George Edwin Smith

George Edwin Smith
President of the Massachusetts Senate
In office 1898–1904
Preceded by	George P. Lawrence
Succeeded by	Rufus A. Soule
Member of the Massachusetts Senate
In office 1897–1900
Succeeded by	George R. Jones
Majority	3,179 (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
Born	April 5, 1849 New Hampton, New Hampshire
Died	April 26, 1919 Boston, Massachusetts
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Sarah Frances Weld, m. October 31, 1876
Alma mater	Bates College

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]

Early life and education

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

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

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

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

References

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.