Bolton Smith (July 25, 1861 – March 27, 1935) was an American lawyer who was an early pioneer in the U.S. Scouting movement.

Personal life

Born in 1861 in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, Indiana, to Francis Smith and Sarah Smith, received his early education in Germany and Switzerland. After the death of his mother, he was raised by his maternal grandmother, poet

Sarah T. Bolton Sarah Tittle Bolton née Barrett (December 18, 1814 – August 4, 1893) was an American poet and women's rights activist who is considered an unofficial poet laureat of Indiana. Bolton collaborated with Robert Dale Owen during Indiana's 1850� ...

. He graduated from American Central Law School in 1882, and also studied law at University of Virginia. In 1889, he married Grace Carlile. They had two children, Louise Bolton-Smith (1891–1914) and Carlile Bolton-Smith (1902–2001).

Professional life

Professionally, Bolton Smith practiced law with the firm Caldwell & Smith. He was a trustee for

George Peabody College Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development (also known as Vanderbilt Peabody College, Peabody College, or simply Peabody) is the education school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. ...

, a teachers college in Nashville, Tennessee. He was a

mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

; and a member of the Nashville Business Men's Club, the Tennessee Law and Order League, and the Episcopal church.

Scouting

FDR Congratulates Boy Scouts on the 25th Anniversary of their Founding

On February 22, 1916, with Scout Executive Edward Everett, Smith led the effort as Council President to organize the

Chickasaw Council The Chickasaw Council is a Boy Scouts of America#Local councils, local council of the Boy Scouts of America that serves Scouts in Shelby County, Tennessee, as well as Crittenden county in eastern Arkansas and fifteen counties in northwest Mississi ...

of the Boy Scouts of America. On April 11, 1916, Smith purchased the land which would become Camp Kia Kima. Based on his work in Memphis, Smith was influential in the creation of the BSA's "National Committee on Inter-Racial Activities." This committee coordinated the creation of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

Scout troop A Scout troop is a term adopted into use with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and the Scout Movement to describe their basic units. The term troop echoes a group of mounted scouts in the military or an expedition and follows the terms cavalry, mounted inf ...

s. For this he was elected a national vice-president. For his contributions to Scouting, he was awarded the

Silver Buffalo Award The Silver Buffalo Award is the national-level distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America. It is presented for noteworthy and extraordinary service to youth on a national basis, either as part of, or independent of the Scouting pro ...

. Camp Bolton Smith operated by the Piedmont Area Council was name after Smith, in honor of his work to promote expanding Scouting in the African American community.

Notes

References

External links

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United States Boy Scout: Race
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Bolton 1861 births 1935 deaths Burials in Tennessee People from Indianapolis Tennessee lawyers Scouting pioneers