Biographical Sketches
WILLIAM J. SMITH
Was for many years prominently connected with the commercial interests of Kansas City, belonging to that class of enterprising, progressive men to whom the upbuilding of a community may always be attributed. The part he has taken in the development of this city has largely promoted its material prosperity and other interests.
The origin of the patronymic he bears is a matter of interest and of history. He can trace his ancestry directly back to Lammer Arianson, who was a blacksmith at a place now called Blauveltville, in New York, and hung up his sign, which read, “Arianson Smith,” and his family ultimately came to be called Smith instead of their own name. This Lammer Arianson was one of the first 16 settlers, farmers from Holland, who purchased from the Tappan Indians a tract of land in New York, bounded on the north by Greenbush swamp, on the east by the Nyack mountains, on the south by the Dues Kill or Cross creek (near the present Randall Station on the West Shore Railroad), then supposed to be the north line of the province of New Jersey, and on the west by the Hackensack creek. This tract of land was about 8 miles in length and from 2-5 miles in width. The purchase was confirmed during the governorship of Thomas Dougan, of the province of New York, by an instrument in writing under his hand, sealed with the seal of the province in the reign of James II, King of England, on the 24th of March, 1686.
Lammer Smith had 3 sons. The eldest, Garrett, was settled by his father south of the swamp; the second, Abraham, remained on the old homestead; and the third, Cornelus, built on what was then called the Ridge, just west of the present Erie Railroad. The eldest was the great-grandfather of the late Cornelius T. Smith, father of Mrs. John L. Salisbury, and also of Gerrit Smith, the celebrated abolitionist and philanthropist.
On the maternal side also has our subject descended from an old and honored family. His grandfather, James Wood, by an invention revolutionized one of the important industries of this country, brickmaking. He was the first man to establish successfully a brick manufactory at Haverstraw, New York, which made his town one of the most flourishing on the banks of the Hudson. He was a native of Colcheter, England, and came to this country in 1801. He was the first man to mix coal with the clay in the manufacture of bricks, which made then burn better. From the time of the Egyptian taskmasters down to the early part of the present century there had been no improvement in the process of brickmaking. During all that long period the clay had been trodden by human feet and molded by human hands without the aid of machinery. The man who gives to the world a practical and useful invention may well be termed a benefactor of his race.
The parents of our subject were James P. and Frances W. (Wood) Smith, both natives of New York. They had a family of 5 children, a son and 4 daughters, but the latter are now all deceased. The father was a farmer and died in the Empire state, in 1841, at the age of 38 years. His father was Cornelius Smith, who was born in New York of Holland ancestry and carried on farming to a ripe old age. His family numbered 3 children. Mrs. Smith, the mother of our subject, came to Kansas City in 1868, and died here in 1893, at the age of 83 years. The parents were both members of the Presbyterian church.
The gentleman whose name introduces this review was reared on his father's farm, and acquired the greater part of his education in the Irving Institute, of Tarrytown, New York, which was named in honor of Washington Irving, and was situated in the beautiful region made famous by him in his legend of Sleepy Hollow. At the age of 15 he left home and went to New York City, where he engaged in clerking in a dry-goods store. He then determined to try his fortune in the west and emigrated to Illinois, locating on a farm at Lawn Ridge, in Marshall county, not far from the city of Peoria. There he remained for about 8 years, when, in 1866, he came to Kansas City and embarked in business as a dealer in agricultural implements, carrying on operations along that line for 22 years, in connection with George J. Keating. They were progessive merchants, studying closely the signs of the times, and, realizing the tendeney toward combined effort and concentrated energy in the world of trade, after several years they organized a stock company known as the Smith & Keating Implement Company. This business was successfully and profitably carried on until 1887, when it was sold. A short time previous, Mr. Smith became interested in and was one of the organizers of the Kansas City Cable Railroad Company, of which he served as president until 1894, when he sold out, and is now living retired.
On the 27th of November, 1877, was celebrated the marriage of our subject and Miss Elizabeth D. Bussell, a daughter of George and Bethesda (Bryant) Bussell. Eight children have been born to them, namely: William F., Serena, Frances W., Elizabeth, Edward B., Alice E., Mabel and Marion. Their home is pleasantly located at No. 914 Locust street. In politics, Mr. Smith is a stalwart Republican, and has been an important factor in the upbuilding of the city and the promotion of its best interests. He started out in life for himself at an early age, and, wisely forseeing that the west was an advantageous field of labor for young men, he left his old home and in Missouri has gained a handsome property and the high regard of all with whom he has been brought in contact.
This page was last updated August 2, 2006.