James Adger Smyth (June 8, 1837 – April 25, 1920) was

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

for two terms between 1896 and 1903. Smyth was born on June 8, 1837, in

. His father, Thomas Smyth, was pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church in Charleston; his mother, Margaret Milligan Adger Smyth, was the daughter of a Charleston shipping merchant, James Adger, making the missionary

John Bailey Adger John Bailey Adger (December 13, 1810 – January 3, 1899) was an American Missionary from Charleston, South Carolina. His father, James Adger, was very wealthy and influential in the city, and his nephew, James Adger Smyth, would later be mayor of ...

his uncle. He attended Doctor Miller's Preparatory School, the Charleston High School, and Professor Sachtleben's School. He graduated from the

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Unit ...

in 1858 and began working at his uncles' wholesale hardware firm, J.E. Adger & Company. He married Annie Ransom Briggs, the daughter of Cedar Grove Plantation owner, Thomas Whitaker Briggs in March 1860. In 1862, he enlisted and fought with Company A of the 25th Regiment of the South Carolina Volunteers until the end of the Civil War in 1865. After the war he resumed work with his maternal uncles, Robert Adger and Joseph Ellison Adger, at J.E. Adger & Company. During his ten years in the company he became an active member in the Chamber of Commerce. In 1875, Smyth became an independent cotton broker, and along with his cousin, Andrew Moffett Adger, started the company Smyth and Adger, successfully brokering cotton from North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Smyth grew increasingly involved in local politics. He was member of the State and County Democratic Executive Committees (1876), City Council (1885), and mayor for two four-year terms (1895 to 1903). He retired in 1904. He lived at 14 Legare St., Charleston, South Carolina from 1879 until he died on April 25, 1920. His son, E. A. Smyth, was professor of zoology and football coach at

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, James Adger Mayors of Charleston, South Carolina 1837 births 1920 deaths South Carolina Democrats College of Charleston alumni Presbyterians from South Carolina