San Francisco County
Biographies
THOMAS
A. SMITH
THOMAS A. SMITH,
real-estate agent, etc., Alameda, was born in Sparta, Hancock county, Georgia, April 6, 1835. His American ancestors on his father’s side were
old Virginia families of the counties of Mecklenburg
and Lunenburg, which counties were probably settled by immigrants from Germany. On his mother’s side Mr. Smith’s ancestry were
from England, his maternal grandparents being from Bath, in that country. His mother’s maiden name was
Eliza Justine Broad. Her first husband was Dr. Fraser, a surgeon of the
ship Ben Franklin, which at that time was the largest battle ship in the
American navy. He was a brother of Captain Alexander Fraser, commander of
the port of San
Francisco in
1850. While Mrs. Smith (mother of the subject of this sketch) was the
widow of Dr. Fraser above alluded to, she was a member of the committee of
ladies appointed to receive General La Fayette, in 1825, in Georgia, and had
many pleasant conversations with him. Her next husband was Thomas A.
Smith, and after his death she changed her residence several times. She
was born in New York city. After
she left Georgia she went to Tennessee and afterward resided in several States, but toward the
close of life she resided mainly in Jackson, Mississippi. She made many visits in the Northern States among
acquaintances, of whom she had many, some of them eminent, as she was a lady of
high educational accomplishments. By her first marriage she had one
daughter, who died, and by her second marriage four children, of whom Thomas
A., our present subject, is the only son. She was married a third time,
and afterward died in Alameda, California, in August, 1869.
Mr. Smith came to
California before he was sixteen years old, sailing from New Orleans on the
steamer Ohio for Havana, then on the steamer Georgia to Chagres,
and from Panama the remainder of the trip on the steamer California, arriving
in San Francisco August 23, 1850. After spending a year and a half in the
mines in Tuolumne county, he became manager at
the age of sixteen years of the Big Oak Flat Mining Company, having under his
charge about thirty-five men. Next he studied law a year and a half, in
the office of Sloan & Rhodes in San Francisco, but his health becoming impaired, he moved over to Alameda, where he still resides. He followed farming about
twelve or fourteen years, during which time he was Justice of the Peace for Alameda township and Associate County
Judge for several terms. About 1862 he entered into mercantile and
real-estate business; and when the town was incorporated in 1872 he was elected
City Treasurer, which position he held until he was elected County
Recorder in 1876. After his term of two years in that office
had expired, he spent eight months in Europe, for recreation
and health, including the World’s Fair at Paris among the points visited. He commenced in the
real-estate business here in Alameda, as above stated, and his is therefore probably the
oldest real-estate firm in that county. He was appointed City Treasurer
again on May 12, 1890,
to fill the vacancy caused by the death of N. W. Palmer. A notable
incident in connection with this is that Palmer was appointed to fill Smith’s
unexpired term when the latter assumed the duties of County
Recorder. Palmer was afterward elected and held the office
until Mr. Smith again took it. In politics Mr. Smith was a Democrat to the
year of Cleveland’s second nomination, when he joined the American party.
He was married January 23, 1881, to Miss Alida B., daughter of
the late a. B. Andrews of Alameda. They have had a daughter and son: the son,
Clifford A., who was born August 8, 1887,
is now their only child, the daughter having died.
Transcribed
by 11-17-06 Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: "The Bay of San Francisco," Vol. 2, Pages 168-169, Lewis Publishing Co, 1892.
©
2006 Marilyn R. Pankey.
California Biography Project
San Francisco County
California Statewide
Golden Nugget Library