Ellison Griffith Smith (December 5, 1854 – September 3, 1935)"Death Claims Law Teacher", ''Sioux City Journal'' (September 4, 1935), p. 1. was a justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court from 1909 to 1923.

Early life, education, and career

Born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, to Amos G. and Mary (Ellison) Smith, the family moved to Delaware County, Iowa, during Smith's childhood, and he attended the public schools there.George Washington Kingsbury. ''South Dakota: Its History and Its People'' (1915), p. 147-48. He received a B.A. from

Lenox College Lenox College was a college in Hopkinton, Iowa that operated from 1859 until its closure in 1944. The institution was initially known as Bowen Collegiate Institute. The name was changed to Lenox Collegiate Institute in October 1864 and to Le ...

in 1871, and an LL.B. from the

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

in 1874, and in that year he was elected principal of the Mechanicsville high school and held that position for one year. In 1876 he moved to

Yankton, South Dakota Yankton is a city in and the county seat of Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 15,411 at the 2020 census, and it is the principal city of the Yankton Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the entirety of Y ...

, where he became a partner of Gideon C. Moody. Smith then took charge of the entire law business of the firm, which "was extensive and important and which included that of the office of register in bankruptcy", and Smith "gained recognition as an attorney of unusual ability". From 1878 to 1882 he served as territorial district attorney, and he was for some time the associate of the Hon. Hugh Campbell as special assistant United States Attorney. From 1886 to 1889 he was the representative of Yankton county in the territorial legislature, serving as a Republican.

Judicial service and later life

For several years he also held the position of reporter for the territorial supreme court of Dakota, and in 1889, while the incumbent in that office, was elected judge of the first judicial circuit. He was reelected thereafter, serving in that capacity for twenty years, until April 1, 1909, when Governor Robert S. Vessey appointed Smith to a newly established seat on the supreme court of South Dakota, for the fourth district. In the general election held in November, 1910, he was elected to that office for a term of six years. In 1911, he became presiding judge of the court, and was reelected in 1916, serving in that capacity until 1922, when he was defeated in his next bid for reelection by Congressman

Charles Hall Dillon Charles Hall Dillon (December 18, 1853 – September 15, 1929) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from South Dakota (1913–19). He later served on the South Dakota Supreme Court. He was born near Jasper, Indiana in 1853. ...

. On March 1, 1923, Smith became a professor at the University of South Dakota School of Law,"'Who's Who' Lists Many Professors", ''Sioux Falls Argus-Leader'' (October 5, 1930), p. 15. remaining with that institution until his death.

Personal life and death

In 1887, Smith married Anna Kirkwood of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. She died in July, 1909, leaving their three children: Ellison G. Jr., who became a graduate of the Columbian University of Washington, D.C., and thereafter practiced law in Sioux City; Agnes G., who remained with her parents; and Amos Campbell, a civil engineer who became connected with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad at Aberdeen, South Dakota. In 1922, Smith married Pearl Florence Hunkins, who died in 1925. In 1927, Smith married Alberta V. Green, who survived him. Smith died in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

, following a two-week bout of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ellison G. Justices of the South Dakota Supreme Court 1854 births 1935 deaths Lawyers from Cincinnati Lenox College alumni Iowa State University alumni Members of the Dakota Territorial Legislature South Dakota Republicans University of South Dakota faculty