Smith, Charles T.

SMITH, KING, AYERS

Posted By: Janelle Martin (email)
Date: 4/7/2011 at 20:48:02

History of Hamilton County, Iowa, Vol. II, 1912, J.W. Lee, pp 215-217.

The largest clothing house in Hamilton county is operated by the firm of Charles T. Smith & Son at Nos. 609-613 Second street. The enterprise has been intelligently controlled and its policy well directed by Charles T. Smith, its organizer and
founder and in the eleven years of its existence has developed into a flourishing business enterprise. Mr. Smith has been connected with the mercantile line in Iowa since he left school and every year of his activity has marked a new stage in his commercial prosperity. He was born on the 3d of August, 1857, at Pennsville, Morgan county, Ohio. Here his father, James Smith, was a prominent merchant for many years. He later moved to Tama City, Iowa, in 1865, and was successful in the general merchandise business in that city until he went to Marengo, Iowa, where he remained for three years. He eventually moved to Mount Vernon, Iowa, where for fifty years he was a representative and prominent citizen. He died here on the 15th of December, 1901, in the seventy-fifth year of his age. Mr. Smith's mother, who in her maidenhood was Miss Ruth King, is still living in Mount Vernon where she is widely and favorably known.

Charles T. Smith was reared at home and was educated in the public schools of Iowa. He later attended Normal College in Mount Vernon and upon his graduation began work in his father's store in that city. He early learned the foundations of a successful business career by the standards of commercial honor and unwavering integrity which characterized his father. He became proficient in the systematic conduct of a mercantile enterprise and acquired by personal experience the knowledge necessary to insure his future success in his chosen field of endeavor. In 1880 he was taken into partnership by his father and remained in this association for ten years. He subsequently removed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where from 1890 to 1901 he was well known in the shoe business, the enterprise which he conducted being one of the progressive and representative mercantile concerns of that city. His residence in Webster City began in 1901 when he started in his present business independently. For some time he confined his activities entirely to men's furnishings but subsequently expanded his enterprise along affiliated lines. He added a general shoe department and reorganized his business generally, at this time taking his son into partnership. The firm of Charles T. Smith & Son is now the largest clothing house in Hamilton county and its operations extend beyond the limits of Webster City and influence the commercial development of the state of Iowa.

In 1882 Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Georgia S. Ayres, a daughter of James Ayres, of Dixon, Illinois. Mr. Ayres was a prominent Civil war veteran, who during his term of active service in the Federal army edited a paper giving the war news in a condensed form. He died in 1907 at the age of sixty-five years and is survived by his wife who resides in Dixon, Illinois. The Ayres family is of Scotch descent and trace their ancestors to representatives of the Cameron Clan in that country. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have two children. Harold James, born in 1884 and a graduate of St. John's College, Salina, Kansas, is now a partner in his father's clothing business. He is also prominent in fraternal circles in Webster City, holding membership in Acacia Lodge, No. 176, F. & A. M.; in Hope Chapter, No. 88, R. A. M.; and in the Triune Commandery, No. 41, Knights Templar. He is also a member of Company C, Fifty-sixth Regiment, Illinois National Guards and serves as first lieutenant in that organization. Gladys A., the youngest of the family, was born in 1886. She is a graduate of Mount St. Joseph's College, Dubuque, Iowa, and of the School of Oratory of the Northwestern University of Evanston, Illinois. The family residence is at No. 1219 Prospect avenue, Webster City.

In his political allegiance Mr. Smith is a consistent republican, but beyond casting his vote at each election does not take a personal part in public affairs. His father's family were affiliated with the Quaker church in Ohio in early times, but Mr. Smith now holds membership in the Episcopal church of Webster City. His only fraternal affiliation is with the Masons, in which organization he holds membership in the Acacia Lodge, No. 176, F. & A. M. He is one of the practical and intelligent business men who are the foundation and support of municipal life in America. His high intelligence and his ambitious mind directed from his boyhood into business channels have influenced his career, enabling him to conduct his commercial enterprise of today with great efficiency.