith received the Republican nomination for governor.[1] As the Republican nominee in a state that elected only Republicans to statewide office from the 1850s to the 1960s, Smith easily won the general election.[6][7] He served the single two-year term available to governors under the "Mountain Rule".[7]

As governor, Smith was a strong opponent of all efforts to regulate or tax corporations.[8] In 1899 he officiated at the welcome ceremony in Montpelier for Admiral George Dewey, hero of the Spanish–American War and a native of Montpelier.[9] Smith also organized Old Home Week, the fair and festival designed to celebrate rural life and Vermont roots of Americans living in other states.[10]

Later career

Smith in 1903, after serving as governor

After serving as governor, Smith returned to his railroad, manufacturing and banking interests.[1][4] Smith was active in lineage societies such as the Society of Colonial Wars and the Sons of the American Revolution, and in the Vermont Historical Society.[1] In 1901 he received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Norwich University.[1]

Smith died in St. Albans City on April 6, 1935.[11] He was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in St. Albans Town.[11]

Family

On October 3, 1888, Smith married Anna Bailey James, the granddaughter of Amaziah Bailey James.[1] They were the parents of four children; James Gregory, Edward Fairchild, Curtis Ripley and Anna Dorothea Bradford.[1]

References

1. Ellis, William Arba (1911). Norwich University, 1819-1911; Her History, Her Graduates, Her Roll of Honor. 3. Montpelier, VT: Capital City Press. pp. 548–549 – via Google Books.
2. Hall, Henry, ed. (1896). America's Successful Men of Affairs. II. New York, NY: The New York Tribune. pp. 730–732 – via Google Books.
3. Haynes, L. Louise; Pedersen, Charlotte (2010). Images of America: St. Albans. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-7385-7346-5 – via Google Books.
4. Carleton, Hiram (1903). Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont. II. New York, NY: Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 52–56, 415 – via Google Books.
5. "Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University Deceased during the Year 1934–1935" (PDF). Yale University. October 15, 1935. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
6. "General Election Results, Governor, 1898". Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
7. Hand, Samuel B. (2003). "Mountain Rule Revisited" (PDF). Vermont History. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Historical Society. pp. 140, 143.
8. Duffy, John J.; Hand, Samuel B.; Orth, Ralph H., eds. (2003). The Vermont Encyclopedia. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England. p. 271. ISBN 978-1-5846-5086-7 – via Google Books.
9. "Vermont's Dewey Celebration". The Vermonter. St. Albans, VT: Charles Spooner Forbes. October 1, 1899. p. 55 – via Google Books.
10. "To Bring Back Absent Vermonters". Middlebury Register. Middlebury, VT. May 12, 1899. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Services Held for Edward C. Smith". Brattleboro Reformer. Brattleboro, VT. Associated Press. April 8, 1935. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• Inventory of the Smith Family Papers, Special Collections, University of Vermont Library
• Edward C. Smith at National Governors Association
• Entry, Edward Curtis Smith, published in "A National Register of the Society, Sons of the American Revolution", published by the society, 1902, page 982
• History of Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, Vermont, 1891, by Lewis Cass Aldrich, page 715
• Catalogue of the Officers and Graduates of Columbia College, published by the college, 1888, page 221
• Vermont, The Land of Green Mountains, published by Vermont Secretary of State, 1913, page 90
• Vermont: The Green Mountain State, Walter Hill Crockett, 1921, Volume 4, page 297