George and Clarence Smith papers

Collection

Identifier: MC052

Staff Only

Scope and Content Note

The George and Clarence Smith Papers consist of items amassed by the Smith brothers who resided in the residence of Oren Cheney when they were students at Bates College. This collection includes their student notebooks, cash books, and drafts of their debate parts at college. There are many documents, letters and genealogical items, which shed light onto the maternal connection of the Smiths and the Perkins family of New Hampshire; Oren Cheney's second wife was Nancy S. Perkins. There are also documents which show the Smiths' continued social relationship with their Boothby and Swan cousins, the direct descendants of Oren Cheney. The collection also documents some of the professional work and interests of Clarence Smith as it includes copies of his opinions of land court cases he heard from 1924 to 1943 and his research on reactions to the Sacco-Vanzetti murder trial. Other items in the collection include public speeches, papers delivered to various social organizations, a scrapbook about President William McKinley's visit to Boston in 1899, and letters from many notable persons including McKinley; John Hay, U.S. Secretary of State; Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes; Vice President Hannibal Hamilin; and General William T. Sherman.

Although not a part of the Smith Papers, there is included in the collection the correspondence and research of Danny D. Smith, the compiler of the Smith Papers. This research was done in conjunction with his work on the Smith Genealogy.

Dates

1814 - 1999

Creator

Smith, George Edwin, 1848-1919 (Person)

Access Restrictions

Photocopies of notable people correspondence and autographs for reference use have been substituted in the main files. The originals may only be consulted with permission of the staff

Use Restrictions

The collection is the physical property of Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library. Bates College holds literary rights only for material created by College personnel working on official behalf of the College, or for material which was given to the College with such rights specifically assigned. For all other material, literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. Researchers are responsible for obtaining permission from rights holders for publication or other purposes that exceed fair use.

Historical Note

The Hon. George Edwin Smith (1848-1919) (Bates, 1873; LL.D., 1918) was the president of the Massachusetts Senate and an attorney who represented the interests of railroad trusts. His youngest brother, the Hon. Clarence Cheney Smith (1865-1943) (Bates, 1888), was the founding recorder and later a justice for the Massachusetts Land Court. He was one of the first American jurists to introduce the system of Torrens Land Titles into an American legal jurisdiction. They were nephews of the Reverend Oren Burbank Cheney, founder and first president of Bates College.

Extent

3.5 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection consists of the personal and professional papers of two nephews of the Reverend Oren Burbank Cheney, founder and first president of Bates College: the Hon. George Edwin Smith (1848-1919) (Bates, 1873; LL.D., 1918), three-time president of the Massachusetts Senate and attorney for railroad trusts; and of his youngest brother, the Hon. Clarence Cheney Smith (1865-1943) (Bates, 1888), a founding recorder and later a justice for the Massachusetts Land Court. Among the materials are a scrapbook of President William McKinley's 1899 visit to Boston and research material by Clarence Smith on the Sacco-Vanzetti Trial. Also includes the correspondence and research of Danny D. Smith, the compiler of the Smith Papers and Smith family genealogist.

Organization and Arrangement

This collection is divided into seven series: I. Family Papers; II. George Edwin Smith Papers; III. Clarence Cheney Smith Papers; [IV. deleted]; V. Sacco-Vanzetti Research; VI. Danny D. Smith Correspondence; and VII. Danny D. Smith Research. The collection has been divided into sixty-seven files for reference, and the original arrangement of the items has been kept intact.

Acquisition and Custody Information

Senator George Smith died without surviving issue, leaving his estate to his widow, Sarah Weld Smith. She then bequeathed the family heirlooms and papers with other items of inheritance to her brother-in-law, Judge Clarence Cheney Smith. He in turn left his estate to his widow, Dorothy Wellington Smith. She appointed her husband's only grandnephew of the Smith lineage, Stanton Thomas Ingersoll Smith (Bates, 1950), to be co-executor of her estate. Stanton Thomas Ingersoll Smith and his sister, Jane Alice (Smith) Lefebvre (Bates, ex-'45), deeded this collection on October 30, 1998 to Bates College, in recognition of his family's many generations of connection with the college and with the founder of the college himself, the Reverend Oren Cheney. Included in the gift was an inventory prepared by Danny D. Smith. Accession No.: 98-020; x-014.

Related Material

David Hibbard Smith land records, Located in the Vertical file, New Hampton section, Genealogy subsection. Gordon Nash Library. New Hampton, New Hamphsire.

David Hibbard Smith papers, Ashland Historical Society (Whipple House Museum), Ashland, New Hampshire.