James Y. Smith

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James Y. Smith.

James Youngs Smith (September 15, 1809 - March 26, 1876) was an American politician and the 29th Governor of Rhode Island (May 26, 1863 - May 29, 1866).

Early life

Smith was born in Groton, New London County, Connecticut.^[1] He was a store manager in Salem, Connecticut, at the age of sixteen.^[2] Next year, he moved to Providence, Rhode Island, where he worked for a lumber business that he became the owner of a decade later. He sold this business to start a manufacturing business with his brother Amos D. Smith, and with their A.D. & J.Y. Smith Mills they became the leading textile investors in the state. James Y. Smith. They owned mills in both Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Political career

Smith was active in politics as a Republican. He was Mayor of Providence from 1855 to 1857. He was a member of the House of Representatives of Rhode Island. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1861, but won in the election two years later. He succeeded William C. Cozzens on May 26, 1863. He was reelected two times, then declined to run again. He was succeeded by fellow Republican and Civil war general Ambrose Burnside on May 29, 1866.

Later years

Young's memorial in Swan Point Cemetery

After leaving office, Smith founded the James Y. Smith Manufacturing Company. He continued as a manufacturer until his death in 1876. He was buried at Swan Point Cemetery, Providence.

Sources

Sobel, Robert and John Raimo. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978. Greenwood Press, 1988. ISBN 0-313-28093-2

↑ The Political Graveyard, Index to Politicians, Smith, J.
↑ National Governors Association, Rhode Island Governor James Youngs Smith.

v t e Governors of Rhode Island

	Cooke Greene Collins A. Fenner H. Smith Wilbour J. Fenner Jones Knight Gibbs J. Fenner Arnold Francis Sprague III King Dorr J. Fenner Jackson Diman Harris Anthony Allen Dimond Hoppin Dyer Turner Sprague IV Cozzens J. Smith Burnside Padelford Howard H. Lippitt Van Zandt Littlefield Bourn Wetmore Davis Taft Ladd Davis Ladd Brown C. Lippitt Dyer, Jr. Gregory Kimball Garvin Utter Higgins Pothier Beeckman San Souci Flynn Pothier Case Green Quinn Vanderbilt McGrath Pastore McKiernan Roberts Del Sesto Notte J. Chafee Licht Noel Garrahy DiPrete Sundlun Almond Carcieri L. Chafee

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 56532046 LCCN: nr99021660

Persondata
Name	Smith, James Y.
Alternative names
Short description	American politician
Date of birth	September 15, 1809
Place of birth
Date of death	March 26, 1876
Place of death

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.