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Charles Manley Smith

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For other people with the same name, see Charles Smith (disambiguation).

Charles Manley Smith
63rd Governor of Vermont
In office
January 10, 1935 – January 7, 1937
LieutenantGeorge Aiken
Preceded byStanley C. Wilson
Succeeded byGeorge Aiken
59th Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
In office
1933–1935
GovernorStanley C. Wilson
Preceded byBenjamin Williams
Succeeded byGeorge Aiken
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office
1931–1933
Preceded byAnnie J. Moloney
Succeeded byCharles T. Quigley
ConstituencyRutland City
Member of the Vermont Senate
In office
1927–1931
Serving with Lewellyn J. Eggleston, Dan D. Burditt, Edward A. Ellis (1926)
Leonard F. Croft, Guy Herbert Boyce, Herbert C. Comings (1928)
Preceded byLewellyn J. Eggleston, Edwin W. Lawrence, Cecil E. McIntyre, Leo T. Pratt
Succeeded byEdward H. Clark, Lewellyn J. Eggleston, Clarence H. Murdick, E. Lewis Olney
ConstituencyRutland County
Personal details
Born(1868-08-03)August 3, 1868
West Rutland, Vermont, U.S.
DiedAugust 12, 1937(1937-08-12) (aged 69)
Rutland, Vermont, U.S.
Resting placeEvergreen Cemetery, Rutland, Vermont, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMary A. Stark (1864–1935)[1]
Children3
EducationDartmouth College
ProfessionBanker

Charles Manley Smith (August 3, 1868 – August 12, 1937) was an American politician from Vermont. He served as the 59th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1933 to 1935 and 63rd governor of Vermont from 1935 to 1937.

Life and career

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Smith was born in West Rutland, Vermont, on August 3, 1868. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1891[2] and served as private secretary to former Vermont Governor Redfield Proctor when Proctor was Secretary of War.[3]

Active in banking and insurance, Smith became President of Marble Savings Bank in 1920.[4]

A Republican, Smith served in the Vermont State Senate from 1927 to 1931.[5] He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1931 to 1933 and was Ways and Means Committee Chairman.[6] He served as Lieutenant Governor from 1933 to 1935.[7]

Smith was elected Governor in 1934 and served from 1935 to 1937.[8] During his administration, the state legislature approved old age pension and unemployment compensation laws.[9]

In December 1936, Smith and other Marble Bank officials were charged with fraud for failing to inform account holders and authorities about an embezzlement. In May 1932, Smith had learned that his bank's bookkeeper had stolen $251,000. Smith let him leave quietly, kept the theft secret, and charged the loss against the bank's surplus.[10][11][12]

In July 1935, the bookkeeper was named Rutland's Assistant City Treasurer and planned a candidacy for Treasurer. To prevent this, his opponents leaked word of the theft to the press. The bookkeeper was convicted and jailed, and the bank Treasurer received a suspended sentence and a $400 fine. Charges against most other parties were dismissed, and Smith was acquitted at his trial.[13]

Personal life

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Smith married Mary Aurelia Stark and they had three children.[citation needed]

In 1936, Smith was injured in a car accident and his health began to decline. He became ill in June 1937 and died on August 12, 1937, aged 69, just eight months after leaving office.[14][15] He is interred at Evergreen Cemetery, Rutland, Vermont.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Hartford Courant, Obituary, Mrs. Charles M. Smith, February 24, 1935
  2. ^ Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, Catalogue By Alpha Delta Phi, 1899, page 381
  3. ^ New York Times, Mrs. Charles M. Smith; Wife of Governor of Vermont Succumbs at Age of 71, February 21, 1935
  4. ^ American Bankers Association, Journal of the American Bankers Association, Volume 13, 1920, page 35
  5. ^ American Legislators' Association, State government, Volumes 9-10, 1936, page 239
  6. ^ Vermont House of Representatives, List of Ways & Means Committee Chairmen since 1900, 2005
  7. ^ Vermont State Archives and Records Administration Archived April 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Lieutenant Governors Terms of Service, 2011, page 2
  8. ^ Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont Governors, Terms of Service, 2011
  9. ^ "Charles M. Smith". National Governors Association. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  10. ^ New York Times, Vermont Governor Held in Bank Case, December 1, 1936
  11. ^ Hartford Courant[dead link‍], Gov. Smith Is Released On Bank Charge, December 2, 1936
  12. ^ New York Times, Gov. Smith Rearrested, December 29, 1936
  13. ^ New York Times, Three Vermont Bankers Cleared, April 27, 1937
  14. ^ New York Times, Ex-Gov. C. M. Smith of Vermont Dies, August 13, 1937
  15. ^ Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008 Record for Charles Manley Smith, accessed via Ancestry.com, April 30, 2012
  16. ^ Vermont Old Cemetery Association, accessed November 17, 2017
[edit]
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
1932 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Republican nominee for Governor of Vermont
1934
Political offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
1933–1935 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Vermont
1935–1937 		Succeeded by
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