Edward M. Smith 1915

SURNAMES SMITH, COURTNEY, THOMPSON, CROSSLEY, HARDY, ROOSEVELT

Posted By: LuAnn Goeke
Date: 7/15/2009 at 18:28:35

EDWARD M. SMITH.
Edward M. Smith has been connected with Madison county in a number of ways but probably his greatest service has been as editor of the Madisonian, one of the leading papers of the county. He was born on the 31st of October, 1870, in Jackson county, Iowa, a son of John M. and Jane (Courtney) Smith. Both were born in Ireland, the father in County Down and the mother in County Antrim, and both were left orphans when small children. As soon as old enough to make their own way they emigrated to the new world and here fought their own battles unaided, having no influential friends to assist them. They were married at Brookline, Massachusetts, and in 1869 removed to eastern Iowa, where their youngest son, Edward M., was born upon a farm. They removed to Madison county in 1886 and located upon a fine farm of three hundred and fifteen acres in Jackson township. There the father passed away in January, 1909, and the mother joined him in death five years later. Both were members of the Presbyterian church. Their family numbered four sons, James A., William J., Samuel C. and Edward M.
The last named as a boy and youth lived under the parental roof and much of his time was taken up in attending the public schools. He was also for two terms a student in the Dexter Normal School and for one term in Drake University at Des Moines. For several years he taught school during the winters in this county, his excellent education and his executive ability fitting him for the profession of teaching. During that time he devoted the summers to farm work. From 1898 to 1900 he was county superintendent of schools and in that capacity demonstrated his ability to successfully direct the work of others. When, in 1900, he left that office, he, in connection with Homer Thompson, purchased the Madisonian, one of the oldest papers in southern Iowa. After four years Mr. Smith bought the interest of Mr. Thompson and has since conducted the paper alone. He has maintained a high standard of excellence in the news and editorial columns, and that he is an able business man is proven by the fact that he has built up an unusually large advertising patronage and employs a number of representatives on the road. The paper ranks among the best of the weeklies published in Iowa, and exercises a large influence upon affairs in this county, an influence which is always on the side of justice and advancement.
On the 1st of June, 1898, Mr. Smith married Miss Evalyn Crossley, a native of this county and a daughter of John W. and Cynthia (Hardy) Crossley, pioneer settlers of this part of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have four children: Marion, sixteen years of age; Ruth, fourteen; Frances, nine; and Dorothy, three.
Mr. Smith is a republican and served as postmaster of Winterset under President Roosevelt from 1905 to 1908 inclusive. Fraternally his connections are with the Masons and the Knights of Pythias. In the former order he belongs not only to the blue lodge but also to the Des Moines Consistory, in which he has taken the thirty-second degree, and to the Mystic Shrine. Both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church and are among those who carry on the work of that organization. The man who successfully conducts a weekly newspaper must have well balanced powers and abilities, as he must readily recognize the news value of copy, must possess a lucid, forceful style of writing, must understand the conditions and needs of his community and must also have considerable knowledge of typographical work and be an energetic business man. If his paper is to be a power in the community he must also have the courage of his convictions and be willing to champion a righteous cause, even if it is at first unpopular. Mr. Smith has succeeded admirably in his work and is held in high esteem, not only in his community but among his fellow workers of the press of the state.
History of Madison County, Iowa, and Its People, by Herman A. Mueller, The S.J. Clarke publishing company, 1915, Vol. 2, Pg 266-269, incl. portrait.

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