SMITH, James Albert
SMITH, WELLS, CREGO, HUTCHINS, LEACH
Posted By: Gordon Felland (email)
Date: 6/8/2009 at 13:00:34
No history of Mitchell county, nor indeed of Iowa, would be complete without extended reference to James A. Smith, who for many years has been prominently connected with the lumber trade in this state and in Minnesota and who, moreover, has had a marked influence in shaping the political history of the commonwealth as a member of the general assembly.
He was born in Castile, Wyoming county, New York, February 4, 1851, a son of Davis W. and Emily S. (Wells) Smith, who were natives of New England, the former born in Vermont and the latter in Connecticut. They always remained residents of the east and in the Empire state James A. Smith was reared and educated. He obtained his education in the common schools of Castile, New York, remaining a resident of the Empire state until 1869, when, at the age of eighteen years, he made his way westward and established his home in Osage, Iowa. He had already studied civil engineering and followed the profession for three years. He afterward engaged in merchandising in company with his brother, G. W. Smith, under the firm style of Smith Brothers, opening a grocery store which they conducted from 1874 until 1882. In 1877, however, they had also embarked in the retail lumber business under the firm name of G. W. & J. A. Smith.
They established a yard on West Main street in Osage, at the same location where the business is still carried on. In 1881 they established two branch yards in South Dakota, one at Kimball and the other at Chamberlain. In 1882, when they sold out their grocery store, G. W. Smith removed to Wausau, Wisconsin, in order to better supply the yards with lumber and to superintend their manufacturing interest at that place. His death, however, occurred in the fall of that year and the firm then disposed of the Wisconsin end of the business.
In 1883 James A. Smith became owner of the retail yards and since that date he has continued to establish yards elsewhere. Something of the immense volume of the business is indicated by the fact that in 1909 he was operating forty yards. At that time the business was incorporated under the name of the James A. Smith Lumber Company, with head offices in Osage, the incorporators being James A. Smith, his two sons, Fred C. and Leland A. Smith, F. W. Annis and E. J. Scofield. At the present time James A. Smith has largely retired from the active management of the business. Since 1900 he has been instrumental in organizing the Royal Lumber Company, the Superior Lumber & Coal Company, the Smith-Hovelson Lumber Company and the Smith-Thielen Lumber Company, all with headquarters in Osage. The yards of the Smith Lumber Company are located throughout Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota, and by reason of the continued growth and development of his business interests, Mr. Smith has become one of the foremost lumber merchants of this section of the country.
In 1890 he was also one of the incorporators of the Osage Electric Light, Heat & Power Company, in which undertaking he was associated with W. L. Eaton. They first built a steam plant near the depot in Osage, but this was burned to the ground in 1894. They then rebuilt at the river, using water power, and Mr. Smith remained an active factor in the ownership and conduct of the business until 1904, when it was sold to the present owners. Whatever he has undertaken he has carried forward to successful completion, for in his vocabulary there is no such word as fail, and obstacles and difficulties in his path seem but to serve as an impetus for renewed effort on his part.
Mr. Smith now occupies a magnificent home in Osage. He was married on the 12th of August, 1874, to Miss Mary Alice Crego, a native of Constantirie, Michigan, born June 12, 1856, a daughter of Rulef and Charlotte A. (Hutchins) Crego. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Smith was celebrated in Osage and to them have been born seven children: Fred Crego, living in Osage; Leland A., who is located at Spirit Lake, Iowa; Stanley R., living at Tripoli, Iowa; Jessie S., the wife of R. L. Leach, of Adel, Iowa; Lloyd G., whose home is in Emmetsburg, this state; and Richard J. and Merrill G., both of whom are in Charles City, Iowa.
Mr. Smith has been a prominent factor in political circles since 1887, when he was elected to represent Mitchell county in the general assembly, in which he made so creditable and commendable a record that in 1889 he was reelected to that position. In 1899 he was chosen state senator from the district comprised of Mitchell, Worth and Winnebago counties. He was reelected until his service in the upper house had covered thirteen years and in both houses seventeen years. For five consecutive sessions he was elected president pro tern of the senate. He was also chairman of the ways and means committee for three sessions and was on many other important committees. He was likewise chairman of the committee on retrenchment and reform for three sessions and his public work has been of an important, far reaching and beneficial character. Other political honors of a still higher nature would have been accorded him had he been ambitious in that direction, but he declined to become a candidate. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons, holding membership in lodge, chapter and commandery in Osage and in Za-ga-zig Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Des Moines. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, while his religious faith is that of the Congregational church. High and honorable principles have guided him in his career and by the exercise of his native talents, which are of a superior order, he has long maintained a foremost position among the prominent citizens of his state.
While going to press news comes that Mr. Smith passed away January 12, 1918.
Source: History of Mitchell and Worth Counties, Iowa, 1918, Vol. II, page 5.
Click for photo of Mrs. J.A. Smith
Mitchell Biographies maintained by Sharyl Ferrall.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen