L. Gerard Smith papers
Creation: 1893-1939Abstract
L. Gerard Smith (1871-1940), born Louis W. Schmidt, was a business executive for the Vapor Car Heating Company based in Brooklyn, New York, and the Vapor Car Heating Company of Canada, Limited, in Montreal, Quebec. Smith worked at E.W. Curtis's print shop in New York City until 1886. Between 1893 and 1905, he worked as a mailman in Brooklyn, joining the National Association of Letter Carriers, an affiliate of the Knights of Labor. Smith left the Post Office for a clerical career in 1905. He worked with the Saftey Car Heating and Lighting Company, railroad hardware manufacturers, and 1913 was made general manager of Spindler & Deringer of Jersey City. Smith later became the general manager of the Vapor Car Heating Company, and in 1922 when the company was required to create a separate subsidiary to enter the Canadian market, Smith was named general manager of the Vapor Car Heating Company of Canada, Limited in Montreal, Quebec. These personal papers cover the period between 1893 and 1939 of the life of L. Gerard Smith. The letters are personal and candid, depicting Smith's large extended (and adoptive) family and the methods by which they helped support each other. The letters also provide insight into Smith's professional life, with correspondence between his business connections, particularly those he connected with through the Masons and the YMCA.
Dates
- Creation: 1893-1939
Creator
Extent
1 Linear Foot
Biographical Note
L. Gerard Smith (1871-1940), born Louis W. Schmidt, was a business executive for the Vapor Car Heating Company based in Brooklyn, New York, and the Vapor Car Heating Company of Canada, Limited, in Montreal, Quebec. Smith's biological father, Ludwig W. Schmidt (dates unknown), was alive but abandoned his family. Smith was adopted by Nathaniel Stone (1847-1918) and Josephine Lasher Stone (1856-1923). Smith had several full siblings that he maintained sporadic contact with and an extensive adoptive family that he was as close to and referred to as his blood relations.
Smith worked at E.W. Curtis's print shop in New York City until 1886. Between 1893 and 1905, he worked as a mailman in Brooklyn, joining the National Association of Letter Carriers, an affiliate of the Knights of Labor. Although he lacked formal education, he joined a literary and debating society within the local YMCA, studied piano, and joined the Masons.
Smith left the Post Office for a clerical career in 1905 when he changed his name from Schmidt to Smith. He worked with the Saftey Car Heating and Lighting Company, railroad hardware manufacturers, and 1913 was made general manager of Spindler & Deringer of Jersey City.
Smith later became the general manager of the Vapor Car Heating Company. In 1922, when the company was required to create a separate subsidiary to enter the Canadian market, Smith was named general manager of the Vapor Car Heating Company of Canada, Limited in Montreal, Quebec.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically.
Scope and Contents
The papers are Smith's personal and family correspondence and cover the period between 1893 and 1939. They provide a highly personal and candid look at the life of a relatively anonymous middle manager during the first quarter of the twentieth century.
The papers depict relationships within Smith's large adoptive family and its strategy of pooling resources and mutual aid. They also depict his network of business friendships, originating primarily in the Masons and the YMCA. The papers show his flirtation with Progressive Era ideas and the development of an optimistic, sentimental, go-ahead personal philosophy suffused with a rather conventional middle-class Protestant piety.
The largest file contains correspondence from Smith's close friend and Masonic "brother" Russell H. Ramsey of Philadelphia. Ramsey was a would-be entrepreneur who sought Smith's assistance in organizing the Ramsey Engine Company, one of several ventures that quickly failed. In a rather bizarre turn, Smith consulted a medium for a numerological reading on the company's prospects. The correspondence covers the episode in considerable detail and forms a compact study of failed entrepreneurship. Smith and Ramsey also discuss a wide range of subjects, including personal values, Progressive Era politics and reform in their respective cities, and major events of the day like the TITANIC disaster.
Additional information on business attitudes can be found in the many letters that Smith wrote giving advice to co-workers, friends, and family members. Of particular note is an exchange concerning LeRoy N. Harder, a ne're-do-well brother-in-law, who disappointed Smith's efforts to find him employment and advancement.
There are also files covering Smith's Masonic activities and his membership in the National Association of Letter Carriers, including a letter describing its national convention in 1899. Another brother-in-law, Edward A. Smith, was a traveling salesman and wrote several letters describing his life on the road. There is also a humorous piece, "A drummer relates his experience." Smith also describes a trip to Canada just prior to relocating, and there are transcripts by Smith of two letters from Levi H. Stone, probably a great-uncle, describing a trip to Michigan in 1833.
Access Restrictions
No restrictions on access; this collection is open for research.
Language of Materials
English
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- L. Gerard Smith papers
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2022: Jaime Bressmer
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository
