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{{Short description|American politician (1869–1949)}}
{{For|the American Civil War general|Thomas Benton Smith}}
{{Infobox officeholder
'''Thomas B. Smith''' was an [[United States|American]] politician who served as the [[Mayor of Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], from 1916 until 1920. He was a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]].
|name = Thomas B. Smith
|image = File:Marshal Joffre and Mayor at Franklin's Grave, Phila Pa.jpg
|order1 = 82nd
|office1 = Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|term_start1 = January 3, 1916
|term_end1 = January 5, 1920
|predecessor1 = [[Rudolph Blankenburg]]
|successor1 = [[J. Hampton Moore]]
|birth_date = {{Birth date |1869|11|2}}
|birth_place = [[West Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1949|4|17|1869|11|2}}
|death_place = [[Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|resting_place =
|party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|occupation =
|spouse = Elizabeth Barrett
|children = 6
|relations =
}}


'''Thomas B. Smith''' (November 2, 1869 – April 17, 1949) was an American politician from Pennsylvania. A member of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], he served as a member of the [[Pennsylvania House of Representatives]] and was the 82nd [[Mayor of Philadelphia]] from 1916 until 1920.
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{{succession box | before=[[Rudolph Blankenburg]] | title=[[Mayor of Philadelphia]] | years=[[1916]]–[[1920]] | after=[[J. Hampton Moore]]}}
==Early life==
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{{end box}}
Thomas B. Smith was born on November 2, 1868, in [[West Philadelphia]], to Isabella and Thomas B. Smith. At the age of 12, he left school and worked as a messenger boy for the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]].<ref name="obit2">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-thomas-b-smit/147837355/ |title=Thomas B. Smith Dies, Former Mayor was 79 |date=1949-04-18 |newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |page=30 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2024-05-21}}{{Open access}}</ref><ref name="HouseBio">{{cite web |url=http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/BiosHistory/MemBio.cfm?ID=4024&body=H |title=Thomas B. Smith |publisher=Pennsylvania House of Representatives |accessdate=2018-06-15}}</ref>

==Career==
Smith worked as a salesman of business materials and for the business department of ''[[The Philadelphia Record]]''. In 1897, he began working for the National Surety Co. of New York. He later served as vice president of the company. He then formed the Thomas B. Smith Company, which bonded post office, municipal and county employees.<ref name="obit2"/><ref name="HouseBio"/> He entered politics as the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party's]] chairman for the 28th Ward and won election in 1902 and 1903 to the Common Council, which was the lower house of the [[Philadelphia City Council]]. In 1905, he won a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where he served one term. He was appointed postmaster for the city of Philadelphia in 1911 by President [[William Howard Taft]] and served for more than two years. He was also appointed as Public Service Commissioner.<ref name="obit2"/><ref name="HouseBio"/>

===Mayor of Philadelphia===
[[1915 Philadelphia mayoral election|In 1915]], he ran for mayor and defeated George Porter in the general election.<ref name="Mayors">{{cite news |url=http://www.phila.gov/phils/mayorlst.htm |title=Mayors of Philadelphia |publisher=City of Philadelphia |accessdate=2018-06-15}}</ref> During his tenure, many planned projects were delayed due to [[World War I]].<ref name="obit2"/> In 1916, the ''Evening Ledger'' reported that Smith had given jobs in his mayoral cabinet to several members of his family, including his brother and brother-in-laws.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-public-ledger-smith-family-cabi/147838936/ |title="Smith Family Cabinet" Grows; Seven in it Now |date=1916-03-17 |newspaper=Evening Ledger |page=2 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2024-05-21}}{{Open access}}</ref>

During the 1917 primary election, Smith, who was allied with [[William Scott Vare]]'s political machine, supported Issac Deutsch in for the Republican nomination. Jim McNichol, who was part of the [[Boies Penrose]] machine, supported James Carey. Deutsch's supporters brought a gang from New York who attacked Carey. During the melee, a police officer, George Eppley, was shot and killed. Much of the blame fell on Smith, who, as mayor, controlled the police, worked to ensure that the officers assigned to the district would support Vare's candidate and harass supporters of Carey.<ref name="Mayhem">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IPgtb5VIlk0C&pg=PA46 |title=City of Brotherly Mayhem |publisher=DIANE Publishing |last=Avery |first=Ron|isbn=9781422362358 }}</ref><ref name="Bloody">{{cite web |url=http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/bloody-fifth-ward/ |title=Bloody Fifth Ward |last=Fuller |first=Frank |publisher=Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia |accessdate=2018-06-15}}</ref><ref name="PhillyMag">{{cite news |url=https://www.phillymag.com/city/2015/04/26/weird-philadelphia-mayor-stories/ |title=9 Unbelievably True Tales of Philadelphia Mayors |publisher=Philadelphia Magazine |date=2015-04-26}}</ref>

The District Attorney, [[Samuel Rotan]], who was a Penrose ally, indicted Mayor Smith for 'conspiracy to commit murder' as well as impeding a free and fair election. While he was acquitted of the charges, the cloud of suspicion hung over the mayor for the remainder of his term.<ref name="Mayhem"/><ref name="PhillyMag"/>

===Later career===
In 1916, Smith was one of the three original members of the Delaware River Bridge Commission for the [[Benjamin Franklin Bridge|Delaware River Bridge]]. He served as a member of its successor, the Delaware River Joint Commission, from 1919 to his resignation in 1943. Later in life, he continued running the Thomas B. Smith Company.<ref name="obit2"/><ref name="obit1">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-thomas-b-smit/147836933/ |title=Thomas B. Smith, Ex-Mayor, Dies |date=1949-04-18 |newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{Open access}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Smith married Elizabeth Barrett. They had four sons and two daughters, Davis P., Thomas B. Jr., Harvey B., Frederick B., Ruth and Elizabeth B.<ref name="obit2"/> In the early 1900s, he lived at 2444 North Broad Street in Philadelphia.<ref name="obit2"/> Later in life, he lived at 359 East Wharton Avenue in [[Glenside, Pennsylvania|Glenside]].<ref name="obit1"/>

Smith died on April 17, 1949, at Abington Memorial Hospital in [[Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania]].<ref name="HouseBio"/><ref name="obit1"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{commons category-inline}}

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{{succession box | before=[[Rudolph Blankenburg]] | title=[[Mayor of Philadelphia]] | years=1916–1920 | after=[[J. Hampton Moore]]}}
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{{PhiladelphiaMayors}}
{{PhiladelphiaMayors}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:SMith, Thomas B.}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Thomas B.}}
[[Category:Mayors of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:1869 births]]
[[Category:People from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:1949 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Pennsylvania postmasters]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Mayors of Philadelphia]]

Latest revision as of 03:45, 24 June 2024

Thomas B. Smith
82nd Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
In office
January 3, 1916 – January 5, 1920
Preceded byRudolph Blankenburg
Succeeded byJ. Hampton Moore
Personal details
Born(1869-11-02)November 2, 1869
West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedApril 17, 1949(1949-04-17) (aged 79)
Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseElizabeth Barrett
Children6

Thomas B. Smith (November 2, 1869 – April 17, 1949) was an American politician from Pennsylvania. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and was the 82nd Mayor of Philadelphia from 1916 until 1920.

Early life

[edit]

Thomas B. Smith was born on November 2, 1868, in West Philadelphia, to Isabella and Thomas B. Smith. At the age of 12, he left school and worked as a messenger boy for the Pennsylvania Railroad.[1][2]

Career

[edit]

Smith worked as a salesman of business materials and for the business department of The Philadelphia Record. In 1897, he began working for the National Surety Co. of New York. He later served as vice president of the company. He then formed the Thomas B. Smith Company, which bonded post office, municipal and county employees.[1][2] He entered politics as the Republican Party's chairman for the 28th Ward and won election in 1902 and 1903 to the Common Council, which was the lower house of the Philadelphia City Council. In 1905, he won a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where he served one term. He was appointed postmaster for the city of Philadelphia in 1911 by President William Howard Taft and served for more than two years. He was also appointed as Public Service Commissioner.[1][2]

Mayor of Philadelphia

[edit]

In 1915, he ran for mayor and defeated George Porter in the general election.[3] During his tenure, many planned projects were delayed due to World War I.[1] In 1916, the Evening Ledger reported that Smith had given jobs in his mayoral cabinet to several members of his family, including his brother and brother-in-laws.[4]

During the 1917 primary election, Smith, who was allied with William Scott Vare's political machine, supported Issac Deutsch in for the Republican nomination. Jim McNichol, who was part of the Boies Penrose machine, supported James Carey. Deutsch's supporters brought a gang from New York who attacked Carey. During the melee, a police officer, George Eppley, was shot and killed. Much of the blame fell on Smith, who, as mayor, controlled the police, worked to ensure that the officers assigned to the district would support Vare's candidate and harass supporters of Carey.[5][6][7]

The District Attorney, Samuel Rotan, who was a Penrose ally, indicted Mayor Smith for 'conspiracy to commit murder' as well as impeding a free and fair election. While he was acquitted of the charges, the cloud of suspicion hung over the mayor for the remainder of his term.[5][7]

Later career

[edit]

In 1916, Smith was one of the three original members of the Delaware River Bridge Commission for the Delaware River Bridge. He served as a member of its successor, the Delaware River Joint Commission, from 1919 to his resignation in 1943. Later in life, he continued running the Thomas B. Smith Company.[1][8]

Personal life

[edit]

Smith married Elizabeth Barrett. They had four sons and two daughters, Davis P., Thomas B. Jr., Harvey B., Frederick B., Ruth and Elizabeth B.[1] In the early 1900s, he lived at 2444 North Broad Street in Philadelphia.[1] Later in life, he lived at 359 East Wharton Avenue in Glenside.[8]

Smith died on April 17, 1949, at Abington Memorial Hospital in Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.[2][8]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Thomas B. Smith Dies, Former Mayor was 79". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1949-04-18. p. 30. Retrieved 2024-05-21 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  2. ^ a b c d "Thomas B. Smith". Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
  3. ^ "Mayors of Philadelphia". City of Philadelphia. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
  4. ^ ""Smith Family Cabinet" Grows; Seven in it Now". Evening Ledger. 1916-03-17. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-05-21 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  5. ^ a b Avery, Ron. City of Brotherly Mayhem. DIANE Publishing. ISBN 9781422362358.
  6. ^ Fuller, Frank. "Bloody Fifth Ward". Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
  7. ^ a b "9 Unbelievably True Tales of Philadelphia Mayors". Philadelphia Magazine. 2015-04-26.
  8. ^ a b c "Thomas B. Smith, Ex-Mayor, Dies". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1949-04-18. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
[edit]
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Philadelphia
1916–1920 		Succeeded by
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