William Lyman Smith (February 12, 1878 – November 11, 1964) was a teacher and businessman from

Neillsville Neillsville is a city in Clark County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 2,384 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat. History The Ojibwa were the earliest known residents of the Neillsville area. The first settlers of Europ ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

who served one term as a Republican member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

, in 1917, and two terms as a member of the Wisconsin State Senate, 1921-1927.

Background

Smith was born February 12, 1878, on a farm in

Sunbury County Sunbury County (2016 population 27,644) is located in central New Brunswick, Canada. A large military base (CFB Gagetown) is located in the western part of the county south of the town of Oromocto. The county also hosts forestry and mixed farm ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

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 ...

. His parents moved to

Eau Claire County, Wisconsin Eau Claire County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,710. Its county seat is Eau Claire. The county took its name from the Eau Claire River. Eau Claire County is included in the ...

in that same year. He attended

public schools Public school may refer to: *State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England and ...

at Porter's Mills, graduated from Eau Claire High School, and then from

Stevens Point State Normal School Stevens may refer to: People * Stevens (surname), including a list of people with the surname Given name * Stevens Baker (1791–1868), farmer and member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada * Stevens T. Mason (1811–1843), territorial ...

. He came to Neillsville in 1899, and taught school for four years. His official biography described him as being since 1903 "engaged in the

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

business" (he was manager of the Badger State Telephone Company). He served as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

for one term in 1906, and was president of the local

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

board.

Public office

Smith was elected to the Assembly in 1916 for the Clark County district to succeed fellow Republican Emery Crosby, receiving 3482 votes to 1201 for

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 ...

Alvin Foster. He was assigned to the legislature's joint committee on

finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

, serving alongside another William L. Smith, a

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

barber from

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

. Smith was not a candidate for re-election in 1918, and was succeeded by fellow Republican Harry Hewett. In 1920, Smith was elected from the 24th State Senate district (Clark and

Wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

Counties) to succeed fellow Republican

Isaac P. Witter Isaac P. Witter (May 11, 1873 – September 26, 1942) was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate. Biography Witter was born on May 11, 1873, in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison and married Charlott ...

, with 11,700 votes to 2,791 for Socialist Robert A. Steinbach and 1,580 for Democrat Alphonsus B. Sutor. He was assigned to the standing committee on

corporations A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

. He was re-elected in 1924 (his district now included Taylor County as well), with 13,760 votes to 7,668 for Independent T. H. Barber. He was assigned to the committees on

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

and public welfare, and on

contingent Contingency or Contingent may refer to: * Contingency (philosophy), in philosophy and logic * Contingency plan, in planning * Contingency table, in statistics * Contingency theory, in organizational theory * Contingency theory (biology) in evoluti ...

expenditures An expense is an item requiring an outflow of money, or any form of Wealth, fortune in general, to another person or group as payment for an item, service, or other category of costs. For a leasehold estate, tenant, renting, rent is an expense. Fo ...

. Smith (still "engaged in the telephone business") was elected

president pro tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

of the Senate for the 1927 session. He was not a candidate for re-election in 1928, and was succeeded by fellow Neillsville Republican Walter J. Rush. Smith later served as private secretary to

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wiscons ...

Walter J. Kohler Sr. Walter Jodok Kohler Sr., (March 3, 1875April 21, 1940) was an American businessman and politician from the Kohler family of Wisconsin. He was an innovative and highly successful Wisconsin industrialist. The Kohler Company was founded by his fat ...

, who appointed Smith the rank of colonel on the state national guard."Neillsville Man's 86 Years Are Filled With Many Achievements", ''Marshfield News-Herald'' (February 12, 1963), TuePage 7.

Private life

On June 26, 1901, Smith had married Olive T. Huntzicker, a native of Eaton, Wisconsin. At the time of her death in 1937, they had two sons, William Lyman Jr., and Herbert."Obituary: Smith, Olive T. (10 April 1875 – 1 July 1937)" '' Neillsville Press July 8, 1937 On April 1, 1939, Smith married librarian Mary Elizabeth Corson. In 1963, a local newspaper remarked on the 86th birthday of the still-living Smith. Smith died the following year at the Memorial Hospital at Neillsville, and was buried in the Neillsville cemetery."W. L. Smith Is Dead at Age 87", ''Marshfield News-Herald'' (November 12, 1964), p. 1.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, William L. Canadian emigrants to the United States People from Neillsville, Wisconsin People from Sunbury County, New Brunswick Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Republican Party Wisconsin state senators Wisconsin city council members Wisconsin National Guard personnel Schoolteachers from Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point alumni 1878 births 1964 deaths