Henry Smith | |
|---|---|
 Smithc. 1887–1889 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's4th district | |
| In office March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1889 | |
| Preceded by | Isaac W. Van Schaick |
| Succeeded by | Isaac W. Van Schaick |
| Member of theWisconsin State Assembly from theMilwaukee 6th district | |
| In office January 7, 1878 – January 6, 1879 | |
| Preceded by | Florian J. Ries |
| Succeeded by | Christopher Raesser |
| MilwaukeeCity Comptroller | |
| In office April 1882 – April 1884 | |
| Member of theMilwaukee Common Council | |
In office
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| Personal details | |
| Born | (1838-07-22)July 22, 1838 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | September 16, 1916(1916-09-16) (aged 78) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Resting place | Union Cemetery, Milwaukee |
| Party | |
| Spouse | |
| Occupation | Millwright, architect, builder, politician |
Henry Smith (July 22, 1838 – September 16, 1916) was an Americanmillwright,architect,builder, andpolitician fromMilwaukee, Wisconsin. He served one term in theU.S. House of Representatives, representingWisconsin's 4th congressional district as a member of theUnion Labor Party during the50th United States Congress (1887–1889). He previously served in theWisconsin State Assembly as asocialist, during the1878 term.[1][2] In addition to his runs for office on the Union Labor and Socialist tickets, at various other times in his career he ran for office on theGreenback,Populist, orDemocratic Party tickets.
Smith was born inBaltimore, Maryland, on July 22, 1838. He moved with his parents toMassillon, Ohio, and then in 1844 toMilwaukee in theWisconsin Territory. He attended theMilwaukee public schools, and from the ages of 13 to 17 apprenticed as a bookbinder. His brother taught him the millwrighting trade in which he worked until he entered politics.[3]
Smith was first elected to public office in 1868, serving as aDemocratic[4] member of theMilwaukee Common Council from 1868 to 1872. In 1877, he was elected to the31st session of the State Assembly fromMilwaukee County's Sixth District (comprising the sixth and thirteenth wards of Milwaukee) as a Socialist (at that time not a formalized party[2]), with 618 votes to 381 for Democrat Charles Fashel and 381 for Greenback Jacob Olberman.[5] He served only one term, being defeated in the 1878 election, in which he ran on the Greenback ticket, but received only 253 votes, to 488 for Democrat Alonzo H. Richards and 716 forRepublicanChristopher Raesser.[6] In 1880 he ran for the Assembly from the Fifth Milwaukee County district on the Democratic ticket against incumbentIsaac Van Schaick, receiving 3778 votes to Van Schaick's 5678.[7]
Smith was again elected a member of the Common Council, serving from 1880 to 1882, then as citycomptroller from 1882 to 1884, and again to the Common Council from 1884 to 1887.[8]
In1886, Smith was elected as a Union Labor Party candidate to theFiftieth Congress (March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1889), with 13,355 votes to 9645 for Republican Thomas H. Brown (Republican incumbent Isaac Van Schaick was not a candidate for re-election), 8233 for DemocratJohn Black (former mayor of Milwaukee) and 187 forProhibitionist Z. C. Trask.[9] He was elected as the representative ofWisconsin's 4th congressional district.
In1888, Republican former incumbent Van Schaick defeated Smith for election to theFifty-first Congress, receiving 22,212 votes to 20,685 for Smith (running on the Democratic and Labor tickets), 527 for Socialist John Schuler and 302 for Prohibitionist George Heckendorn.[10]
Smith returned to work as an architect and builder. He was thePopulist candidate formayor of Milwaukee in1896,[11] coming in third place with 21% of the vote.[12] He was once again elected a member of the Common Council in 1898 and served until 1912, then again from 1914 until his death in Milwaukee on September 16, 1916. His remains were cremated and the ashes interred in Milwaukee's Union Cemetery. His papers are in the collection of theWisconsin Historical Society.[13]
Media related toHenry Smith (Wisconsin politician) at Wikimedia Commons| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's 4th congressional district March 4, 1887 - March 3, 1889 | Succeeded by |
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