1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa
Page Index:
Smith, Senator Thomas Henry
Click photo to enlarge
"Let me live in my house
By the side of the road
Where the race of men go by,
They are good, they are bad,
They are weak, they are strong,
Wise, foolish, and so am I."
"Then why should I sit
In the scorner's seat,
Or hurl a cynic's ban;
Let me live in my house
By the side of the road,
And be a friend to man."
These two stanzas, so full of homely philosophy, give us the key to the life of Thomas Henry Smith, or "Tobe," as he is universally known, a man who has done as much for Shelby county, Iowa, as any other man. Prominently identified with the history of his county for more than thirty-five years he has spent his life in the service of his fellow men in a way which stamps him as one of the best citizens of his county. As a member of the state Senate of Iowa, he has always been on the side of every good measure which has been proposed, and his record in the General Assembly is one of hwich his constituents are justly proud. While a member of the Legislature he introduced, among other bills, the following which show his worth as a man; a bill for the establishment of additional normal schools; a bill providing for the collection of vital statistics in the interest of the health of children; a bill for the better protection and preservation of birds and wild animal life; a bill providing for the support of the wives and children of convicts from their earnings; a bill exempting from taxation the property of all soldiers and their widows to the value of twelve hundred dollars; and finally, a bill giving additional power to the office of commerce counsel, making this office one of real value to the people of the state. Up to that time the office could only investigate and obtain information of any wrongs done to shippers or any discriminations made by the railroads of the state, but had no authority to right the wrong even if found and proved. The bill proposed and passed through the efforts of Mr. Smith gives this office the right to file complaints and take definite action before the interstate commerce board or the state railway commissioners of Iowa or the state courts to correct any such evils and thereby secure the people in their rights. Not only is this office given this increased power, but it provides that the commerce counsel is to be the attorney for any citizen of the state of Iowa making complaint before the railway commissioners and he must look after the interests of the humblest taxpayer without any other compensation than his own salary allowed by the state.
These are only a few of the more important bills which Mr. Smith fathered, but are sufficient to indicate his worth as a public-spirited citizen. It is pertinent to mention in this connection a striking incident in the life of Mr. Smith which sets forth another phase of his interesting career. He was present at the Mothers' National Congress, held at Des Moines in 1900, when the assertion was made by one of the speakers that man was incapable of love except as a means to gratify passion. At this juncture Mr. Smith secured the floor and, according to the Des Moines Register and Leader, "Tom Smith, of Harlan, Iowa, the lawyer, immortalized his name by a spontaneous burst of oratory in defense of men before three thousand women of the National Congress of Mothers at its second day's session here Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Smith's speech was the climax of one of the most dramatic scenes ever witnessed in Des Moines." The leading papers throughout the country published extracts of this famous speech and the many editorial comments on it indicated that it struck a popular chord everywhere.
Thomas Henry Smith, the son of Paris S. and Nancy Jane (Jones) Smith, was born September 30, 1854, in Appanoose county, Iowa, on the banks of Soap creek. His father was a native of Ohio and came to Davis county, Iowa, before his marriage. His mother was born in West Virginia and came to Ohio with her parents when a small girl. Later, the Jones family located in Davis county, Iowa, and there Paris S. Smith and Nancy Jane Jones were married in 1851. They are still living, now making their home in Blakesburg, Iowa, and are one of the oldest married couples in the state, having been married sixty-three years. They are the parents of thirteen children, seven of whom are still living.
The elementary education of Mr. Smith was received in the district schools of Davis county, Iowa, after which he took the course given by the Southern Iowa Normal School at Bloomfield, Iowa. He then began teaching, while at the same time he put all of his spare time in at reading law with M. H. Jones, of Bloomfield. At the age of twenty-three he was admitted to the bar and now came the question which faces every young lawyer: Where should he locate? There can be no doubt that the success of many lawyers depend on their location and Mr. Smith was very anxious to find a place where there was a suitable opening. After carefully looking over the state of Iowa, for he was satisfied to settle in his own state, he finally decided to cast his fortunes in the county seat of Shelby county. That he made a wise choice is shown by his subsequent career in this place.
On the afternoon of May 31, 1878, there rode into Harlan on horseback a young man who was destined to become one of the most distinguished citizens the county of Shelby has ever had. He was poor in purse but had something better than money -- a sound body, a sound and well-disciplined mind and a laudable ambition to succeed in his chosen life work. He rented one small room and this served as his bedroom as well as his office. His furniture consisted of one rude cot, two rickety chairs, a table, a hand-made bench and a hand-made book case of two shelves. This meager equipment, together with four law books, a bottle of ink and one pen, constituted all of his worldly possessions.
In this inauspicious manner Mr. Smith started his career in Harlan, and the people who watched him ride into the city thirty-six years ago have lived to see him become its foremost citizen. Knowing that he would have a hard time in getting started, and having but one hundred and fifty dollars, he took the agency of an insurance company in order to have something to help him out until he could build up his practice. However, such was his ability that he was soon able to devote all of his attention to his legal practice and within a few years he was recognized as one of the leaders at the Shelby county bar. Soon after coming to Harlan he formed a partnership with P. C. Truman, under the firm name of Truman & Smith, which was continued until January 1, 1881, when G. W. Cullison succeeded Mr. Truman in the firm, under the firm name of Smith & Cullison. This partnership continued until January 1, 1895, the firm having an extensive practice. In 1886 he became the first county attorney of the county and held this office for two years, and subsequently served as city attorney for two terms. It is not possible within the limits of this sketch to follow the career of Mr. Smith in detail and discuss his splendid record as an advocate and his share in the general welfare of his adopted city.
His ability and standing as a lawyer is well told in the "Bench and Bar of Iowa," by an able judge in whose court he practiced for many years: Mr. Smith entered upon the practice of his profession at Harlan when the town, Shelby county and southwestern Iowa were comparatively new and rapidly filling up and developing. He was young, enthusiastic, hopeful and ambitious. He had been disciplined in hard work and taught to do with promptness and energy whatever was necessary to accomplish a worthy object. Thus equipped he began his profession. With an indomitable will and irresistible energy he has carved out success where others have failed. He is thoroughly loyal to his client. He believes he is right and ought to succeed. To that service he surrenders himself, and whatever hard work, care and study can do to achieve success is done with rare devotion and self-care. He prepares the law of the case and marshals the evidence with good judgment, and then enters the contest self-reliant and confident, and with enthusiastic hopefulness and determination. He is an able trial lawyer, a safe counsellor, a practical business man, and a citizen and member of society, high minded, honorable and of a pure life."
His record speaks for itself and it is not saying too much to say that no man in the county has been more fully identified with its progress during the past thirty-five years. His fellow citizens have never called on him that he did not respond; they have sent him to the state Senate and there he made a record for public service that is a credit to himself as well as his district. As a Republican he has been progressive in the best and truest sense of the term and his work in the Legislature has not only been a benefit to his own district but to the whole state as well.
It is to be expected that such a man would be successful in a material way. He married two years after coming to Harlan and he and his young wife bought a small home for six hundred dollars and had but fifty-five dollars for the first payment. They lived economically and gradually paid for their modest little home and were never happier than when figuring how to make their monthly payments. As the years went by and his practice increased, Mr. Smith was able to move to more substantial surroundings and now has probably the finest home in the city. His home, which is very appropriately called "Idlewild," is located on Baldwin street and is surrounded by handsome trees and shrubbery of all kinds. In addition to his beautiful city home, he owns six improved farms in eastern Nebraska, comprising eighteen hundreed acres and has extensive holdings in eastern Kansas, Colorado and Washington.
The married life of Mr. Smith has been particularly happy. He was married on June 3, 1880, to Josephine Wonn, the daughter of Senator Horatio A. and Sarah (Underwood) Wonn, both of whom were natives of Ohio. Mrs. Smith's parents were married in their native state and came to Davis county, Iowa, in 1850. Her father was senator for two terms from the Davis-VanBuren district. He died in 1888 and her mother passed away in 1912, at the Smith home in Harlan. Three daughters came to bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Mabel C., Orpha and Lois. Orpha, after four years as teacher of Latin in the Harlan high school and the Bismarck high school, was married to Leonard E. Opdyke, a prominent business man of Bismarck, North Dakota. Lois became the wife of Rev. Frank Bean, a Methodist minister, now stationed at Lewis, Iowa. Mabel cast her lot in the teaching profession and has taught in the high schools of North Yakima and Wenatchee, Washington. These three daughters have all received college educations and are women of refinement and culture. Mrs. Smith is a woman of education and refinement, and while she has been interested in the social life and club work of the city, she allows nothing to come between her and her home. This and her family has her first care and attention.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been earnest supporters of education and interested in everything for the betterment of humanity. Boys ambitious for an education have been taken in the home, doing chores for their board that they might attend the Harlan high school. A sister and husband dying leaving children, three boys, one but eight years of age, was given a home with them. These are now men of education and usefulness. Two, graduates of Iowa University Medical College, are successful practitioners in the Dakotas. The other, a graduate of the Iowa University Law School, is a judge in South Dakota.
The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and have always been interested in all the work of the church. There has not been a public-spirited enterprise launched in the city of Harlan which has not received the hearty support of Mr. Smith, and it is a matter of local history that when he threw his influence in favor of any measure it was nearly always sure of success. Such, in brief, is the career of a man who has measured up to the highest type of American citizenship, a man in whom the "elements are so mixed that the whole world might stand up and say -- this was a man."
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1376-1381. Transcribed by: Cheryl Siebrass.
|
To Page Index ---
To Bio Index
|
