George Edwin Smith (April 5, 1849 – April 26, 1919) was a Massachusetts lawyer, legal writer, and politician. He served three terms as the President of the Massachusetts Senate. Previous to his assumption of the Senate Presidency, he served as a member of the Massachusetts Senate, elected from the Massachusetts House of Representatives.[1]

George Edwin Smith
President of the Massachusetts Senate
In office
1898–1904
Preceded byGeorge P. Lawrence
Succeeded byRufus A. Soule
Member of the
Massachusetts Senate
In office
1897–1900
Succeeded byGeorge R. Jones
Majority3,179 (1899 election)
Member of the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
Eight Middlesex District
In office
1883–1884
1st City Solicitor of
Everett, Massachusetts
In office
1893–1894
Personal details
BornApril 5, 1849
New Hampton, New Hampshire
DiedApril 26, 1919 (aged 70)
Boston, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Sarah Frances Weld, m. October 31, 1876
Alma materBates College

Early life and education

edit

George Edwin Smith was born April 5, 1849, in New Hampton, New Hampshire to David H. and Esther Perkins. He was educated in common schools in New Hampton and began his formal education at the Nichols Latin School before enrolling Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. He graduated Bates, with high honors, in 1873. His time at Bates sparked his interests in the law, and began to clerk for the at-the-time Maine Senator, William P. Frye, at his private legal firm. Smith went on to pass the Suffolk County bar in Boston in May 1973.

Early political career

edit

In his early political career he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the 8th Middlesex District comprising Malden and Everett, in 1883. He was subsequently re-elected 1884 with an increased voting turnout.

In 1892, he was a candidate for Mayor of Everett, and the lead the town into conception. He went on to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Public Library of Massachusetts, and chaired the committee that drew the charter for the newly founded city of Everett.

Other business and educational pursuits

edit

In 1879, he was elected by the alumni of Bates College to serves on the board of overseers. In 1884, he was appointed by the Bates Corporation to serve on the board of the president and was selected as a fellow of the college.

He also served as the president of the Glendon Club.

Death

edit

Smith died at the Parker House Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts on April 26, 1919.[2]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Reno, Conrad (1901), Memoirs of the Judiciary and the Bar of New England for the Nineteenth Century, Boston, Massachusetts: The Century Memorial Publishing Co., p. 421
  2. ^ Malden Historical Society (1920), The Register of the Malden Historical Society, Issue 6 1919-1920, Lynn, Massachusetts Frank S. Whitten printer: Malden Historical Society, p. 82
Political offices
Preceded by President of the Massachusetts Senate
1898-1900
Succeeded by