Jerome Van Crowninsfield Smith (July 20, 1800 – August 21, 1879) was an American physician, author and politician, serving as the fourteenth mayor of
Boston, Massachusetts from 1854 to 1855.
[''Mayors of Boston: An Illustrated Epitome of who the Mayors Have Been and What they Have Done'', Boston: State Street Trust Company, 1914, pp. 23-25.]
Biography
After attending public school in his home town of Conway, New Hampshire, Smith earned a medical degree from
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
in 1818
[''Historical Catalogue of Brown University, 1764-1914,'' Providence, RI: Brown University, 1914.]["Obituary: Ex-Mayor J.V.C. Smith," ''Boston Evening Journal'', 21 August 1879, p. 2.] and graduated from the medical department of
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
in 1822.
In the following year, he took a position in
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfieldâ ...
as lecturer in anatomy at the newly established Berkshire Medical Institution (later,
Berkshire Medical College
Berkshire Medical College (originally the Berkshire Medical Institution, and sometimes referred to as Berkshire Medical College) was a medical school in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It is notable for establishing the first professorship in mental d ...
).
[''Christian Register'' (Boston), 2 May 1823, p. 3.] In that same year (1823), he became the founding editor of the ''Boston Medical Intelligencer.'' After the publication was renamed to the ''Boston Medical and Surgical Journal'' in 1828, he continued as editor through 1856.
[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cg/pt?id=pst.32239002039655;view=1up;seq=7 ] Smith then established his own publication, ''The Medical World'', which he edited from 1856 to 1857. He also edited the short-lived ''Bowen's Boston News-Letter and City Record'' (1825-6).
In civic affairs, Smith served as quarantine physician for the port of Boston (1826–48), and then ran for mayor of the city in
December 1848,
December 1851 and
December 1852 before being elected mayor in
January 1854.
[''Daily Atlas'' (Boston), 23 November 1853, p. 2.] In each of these contests he was opposed by establishment Whig candidates, while he ran as the nominee of various dissident parties, including Native American ("
Know Nothing
The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...
"), People's Party and Citizen's Union.
He was reelection
in December 1854. Although nominated for mayor
in 1858 by both the People's Union and National American parties, he declined to run.
In 1855, during his second term as mayor, Dr. Smith was awarded an honorary degree from
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
.
Smith served on numerous corporate boards, including those of several banks and railroads. He toured Europe and the Near East in 1850-51 and while abroad served as a juror for the American Industrial Exhibition at the London World's Fair.
In 1863, he removed to New York City, where he assumed the post of Professor of Anatomy at the
New York Medical College
New York Medical College (NYMC or New York Med) is a private medical school in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1860, it is a member of the Touro College and University System.
NYMC offers advanced degrees through its three schools: the Scho ...
and Charity Hospital.
During the Civil War, he volunteered to serve with the
United States Christian Commission The United States Christian Commission (USCC) was an organization that furnished supplies, medical services, and religious literature to Union troops during the American Civil War. It combined religious support with social services and recreational ...
and was stationed with Union forces in
between October 1863 and August 1865. He was commissioned as lieutenant colonel, 83rd Regiment,
U.S. Colored Infantry (Old Organization) and was appointed by General
Nathaniel P. Banks
Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union general during the Civil War. A millworker by background, Banks was prominent in local debating societies, ...
to head a commission overseeing sanitation in the city.
Smith married Eliza Maria Brown (1806-1876) of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on December 29, 1825.
[Marriage Records of Pittsfield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts.]
He continued to lecture and write through his remaining years. He died on August 20, 1879, at the home of his sister-in-law in
Richmond, Massachusetts
Richmond is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,407 at the 2020 census.
History
Present day Richmond was first settled by Micah ...
. The cause was "a complication of diseases, dropsy and asthma."
He is buried with his wife in the Pittsfield Cemetery.
Select publications
* ''Animal Mechanism: The Eye'',
oston arter, Hendee & Babcock 831
__NOTOC__
Year 831 ( DCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* Byzantine–Arab War: Emperor Theophilos invades the Abbasid dominion ...
* ''The Class-Book of Anatomy, Designed for Schools, Explanatory of the First Principles of Human Mechanism, at the Basis of Physical Education'', Boston: Allen & Ticknor, 1834.
* ''Scientific tracts and family lyceum. Designed for instruction and entertainment, and adapted to schools, lyceums and families'', Allen & Ticknor, 1835.
* ''Indian Wars of America'', Boston: G. Clarke, 1840.
* ''Natural History of the Fishes of Massachusetts'', Boston: William Ticknor, 1843.
* ''Turkey and the Turks: or Travels in Turkey'', Boston: F. Gleason, 1852.
* ''A pilgrimage to Egypt, embracing a diary of the explorations on the Nile; with observations illustrative of the manners, customs, and institutions of the people, and of the present condition of the antiquities and ruins ...'', Boston: Gould & Lincoln, 1852.
* ''A Pilgrimage to Palestine ...'', Boston: D. Clapp, Gould & Lincoln, 1853.
* ''The Ways of Women in Their Physical, Moral and Intellectual Relations.'' Hartford, CT: Dustin, Gilman, 1875.
* ''Buried millions: where do gold and silver go?'', New York: A.S. Barnes, 1878.
See also
*
Timeline of Boston
This article is a timeline of the history of the city of Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
17th century
* 1625 – William Blaxton arrives.
* 1630 - When Boston was founded
** English Puritans arrive.
** First Church in Boston established.
** Septe ...
, 1850s
References
External links
*
''Boston Medical Intelligencer''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jerome V. C.
Smith, Jerome V.C.
1800 births
1879 deaths
Massachusetts Know Nothings
People from Conway, New Hampshire
Alpert Medical School alumni
Williams College alumni