Edgar Lewis Smith Biography


	This biography appears on pages 150-153 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				EDGAR LEWIS SMITH. 

	Edgar Lewis Smith, a prominent real-estate dealer of Sioux Falls, 
who has been closely connected with important business interests in the 
city for over a quarter of a century, was born in Cabot Plains, 
Washington county, Vermont, April 10, 1850, He is a son of Daniel and 
Betsey (Hassom) Smith, the former born in Marshfield, Vermont, in 1816, 
and the latter in 1811. His paternal grandfather, Joshua Smith, was 
born in 1773, and it is probable that he was a native of Connecticut, 
as was his wife, who was in her maidenhood Miss Keturia Loveland. The 
grandfather passed away in 1857. The parents of our subject are also 
deceased, the father dying in 1893 in Marshfield, Vermont, and the 
mother in 1881. They had eight children, of whom two died in infancy, 
six grew to maturity and four survive. 

	Edgar Lewis Smith acquired his early education in the public 
schools of Cabot Plains and Marshfield, Vermont, and later attended 
Goddard Seminary at Barre, that state, from which institution he was 
graduated in 1872. He was afterward for some time engaged in teaching, 
following which he bought a small sawmill in Marshfield, operating this 
until 1884. In that year he removed to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and 
in 1885 established himself in the coal and wood business. Soon 
afterward he also began dealing in real estate, and this branch of his 
activities grew so rapidly that in 1898 he discontinued the coal and 
wood business. He owns a great deal of valuable property in Sioux 
Falls, including a business block in the heart of the city, and he is 
known as an expert judge of property values. 

	On the 17th of May, 1879, in Marshfield, Vermont, Mr. Smith 
married Miss Viana E. Wooster, who died in Sioux Falls in June, 1904, 
leaving a daughter, Alice C., who is now deceased. On the 15th of July, 
1908, Mr. Smith was again married, his second wife being Miss Nellie B. 
Jones. 

	Mr. Smith was a member of the Vermont State Militia in his early 
years; is connected fraternally with the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen and the Woodmen of the World; and is independent in his 
political views. His interests have been thoroughly identified with 
those of Sioux Falls for over twenty-five years and his influence has 
been a tangible force for good in the community.