Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 09.djvu/420

 SMITH

SMITH

He received the degree of A. M. from Hampden- Sidney in 1838 and tl»at of LL.D. from William and Mary in 1878 and is the author of: Best Methods of Conducting Comvion Schools (1849); College Eeform (18o0), and several mathematical iKH.ks. He tlievi in Lexington, Va., March 21, 1890. SMITH, Francis Hopkinson, artist, author and engineer, was bora in Baltimore, Md., Oct. 23, 1838; son of Francis Hopkinson and Susan (Toackle) Smith; grandson of Isaac and Maria (Hopkinson) Smith of Virginia, and of Thomas Upshur and Susan Teackle, and great- grandson of Francis Hopkinson, the signer (q.v.). His first an- cestor in America, Sir George Yeardley, was governor of Vir- ginia, 1618-21 and lC.26-37. His father's business reverses

forced him to aban- don his hope for a college education and earn his own support. For some time he was assistant super- iatendent of the Calvert Iron Company of Balti- more. He removed to New York in 1863 and be- came a constructing engineer and contractor. Among his many important engineering achieve- ments are: the ice-breaker of the screw pile lighthou-e, at Bridgeport, Conn.; sections of the breakwaters at Stonington, Block Island and Port Jefferson; the foundation of the Penfield Reef light; the Race Rock light off New London harbor. 1871-77; the sea-wall at Governor's Is- land, N.Y., 1882-83; and at Tompkinsville, S.L, N.Y., 1888-89; the Cold Spring harbor light, 1889-90; the Rockland Lake light, 1892, and the foundation for the Bartholdi Statue of Liberty, New York harbor, 1884-85. He was married, April 26. 1S66. to Josephine, daughter of William and Harriet (Bishop) Van Deventer of Astoria, L.I., N.Y. He devoted much of his leisure to art, winning a leading place among American water-colorists and also executing many notable black and white sketches. As he was about to ib-sue a series of his water-color sketches in book form (about 1884), at the suggestion of his pub- lishers he wrote brief descriptive notes to ac- company each. This led to his literary work upon which his reputation cliiefly rests. He was elected a member of the American Water-Color society. 1870. serving a.s its tre:is)irer. 1873-78: an as.sociate of the American Society of Civil Engineers, 1890; a member of the Authors club, 1893; of the American Art society, Philadelphia,

and of the Institute of Arts and Letters. He re- ceived for his paintings a gold medal from the Philadelphia Art club, and from the American Art society; a silver medal from the Cliarleston, S.C., exposition, and a bronze medal from the Pan-American exposition. His water colors, many of them Venetian subjects, include the following: Under the Towers (1862); On the La- goon (1883); San Tz-oj-aso (1885); A Venetian Day (1890); In the Glow of the Afternoon (1891). He also executed black and white sketches and illus- trations for "Venice of To-day," "Sir Launfal," "Longfellow's Poems," Holmes's "Last Leaf," and other illustrated books. Among his books of travel illustrated by his own sketches are: Well-Worn Roads of Spain, Holland and Italy; Travelledby a Painter in Search of the Picturesque (1886); -4 White Umbrella in Mexico (1889); Gon- dola Days (1897), and Venice of Today (1897). He also wrote: Old Lines in Black and White (1885); A Book of the Tile Club (1890); American Illust7-ators (1892). He is also the author of several novels: Colonel Carter of Cartersville (1891); A Day at Laguerre's and Other Days (1892); A Gentleman Vagabond and Some Others (1895); Tom Grogan (1896): Caleb West, Master Diver (1898); The Other Fellow (1899); The For- tunes of Oliver Horn (1902); The Under-Dog (1903), and Colonel Carter's Christmas (1903), besides many contributions to the leading magazines.

SMITH, George, philanthropist, was born proliably in New York city. His parents (Con-^ nelly) being in humble circumstances, lie was adopted by James and Percie Smith. He pre- pared for college and was graduated from Har- vard, A.B., 1853. On returning to the home of his foster-parents in St. Louis, he was disowned, and became a miner in the Southwest; wandered to New York, where he was employed in banks, and removed to Philadelphia, where he engaged in stock speculation. On tiie death of his foster- father, he returned to the home of his foster- mother, after over fifteen years' absence, and as- sumed the relations existing before his leaving liome, and on her death. Mrs. Smith left him the bulk of her husband's vast estate. The blood relations unsuccessfully contested the will and George Smith, who never married, continued in possession up to the time of liis death. The Harvard club of St. Louis, in conformity with the directions left by the deceased, acted as pall- bearers at his funeral, which was conducted with musical but no religious ceremony. He left to Harvard university, $450,000, the bulk of his estate, to be used in the erection of three dormi- tories. The only condition attached was that one of the dormitories should be named for him, and that the oil and crayon portraits of his foster- parents be hung in Memorial Hall of Harvard.