William E. Smith (politician)

William E. Smith
William E. Smith
14th Governor of Wisconsin
	In office; January 7, 1878 – January 2, 1882
Lieutenant	James M. Bingham
Preceded by	Harrison Ludington
Succeeded by	Jeremiah McLain Rusk
5th State Treasurer of Wisconsin
	In office; January 1, 1866 – January 3, 1870
Governor	Lucius Fairchild
Preceded by	Samuel D. Hastings
Succeeded by	Henry Baetz
21st Speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly
	In office; January 11, 1871 – January 10, 1872
Preceded by	James M. Bingham
Succeeded by	Daniel Hall
Member of the Wisconsin Senate; from the 18th district
	In office; January 13, 1864 – January 1866
Preceded by	Joel Rich
Succeeded by	Stoddard Judd
Member of the Wisconsin Senate; from the 22nd district
	In office; January 13, 1858 – January 9, 1860
Preceded by	S. L. Rose
Succeeded by	Benjamin Ferguson
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly; from the Dodge 1st district
	In office; January 11, 1871 – January 10, 1872
Preceded by	E. Adams Fowler
Succeeded by	Michael Adams
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly; from the Dodge 5th district
	In office; January 8, 1851 – January 14, 1852
Preceded by	Malcolm Sellers
Succeeded by	Horace Patch
Personal details
Born	June 18, 1824; Inverness, Scotland
Died	February 13, 1883 (aged 58); Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Home Cemetery, Milwaukee
Political party	Republican Party; Whig (before 1854);
Spouses	Mary Booth; (m. 1849; died 1903);
Children	Ira B. Smith; (b. 1852; died 1920); Ida (Hinsdale); (b. 1854; died 1926); Emma J. Smith; (b. 1855; died 1876); Grant Alexander Smith; (b. 1859; died 1887);
Parents	Alexander Smith (father); Sarah (Grant) Smith (mother);
Profession	merchant, politician

William E. Smith (June 18, 1824 – February 13, 1883) was an American merchant and politician who served as the 14th Governor of Wisconsin, the 5th State Treasurer of Wisconsin, and the 21st Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly. He also served four years in the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Dodge County. In business, he was the co-founder of Smith, Roundy & Co., which became the supermarket chain Roundy's.

Early life

Smith was born in Inverness, Scotland, in 1824, the son of Alexander and Sarah (Grant) Smith. He immigrated to the United States with his family as a child, and lived with his family in New York City and Michigan.^[1] He attended the common schools before working as a store clerk when he was 17. In 1846 he went to work for Lord & Taylor, and the following year he went to work for a wholesale company. In 1849 he moved to Fox Lake, Wisconsin, to become a partner in a mercantile firm.^[2]

Political career

He held several political position in Wisconsin and served two terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly beginning in 1851, including serving as speaker during the second term.^[3] Originally a Whig, he helped organize the new Republican Party in 1854. He served two terms in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1858 to 1865. Smith was Wisconsin state treasurer from 1866 to 1870. He was again elected to the State Assembly in 1871.^[1] He was a member of the board of regents of normal schools from 1858 to 1876, and director of the state prison from 1874 to 1878.^[4]

In 1872, Smith moved to Milwaukee and co-founded the Roundy's supermarket chain.^[5] He was elected governor in 1877 and served two terms from 1878 to 1882.^[1]

He died on February 13, 1883, in Milwaukee^[4] and is interred at Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee.^[6]

Family life

Smith and his wife Mary Booth were married in Michigan in 1849. They had four children.^[7]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1870)

Wisconsin Assembly, Dodge 1st District Election, 1870^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
General Election, November 8, 1870
	Republican	William E. Smith	736	56.27%
	Democratic	Ebenezer B. Jones	572	43.73%
Plurality			164	12.54%
Total votes			'*1,308'*	'*100.0%'*
	Republican hold

Wisconsin Governor (1877, 1879)

Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election, 1877^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 6, 1877
	Republican	William E. Smith	78,759	44.22%	−5.85%
	Democratic	James A. Mallory	70,486	39.57%	−10.00%
	Greenback	Edward P. Allis	26,216	14.72%
	Socialist Labor	Collin M. Campbell	2,176	1.22%
		Scattering	485	0.27%
Plurality			8,273	4.64%	+4.15%
Total votes			'*178,122'*	'*100.0%'*	+4.73%
	Republican hold

Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election, 1879^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 7, 1879
	Republican	William E. Smith (incumbent)	100,535	53.19%	+8.98%
	Democratic	James Graham Jenkins	75,030	39.70%	+0.13%
	Greenback	Reuben May	12,996	6.88%	−7.84%
		Scattering	444	0.23%
Plurality			25,505	13.49%	+8.85%
Total votes			'*189,005'*	'*100.0%'*	+6.11%
	Republican hold

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Smith, William E. 1824 - 1883". Retrieved 2012-10-28.
^ Legislative Reference Bureau (1960). The Wisconsin Blue Book. Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 124.
^ "William E. Smith". Genealogy Trails. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
^ ^a ^b Johnson, Rossiter and Brown, John Howard (1904). The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Biographical Society. p. 1. William E. Smith married Mary Booth 1849.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Dexter-Roundy family papers, 1772-1951
^ "Historical People". Forest Home Cemetery. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
^ "On This Day: September 6". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
^ "Official directory". The legislative manual of the state of Wisconsin (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. 1871. p. 374. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Barish, Lawrence S., ed. (2005). "History Statistics". State of Wisconsin 2005-2006 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 721. Retrieved April 4, 2020.

External links

Party political offices
Preceded by Harrison Ludington	Republican nominee for Governor of Wisconsin 1877, 1879	Succeeded by Jeremiah McLain Rusk
Wisconsin Senate
Preceded by Solomon L. Rose	Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 22nd district 1858 – 1860	Succeeded by Benjamin Ferguson
Preceded by Joel Rich	Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 18th district 1864 – 1866	Succeeded by Stoddard Judd
Political offices
Preceded by Samuel D. Hastings	State Treasurer of Wisconsin 1866 – 1870	Succeeded by Henry Baetz
Preceded by James M. Bingham	Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly 1871 – 1872	Succeeded by Daniel Hall
Preceded by Harrison Ludington	Governor of Wisconsin 1878 – 1882	Succeeded by Jeremiah McLain Rusk

[urlWHS_WilliamESmith-1] "Smith, William E. 1824 - 1883". Retrieved 2012-10-28.

[2] Legislative Reference Bureau (1960). The Wisconsin Blue Book. Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 124.

[3] "William E. Smith". Genealogy Trails. Retrieved May 18, 2014.

[Johnson_1904_1-4] Johnson, Rossiter and Brown, John Howard (1904). The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Biographical Society. p. 1. William E. Smith married Mary Booth 1849.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[5] Dexter-Roundy family papers, 1772-1951

[6] "Historical People". Forest Home Cemetery. Retrieved May 18, 2014.

[7] "On This Day: September 6". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved May 18, 2014.

[bb1871-8] "Official directory". The legislative manual of the state of Wisconsin (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. 1871. p. 374. Retrieved April 4, 2020.

[bb2005-9] Barish, Lawrence S., ed. (2005). "History Statistics". State of Wisconsin 2005-2006 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 721. Retrieved April 4, 2020.

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