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Pardon A. Smith
Pardon
A. Smith is one of the prominent, well known and influential residents
of Greene county, his home being in Scranton. He is editor and
proprietor of The Scranton Journal and has been influential in
political circles, serving as postmaster of the town and as
representative of his district in the state legislature. He is now a
member of the state board of parole.
A native of Illinois, Mr. Smith was born in Oregon, Ogle county, on the
1st of Séptember, 1840. His father, Pardon Smith, Sr., was a native of
Onondaga county, New York, and was born in 1807. In the year 1839, when
about thirty-two years of age, he made his way westward to Illinois,
living in Ogle county. He was a mason by trade and for several years
followed that pursuit. In 1856 he became a resident of Clinton county,
Iowa, where his remaining days were passed, his death occurring in
1859. His political support was given to the Whig party until its
dissolution, after which he joined the ranks of the new republican
party. He was married in the state of New York to Miss Jane Maby, who
was born in that state. They became the parents of thirteen children,
of whom four are now living, namely: David G. Smith, who resides in
Oklahoma; Mary, the wife of J. H. Hart, of Boone, Iowa; Pardon A. and
his twin sister, Melissa. The latter is now the widow of R. P.
Rutlidge, of Storm Lake, Iowa.
In his early boyhood the subject of this review attended the common
schools, working upon a farm during his vacations. He resided in Ogle
county, Illinois, until 1856 when, with his parents, he removed to
Clinton county, Iowa. There he engaged in farming, working by the month
until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when he could no longer
content himself with following the plow while the country’s safety was
imperiled. Accordingly, on the 12th of July, 1861, he volunteered his
services in defense of the Union and was assigned for duty in Company
A, Eighth Iowa Infantry. He was discharged on the 28th of September,
1864, thus having served three years and seventy-eight days as a
private soldier. His first campaign was under General Fremont in his
march to Springfield, Missouri, in the fall of 1861. He was with his
command in the engagement at Shiloh and about six o’clock p. m. of the
first day’s battle, after having been continuously under fire of the
enemy from nine o’c1ock a. m., together with his brigade, was
surrounded and made a prisoner of war. This brigade is known in the
Confederate history as the “Hornets Nest Brigade.” He remained a
prisoner of war for six months and twelve days. The greater portion of
his confinement was in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Subsequently he was with
General Grant at Grand Gulf, Raymond, Jackson, and the siege of
Vicksburg. He also participated in the second engagement at Jackson and
in the battle of Brownsville, Mississippi, and was with General A. J .
Smith in the Red River campaign, being in the battles of Pleasant Hill,
Yellow Bayou and several other minor engagements. He was wounded at the
battle of Old River, Louisiana, May 16, 1864, and still carries an
ounce bullet which he received there. He was in Memphis, Tennessee, at
the time General Forest made his famous raid into that city, and when
the war was over he received an honorable discharge, having faithfully
defended the old flag for more than three years.
At the close of the war Mr. Smith returned to Clinton county and again
engaged in farming, and on the 9th day of February, 1865, was married
to Roxy L. Alger, who was born in Clinton county, Iowa, in 1849, and
was a daughter of Joseph and Achsah (Smith) Alger of New York, who came
to Iowa in 1844 where Mr. Alger engaged in farming.
Following his marriage, Mr. Smith remained in Clinton county until
1868, when he came to Greene county with a covered wagon and settled
near Rippey, where he engaged in farming for ten years. In 1878 he sold
his farm and made two trips by team through Kansas and one through
Nebraska, finally locating in Scranton, Iowa, in 1880. He served as
marshal and street commissioner for three years. In March, 1884, he
purchased The Scranton Journal
from William Bomgardner. The paper had been previously published by
McCulloch & Son, having been established in 1879. Mr. Smith has
since conducted the paper as editor and proprietor. It has a good
circulation, being sent weekly into eight hundred different homes and
business houses, and today the paper is in every way worthy of public
patronage and a credit to the community. It is a champion of all
progressive measures and no movement for the public good fails to
receive its co-operation and support.
Politically Mr. Smith is a stalwart
republican and one of the recognized leaders of that party in this part
of the state. He has served as justice of the peace in Greene county
for nineteen years, and has filled the other township oflices. In the
fall of 1895 he was elected to represent Greene county in the
twenty-sixth general assembly, and by re-election was continued in the
position for two terms. In the winter of 1897 he served in the special
session which revised the code of Iowa. Each question which came up for
settlement received his attention, and he was influential in securing
necessary legislation for the upbuilding and benefiting of the state
along many lines. Recently he received appointment at the hands of the
governor as a member of the state board of parole under the new law,
for a term of six years, beginning July 1, 1907. He is well known to
the leading politicians of the state and his loyalty to the public good
is beyond question. He served as postmaster of Scranton during the
Harrison administration - 1889-1893.
Mr. Smith is a recognized and loyal member of the Masonic fraternity,
which he joined in 1887, taking the Master’s degree. He has always been
an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic since its inception,
and has a wide reputation as a campfire orator and entertainer. His
loyalty to the order has never been questioned. He has held several
offices among others that of chief of staff under Department Commander
Bailey. Mr. Smith has been a faithful and efficient campaign worker for
his party for more than forty years, placing his services annually in
the hands of the republican state central committee, and has thus been
an important factor in molding public opinion, for he presents with
force and clearness any principal in which he believes.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith were at the head of a family of six children: Lowrie
W., who is foreman in his father’s oflice; Arthur A. and Claud D.,
deceased; Mrs. E. Gertrude Towers, who has passed away; Mary Pearl; and
Orin Leo. Lowrie W. married Hattie E. Quinn, daughter of C. J. Quinn,
and they have two children: Genevieve Marie and Cyral Harry. Mary Pearl
is the wife of Joseph F. Underwood and has two children: Lawrence Edwin
and Wendall J. There is also another grandchild, Goldie Towers.
On the 6th of November, 1892, Mrs. Smith died, surrounded by her family
and friends. She died in the triumphs of a living faith. She was an
active member of the Woman’s Relief Corps and the Woman’s Christian
Temperance Union, and was a true wife and a loving and devoted mother.
On the 4th of September, 1894, Mr. Smith was again united in marriage
to Mrs. Alice M. Dreher (Hoy) of Scranton, Iowa, a native of
Pennsylvania. She has three children by her first husband: Irving A.,
Clarence R. and Genevieve H. Mrs. Smith has been a member of the
Methodist church choir for many years.
Mr. Smith is a member of the Methodist church and has taken an active
and helpful part in the erection of the new house of worship. in fact
his aid is given to any worthy public movement, and his labors have
been effective in promoting the welfare of the town, county and state.
He has a wide acquaintance among prominent people of Iowa and enjoys in
large measure their friendship and warm regard. He is a man who looks
at life from a broad, humanitarian standpoint and has accomplished much
for himself and for his fellowmen.
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