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Historical Note
Scope and Content Note
Organization and
Arrangement
Restrictions
Index Terms
Related Material
Administrative Information
Series Description
Family papers, 1814-1960, n.d.
George Edwin Smith papers, 1870-1920
Clarence Cheney Smith papers, 1882-1943
Massachusetts Land Court opinions,
1924-1943
Sacco-Vanzetti research, 1927-1932
Danny D. Smith correspondence,
1998-1999
Danny D. Smith research, 1844-1999
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Collection
Summary
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| Title |
George and Clarence Smith papers |
| Creator |
Smith, George Edwin, 1848-1919 |
| Dates |
1814-1999 |
| Extent |
4.5 linear feet; 1 oversize box |
| Collection ID |
MC052 |
| Abstract |
This collection consists of the personal and professional
papers of two nephews of the Reverend Oren Burbank Cheney, founder
and first president of Bates College: the Hon. George Edwin Smith
(1848-1919) (Bates, 1873; LL.D., 1918), three-time president of the
Massachusetts Senate and attorney for railroad trusts; and of his
youngest brother, the Hon. Clarence Cheney Smith (1865-1943)
(Bates, 1888), a founding recorder and later a justice for the
Massachusetts Land Court. Among the materials are a scrapbook of
President William McKinley's 1899 visit to Boston and research
material by Clarence Smith on the Sacco-Vanzetti Trial. Also
includes the correspondence and research of Danny D. Smith, the
compiler of the Smith Papers and Smith family genealogist. |
| Repository |
Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library,
Bates College |
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Historical Note
The Hon. George Edwin Smith (1848-1919) (Bates, 1873; LL.D.,
1918) was the president of the Massachusetts Senate and an attorney
who represented the interests of railroad trusts. His youngest
brother, the Hon. Clarence Cheney Smith (1865-1943) (Bates, 1888),
was the founding recorder and later a justice for the Massachusetts
Land Court. He was one of the first American jurists to introduce
the system of Torrens Land Titles into an American legal
jurisdiction. They were nephews of the Reverend Oren Burbank
Cheney, founder and first president of Bates College.
Return to the Table of Contents
Scope and Content
Note
The George and Clarence Smith Papers consist of items amassed by
the Smith brothers who resided in the residence of Oren Cheney when
they were students at Bates College. This collection includes their
student notebooks, cash books, and drafts of their debate parts at
college. There are many documents, letters and genealogical items,
which shed light onto the maternal connection of the Smiths and the
Perkins family of New Hampshire; Oren Cheney's second wife was
Nancy S. Perkins. There are also documents which show the Smiths'
continued social relationship with their Boothby and Swan cousins,
the direct descendants of Oren Cheney. The collection also
documents some of the professional work and interests of Clarence
Smith as it includes copies of his opinions of land court cases he
heard from 1924 to 1943 and his research on reactions to the
Sacco-Vanzetti murder trial. Other items in the collection include
public speeches, papers delivered to various social organizations,
a scrapbook about President William McKinley's visit to Boston in
1899, and letters from many notable persons including McKinley;
John Hay, U.S. Secretary of State; Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes;
Vice President Hannibal Hamilin; and General William T.
Sherman.
Although not a part of the Smith Papers, there is included in
the collection the correspondence and research of Danny D. Smith,
the compiler of the Smith Papers. This research was done in
conjunction with his work on the Smith Genealogy.
Return to the Table of Contents
Organization and
Arrangement
This collection is divided into seven series: I. Family Papers;
II. George Edwin Smith Papers; III. Clarence Cheney Smith Papers;
IV. Massachusetts Land Court Opinions; V. Sacco-Vanzetti Research;
VI. Danny D. Smith Correspondence; and VII. Danny D. Smith
Research. The collection has been divided into sixty-seven files
for reference, and the original arrangement of the items has been
kept intact.
Return to the Table of Contents
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
Photocopies of notable people
correspondence and autographs for reference use have been
substituted in the main files. The originals may only be consulted
with permission of the staff
Use Restrictions
The collection is the physical property
of Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library. Bates
College holds literary rights only for material created by College
personnel working on official behalf of the College, or for
material which was given to the College with such rights
specifically assigned. For all other material, literary rights,
including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and
assigns. Researchers are responsible for obtaining permission from
rights holders for publication or other purposes that exceed fair
use.
Return to the Table of Contents
Related
Material
David Hibbard Smith land records, Located in the Vertical file,
New Hampton section, Genealogy subsection. Gordon Nash Library. New
Hampton, New Hamphsire.
David Hibbard Smith papers, Ashland Historical Society (Whipple
House Museum), Ashland, New Hampshire.
Return to the Table of Contents
Index Terms
These records are indexed under the following headings in the
Bates College Library catalog. Researchers wishing to find related
materials should search the catalog under these index terms.
Personal Names:
Cheney, O. B. (Oren B.), b.
1816
McKinley, William, 1843-1901
Corporate Names:
Bates College (Lewiston, Me.)
Maine State Seminary
Massachusetts. Land Court
Topical Subjects:
Sacco-Vanzetti Trial, Dedham, Mass.,
1921
Return to the Table of Contents
Administrative
Information
Acquisition and Custody Information
Senator George Smith died without
surviving issue, leaving his estate to his widow, Sarah Weld Smith.
She then bequeathed the family heirlooms and papers with other
items of inheritance to her brother-in-law, Judge Clarence Cheney
Smith. He in turn left his estate to his widow, Dorothy Wellington
Smith. She appointed her husband's only grandnephew of the Smith
lineage, Stanton Thomas Ingersoll Smith (Bates, 1950), to be
co-executor of her estate. Stanton Thomas Ingersoll Smith and his
sister, Jane Alice (Smith) Lefebvre (Bates, ex-'45), deeded this
collection on October 30, 1998 to Bates College, in recognition of
his family's many generations of connection with the college and
with the founder of the college himself, the Reverend Oren Cheney.
Included in the gift was an inventory prepared by Danny D. Smith.
Accession No.: 98-020; x-014.
Preferred Citation
George and Clarence Smith papers,
Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library, Bates
College.
Return to the Table of Contents
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MC052/01: Family
papers, 1814-1960, n.d.
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Scope and Content Note |
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This series contains letters of acknowledgement to
Judge Clarence Cheney Smith relative to his donations of historical
documents in archival and historical repositories and papers
concerning the Ashland, New Hampshire Free Will Baptist Church
which Oren Cheney attended as a youth. Also included is material on
George and Clarence Smith's father, David H. Smith, grandfather
David Smith and great grandfather, Stephen Smith, including deeds,
receipts and photographs. Also included are documents concerning
the Perkins-Cheney family. |
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There are extensive excerpts from Danny D. Smith's
book "The Robert Smith Genealogy: Descendants of Robert Smith
(1611-1709) in Colonial Exeter and Hampton, New Hampshire and
Dedham, Massachusetts, continued through the late Twentieth
Century" which are provided to help researchers understand the
family connections of the principals mentioned in the Smith
Papers. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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In the order in which the material was received
from Danny Smith. |
MC052/02: George
Edwin Smith papers, 1870-1920
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Scope and Content Note |
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This series contains a variety of personal
documents such as a cash book from his student days at Bates
College (1870); a household account book (1876-1881) kept by his
wife Sarah Weld Smith; a file and scrapbook of President William
McKinley's visit to Boston (1899); three addresses (1891-1899);
documents and correspondence relating to the settlement of the
estates of George Edwin Smith and Sarah Weld Smith; and letters and
signatures of several notable people including Kate Douglas Wiggin,
Henry Cabot Lodge, Hannibal Hamlin, William T. Sherman and
President William McKinley. Also included are miscellaneous letters
and documents (1884-1919). |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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In the order in which the material was received
from Danny Smith. |
MC052/03:
Clarence Cheney Smith papers, 1882-1943
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Scope and Content Note |
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This series contains a variety of documents and
items from Clarence Smith's student days at Bates College through
his years as a justice of the Massachusetts Land Court. Included is
information on his first wife (Grace Knowlton) and second wife
(Dorothy Wellington) and their families; documents from his student
days at Bates College: cashbook, various class notes, speeches,
drafts of debates, graduation memorabilia and letters; various
personal and professional financial records; several speeches,
lectures, and research notes including his research on the
celebration of Thanksgiving; miscellaneous public commentary, legal
papers, financial correspondence and letters to charity organizers;
and miscellaneous personal letters and a bound volume of letters
from notable people. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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In the order in which the material was received
from Danny Smith. |
MC052/04:
Massachusetts Land Court opinions, 1924-1943
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Scope and Content Note |
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This series contains seven bound volumes of
typescripts, maps and correspondence of Judge Clarence Cheney Smith
and the annotated drafts of all his written opinions from 1924 to
1943 when he served as an associate justice of the Massachusetts
Land Court in Boston. These were apparently assembled after the
death of Judge Smith by his widow, Dorothy Wellington Smith, with
the assistance of Boston attorney Richard G. Dorr. Included is a
one page broadside reprinted from the May 1939 issue of The
National Real Estate Journal, "Torrens System Title Registration
Proves Success in Massachusetts" by Richard W. Hale explaining the
work of the Massachusetts Land Court. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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Chronological. |
MC052/05:
Sacco-Vanzetti research, 1927-1932
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Scope and Content Note |
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This series consists of research done by Judge
Clarence Cheney Smith concerning the Sacco-Vanzetti case. On April
15, 1920, a paymaster and guard were murdered during a robbery in
South Braintree, Massachusetts. On May 5, 1920, Nicola Sacco and
Bartolomeo Vanzetti were arrested and later found guilty of murder
and sentenced to death. The trial garnered national attention, and
many prominent lawyers and professors took a public position that
the pair had received an unfair trial amid Communist hysteria.
Smith seemingly became interested in the trial following the
publication of Harvard law professor Felix Frankfurter's article
"The Portentous Case of Sacco and Vanzetti" in the March 1927 issue
of The Atlantic Monthly. The series includes Smith's correspondence
to Frankfurter and other prominent legal thinks, such as Charles
Austin Beard, who maintained that Sacco and Vanzetti had received
an unfair trial asking them to justify their position and asserting
his opinion that the trial had been fair. It also includes
clippings regarding the various appeals to the Massachusetts
Supreme Court and the governor. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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Chronological. |
MC052/06: Danny
D. Smith correspondence, 1998-1999
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Scope and Content Note |
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The correspondence concerns the conveyance of the
Smith Papers to Bates College as well as the dispersal of other
Smith papers to various institutions. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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In the order in which the material was received
from Danny Smith. |
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The folder numbers written at the top of some of
the correspondence in this series refer to the folder numbers in
Series VII--Research of Danny D. Smith. The items mentioned in the
correspondence will be found in the corresponding folders in Series
VII. |
MC052/07: Danny
D. Smith research, 1844-1999
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Scope and Content Note |
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This series contains research compiled by Danny D.
Smith in conjunction with his work on the Smith genealogy. Included
are genealogies of the Burbank, Cheney, and Perkins families as
well as information on the family of Sarah Weld Smith. Also
included is a history of the Rebekah Owen Sampler written by Danny
D. Smith. The series also contains "acts of resolve" of the Maine
State Legislature related to the Maine State Seminary and Bates
College. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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In the order in which the material was received
from Danny Smith. |
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