Smith, Henry, 1838-1916.
Papers, 1846-1916.
Milwaukee Manuscript Collection CP
.8 cubic ft. (2 archives boxes)
|
ABSTRACT: The major portion of the correspondence is found in the years, 1910 to
1916. It is composed of copies of Smith's letters to politicians, local officials, and
Milwaukee residents whom he tried to help. He was constantly questioning the validity of a
public official's stand, or "setting the record straight" as to Milwaukee's
laws.
Henry Smith spent many years studying the statutes and reports concerning Milwaukee's
history, and this collection contains detailed summaries he wrote on bridges across the
streams in Milwaukee, the development of the city's waterworks, mill dams on the Milwaukee
River, and a history and description of the site of Milwaukee. The papers also contain
brief histories by Smith concerning the Territory of Wisconsin, and the railroads of the
state.
He was a member of the Old Settler's Club, and wrote biographies of early residents, three
of which appear in Box 1, Folder 3, along with several biographies and an autobiography of
Henry Smith, himself. His treatise on "Why I Became a Greenbacker in Politics"
and "letters to the editor," in Folder 4, are indicative of his interests; and
Volumes 2 and 3 are scrapbooks of clippings showing Smith's long involvement in public
affairs. As foreman of the Grand Jury that investigated the bank failures in Milwaukee in
1893, he drafted the Jury's report, a copy of which appears here. Volume 4 contains the
1895 to 1896 minutes of the Wisconsin Cremation Society, of which Smith was secretary.
ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the
collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law. However, the
researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and
copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes
19.21-19.39).
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Henry Smith, Milwaukee millwright and public official, was born
in Baltimore, Maryland, July 22, 1838. He moved to Milwaukee with his parents in 1844, and
after only limited schooling became a millwright, a trade he followed for sixty years. In
1860 he and his three brothers organized the firm of Smith Brothers, Millwrights,
specializing in the building of flour mills and flour mill machinery. They also built
tanneries, grain elevators, malthouses, and water wheel penstocks and flumes. His brother,
George, introduced the roller flour mill system into this country in 1873. In 1870, Henry
Smith obtained a patent on the catch basin metal cover.
Through the years, Henry Smith was in various partnerships with machinists and
millwrights, providing equipment for flour mills, tanneries, breweries, and malting firms.
At the same time he was deeply interested in public and political activities, and in the
1890s began to devote almost full time to public service. As early as 1903 he began to
take an active part in the League of Wisconsin Municipalities and later was Milwaukee's
representative in the League. As president of the Argo Mining Company in New Mexico, with
offices in Milwaukee, he seems to have made an ill-fated investment, never realizing
profit.
He served as a Milwaukee alderman under various party labels, in the years 1868 to 1872,
1880 to 1882, 1884 to 1887, 1898 to 1912, and 1914 to 1916. An independent Greenbacker in
the 1870's, he was elected to the state assembly in 1878 as a Social Democrat--at this
time not an organized party but simply a prolabor ticket. As a Democrat, his association
with the Knights of Labor brought him the office of city comptroller, 1882 to 1884. He
served in the U. S. House of Representatives, 1887 to 1889, as a member of the People's
party.
There is evidence that throughout his active life Henry Smith was greatly interested in
politics and in local and Biblical history. He wrote essays on money policies,
particularly in support of Greenbacks; he gave speeches on social conduct; and he studied
and wrote long reports on various phases of Milwaukee's history.
COLLECTION CITATION: This collection should be cited as:
Smith, Henry, 1838-1916. Papers, 1846-1916. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection CP.
Wisconsin Historical Society. Milwaukee Area Research Center. UWM Libraries.
University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
RELATED COLLECTIONS:
Downer, Jason, 1813-1883. Papers, 1853-1883. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection
O)
Orton, John Jay, 1817-1895. Papers, 1837-1884. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection
BK)
Plankinton Bank (Milwaukee, Wis.). Records, 1866-1907. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection
K)
ACQUISITION: Presented by Mrs. Charles R. Smith in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August
8, 1957.
PROCESSING: FGH's class processed the collection in the summer of 1968 and MH
completed processing on December 16, 1968.
MARC RECORD SEARCH TERMS: The following terms were used in the online bibliographic
MARC record to this collection:
- Argo Mining Company.
- Bank failures--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
- Bridges--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
- Dams--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
- Flour-mills--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
- Humboldt and Menomonee Paper Mills (Milwaukee, Wis.).
- League of Wisconsin Municipalities.
- Milwaukee (Wis.)--Geography.
- Milwaukee (Wis.)--History--Sources.
- Milwaukee (Wis.)--Water-supply.
- National Greenback Party.
- Paper mills--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
- Plankinton Bank (Milwaukee, Wis.).
- Railroads--Wisconsin.
- Toepfer, Peter G., 1857-1915.
- Wesson, William F., 1840-1914.
- Wetter, George Herman, 1798-1872.
- Wisconsin Cremation Society.
MILWAUKEE MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION CP |
BOX |
FOLDER |
| Biographies, Henry Smith, 1915, undated |
1 |
3 |
| Biographies, Peter G. Toepfer, 1916 |
1 |
3 |
| Biographies, William F. Wesson, undated |
1 |
3 |
| Biographies, George Herman Wetter, 1912 |
1 |
3 |
| Correspondence, 1903-1913 |
1 |
1 |
| Correspondence, 1914-1916 |
1 |
2 |
| Essays, Lectures, Reports, and "Letters to the Editor" by Henry Smith,
1893-1915, undated |
1 |
4 |
| History, Mill Dams on the Milwaukee River, 1914 |
1 |
8 |
| History, Milwaukee, undated |
1 |
6 |
| History, Milwaukee Bridges, undated |
1 |
5 |
| History, Milwaukee's Waterworks, 1856-1915 |
1 |
7 |
| History, Railroads of Wisconsin, undated |
1 |
9 |
| History, Territory of Wisconsin, undated |
1 |
9 |
| History, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Newspaper Clippings, 1912-1913 |
2 |
1 |
| Newspaper Clippings, 1888-1889 |
2 |
3 |
| Newspaper Clippings and Correspondence, 1911-1915 |
2 |
2 |
| Topography of Milwaukee from 1844-1846, 1916 |
1 |
8 |
| Wisconsin Cremation Society, Minutes, 1895-1896 |
2 |
4 |
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Last edited on Tuesday, May 13, 2003.
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