James Gregory Smith (Saint Albans, VT)
James Gregory Smith (Jul 16, 1889 – Jul 26, 1982)
Biography
- Name: James Gregory Smith
- Birth: July 16, 1889, St. Albans, Franklin County, VT
- Death: July 26, 1982, St. Albans, VT
J. Gregory Smith was the descendant of colonial founders, governors and a senator, and the husband of Vermont's first woman mayor who was murdered in 1980.
He was the son of Vermont Gov. Edward Curtis Smith, Grandson of Gov. John Gregory Smith and his great-grandfather, John Smith, was a U.S. Congressman before the civil war. Smith was also descended directly from William Bradford, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island.
His Grandmother was Ann Eliza Smith (pen name) or Mrs. J. Gregory Smith and the daughter of Senator Lawrence Brainerd and Fidelia B. Gadcombe. She was an American author. During the Civil War, she coordinated a response to the Confederate raid on St. Albans on October 19, 1864. In 1870, Governor Peter T. Washburn, who had served as adjutant general of the Vermont Militia during the war, recognized Mrs. Smith's efforts and presented her with an honorary commission as a lieutenant colonel on his military staff.
His mother was Anna Bailey James, the granddaughter of Amaziah Bailey James. E.C. and Anna Smith were the parents of four children: James Gregory, Edward Fairchild, Curtis Ripley and Anna Dorothea Bradford.
J. (James) Gregory Smith, like his father and grand-father, was president of the Weldon National Bank. He was a trustee of the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and his family helped found the St. Albans Library and the local hospital.
In March 1980, Smith's wife Janet was elected mayor of St. Albans, but just two days after she took office, she was shot to death by the family handyman and Mr. Smith's caretaker, Tuano Jurva. Jurva would be sentenced to 10 years in prison for the slaying.
On March 5, 1980, Janet Smith visited City Hall the day after her victory party having secured an upset victory over Democrat Floyd Hand, 1,175 to 1,041, carrying four of the city's six wards. One of the first things she promised she would do as mayor was to establish visiting hours. Mrs. Smith said she went to see her husband who was in the Kerbs Unit of Northwestern Vermont Hospital with a bad case of the flu. "He was smiling ear to ear when he heard the news, and the nurses were going like this," Mrs. Smith said, jumping up and down.
Mrs. Janet A. Smith was born in Ford City, Pennsylvania on September 23, 1913, the daughter of Clair and Fonda (Swigart) Ankeny. Besides her husband, she was survived by a son, Jim Long, Jr., of Boston; and a daughter, Mrs. James (Janet) Manning of Fairfax. Internment in the Spring of 1980 was in the family lot in Greenwood Cemetery.
Funeral services for J. Gregory Smith were held in the First Congregational Church with the Rev. R. Ward Wilson officiating. In attendance were Gov. Richard Snelling and other state officials, the trustees, deacons, choir, women's fellowship and Fireside Club of the First Congregational Church, the Franklin County Historical Society, the St. Albans Rotary Club and administration of Bellows Free Academy. Interment followed in the family lot in Greenwood Cemetery.
Bank Officer Summary
During his banking career, James Gregory Smith was involved with the following bank:
- Welden National Bank of Saint Albans, VT (Charter 3482): President 1914-1933
Sources
- Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project
- The Burlington Free Press, Burlington, VT, Thu., Mar. 6, 1980.
- The Burlington Free Press, Burlington, VT, Tue., Mar. 18, 1980.
- Rutland Daily Herald, Rutland, VT, Wed., July 28, 1982.
- The Burlington Free Press, Burlington, VT, Sat., July 31, 1982.