Charles Bennett Smith (September 14, 1870 – May 21, 1939) was an American newspaperman and politician who served four terms as a
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from
New York from 1911 to 1919.
Biography
Born in
Sardinia, New York
Sardinia is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The town lies in the southeast corner of Erie County and is considered one of the county's "Southtowns". The town is southeast of Buffalo. The population was 2,775 at the 2010 census. ...
, Smith attended the district schools, and in 1886 graduated from Arcade Academy in
Arcade, New York. He farmed, and subsequently became a railroad
telegraph operator
A telegraphist (British English), telegrapher (American English), or telegraph operator is an operator who uses a telegraph key to send and receive the Morse code in order to communicate by land lines or radio.
During the Great War the Royal ...
.
He was a reporter for the
Buffalo Courier
The ''Buffalo Courier-Express'' was a morning newspaper in Buffalo, New York. It ceased publication on September 19, 1982.
History
The ''Courier-Express'' was created in 1926 by a merger of the ''Buffalo Daily Courier'' and the ''Buffalo Morning ...
from 1890 to 1893, and he became managing editor of the Buffalo Times in 1894. He later served as editor of the Buffalo Evening Enquirer and the Buffalo Morning Courier.
Smith was appointed a member of the Buffalo Board of School Examiners and served two years as its chairman.
Congress
Smith was elected as a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
to the
Sixty-second and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1919). In his first election in 1910 he won by one vote.
He served as chairman of the
Committee on Foreign Affairs (
Sixty-second Congress), Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Commerce (
Sixty-fourth Congress), Committee on Patents (
Sixty-fifth Congress). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1918 to the
Sixty-sixth Congress.
Later career and death
He engaged in commercial and industrial pursuits in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
. He was the state Superintendent of Standards and Purchases from 1935 until his death in
Wilmington, New York
Wilmington is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 1,253 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the nearby town of Wilmington, Vermont.
Wilmington is on the county's northern border and is southwest of Platt ...
, May 21, 1939.
He was interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery,
Tonawanda, New York
Tonawanda (formally ''City of Tonawanda'') is a city in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 15,130 at the 2010 census. It is at the northern edge of Erie County, south across the Erie Canal ( Tonawanda Creek) from North To ...
.
Family
Smith was married to Frances G. Stanton (1871-1931), who worked with him as a newspaper reporter and editor, and served as New York's Civil Service Commissioner from 1929 until her death.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Charles Bennett
1870 births
1939 deaths
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)
Burials in New York (state)
People from Erie County, New York
American Roman Catholics