Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1878-11-29
Congressman.eleet Smith Of New JERSEY,
Is he A BIGANIsT?
lCor- Springfield Republican. /

The friends here of the Hon. II. b. Smith o
Smiihvile N. J., will DC glad to learn that he bs
been elected to Congress by the Democrats OF the
and faithful member"
Hezekiah B. Smith was born in Wood
stock in 1916. and lived here till he Was 20
Years old, remarkable for nothing bat a
Yankees skill in making sleds for other
boys and dislike for going to school " hen
he could obtain more remunerative employ
ment. In lS46, he ran away with an /
ostensibly married Verona Eveline Eng
llsh. young daughter of John English, Of
woodstock. The father opposed the match
and, 1t Is said, made some pursuit, but did
not oVertake the fugitiyes, who proceeded
TO Boston, when form Of marriage which
Miss English supposed genuine was gone
through with before a clergyman, real or
pretended. The pair lived happily together
as man and wife until 1865 and four children
were born to them. Part of this married
life was passed in Boston and part IN Lowell
where Smith was in business but some
time about 1850 he bought a house in
Woodstock, where Mrs Smith came and
lived, being frequently visited by her hus-
Dano, ana where most, II not all, OF the
children were born. They represented them
selves as man and vile, and we're so con-
sidered and received by the people. Mrs
Smith was model wife and mother, and
was then and has always since been respect
ed IN the community. She never suspected
but what she was legally married until, to
quote her words. ''He told me be had found
a woman who would be true to him and he
was going to marry her, and | might tell
my friends that my marriage Was not
legal
This must have been in 1865, for in July
OF that year We find on the town records a
deed from III. B. Smith, of Lowell, Mass. :"
to verona Eveline English of Woodstock, !"
convey ing to her lie interest in all his
real estate in Woodstock. being the house
in which she lived and small lot of land :;
with the remainder decided to her daughter,
Ella Annette Smith. Two hundred dollars
was deposited in the Woodstock bank at
this time to the credit of ". E English"
and withdrawn in small sums hy the next
spring. The citizens of WOadstock express
great sympathy with Mrs Smith (she is
universally so called) and great Indignation
at the treatment she has received, ard were
oil the opinion that having been grieyously
wronged and being poor she would tell the
entire story and do what she could TO bring
Smiths crime home to him. But women,
and especially good women. are hard to
wronged, bad fully forgiven and was ready
to forget
TJ get at the full facts | visited Mrs.
Smith. A tap on the door of her modest
house was answered by woman about 60
years old, of medium hight. with full.
kindly face, pleasant in its expression,
though devoid OF beauty, and marked about
the mouth with heavy lines. The brown
hair Is sprinkled with gray. When the
purpose OF the visit was made known she
refused to say anything which could irjuIe
Smith, and begged that no publicity might
be given to the affair. saying Il can't
forget that he is the rather of nv
children, and | cannot find it in nv
heart to wish him ony harm. lie was
always kind to mo and the children, and
never spoke cross word til. after the
separation; then at first he was rough to
IL EN-. Now be treats them well My boys
have been to see him at Smithyille le
has suffered enough for this already. and.
il he is elected 10 Congress, let him 20
there" Further than this she did not wish
to say, except that she lad supp, s,d she
was married by clergyman in Boston. and
she did rot knew why be did a. he had
done" At the close CT the interview she
renewed her entreaties that it be not made
public. On the walls of ber psrlcr we're
pictures ct Elton Smith, the oldest sOn, and
OF bis residence in Savannah, Ga, where he
is a slevedOre doing q good business.
Congressman Ii. B. Smith is now wealthy,
owns all OF Smithville, N. j.. a small manu-
featuring village l8 miles from Philadelphia,
which be has built and named, and has Just
crowned his success by an election TO Coz
gress as the combined candidate of the
Democrats, to which party be has always
belonged, and the Greenbackers. TIE
principal feature OF Smithvile il tho manu-
facturlng establishment of the Ii. B. Smith
manufacturing company, which has
dozen or 20 shops, EMPLOYS ct present about
100 hands. and has braEch house. 10
Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis and B.lt.-
more. They manufacture wood working
machinery, and Smith laid the foundation
of his fortune in inyentions Of various
machines of this kind. The capital STOCK
of the company is 100000, of which Smith
owns $50, 500 anu four employees the rest
He owns in his own right the buildings
occupied by tie factories, which he rents
to the company for 50 900 year. and
number of large farms around the village,
" hich he operates on large scale, be-
cause, as he expresses it. there iun 10 it,
Tor him. He publishes the Smithville
boSo huNti.i-iEsS
sheet, on which the name OF \ Nj Smith,
his present wife. appears as editor The
time and place OF this st cOnd marriage your
reporter was unable to learn though Smith 3
sister. Mrs. Henry Cobb. OF Woodstock, and
various other people who have visited
Smiihville. speak Of her As his wife, and
there is no doubt If the marriage She has
no children.
As to Smiths il fuencs in Congress, if he
gets there, he can be relied upon To vote
every time with the soit-m0ney wing of the |
Democracy. He was defeated two years ago
as straight Democratic candidate. This |
year the ''National Labor Greenback
Party" nominated him a. q lgb0ring man,
and aotitied him OF his nomination in Wig
orous anti-hsrd-money, ant-nauonai bank.
(he is worth, probably, S200.- |
DOO) letter and he replied in kin1. only |
wording his sentiments more cautiously. |
The Democrats indorsed him and now he Is ,
elected. We quote the concluding para
graph from the comments of bis advertising |
he-t, edited by his wiie
Mr.. Smith has never until quite letently been !
in political circles and take 1t as 1
avorable sign when politicians feel cuml led tO |
ook outside Of their Vwn kini TO fnf names carry |
NJ success. In this case the result due, not TO
strict arty vote, 'Or party lines were abandoned,
,ut to combined effort OF The labornE classes.
'aItisans may call it party triumph, tut business
men know it 10 be victory of their own, and viii
heartily with Mr. Smith the same success serving
hem in Congress that he has obtained for himself
s a mechanic"
As a man 5 comment on his own election
his stands unriyalej
Smith has evidently done something to
make up Ger his lack OF early advantages, as
lis letters now are isirly well written,
With only occasional slight errors OF spell
ng ard grammar. Ths psOpls in WouG
took who know him consider him i nOrant
Il politics, and, a. one Cf thtm expressed
t. As "a smalt, mean cuSs" generally. but
his may e part Of the general pr, judico
hat has arisen from his treatment OF his Al
eyed first wife Whether this seeJud mar
Isse. as is supposed, without the fcrmality
t an intervening divorce, will prevent Mr.
mIth from taking his seat depends on hi~ Re
ubilcan opponents. Urder the laws Of Ner-
lont, an agreement to live together a. man
nd wife followed by cohabtation ami repre-
entatlon by ibe parties that they ar. man
nd vile, is a legal marriage without any
eremony. An abundance of atidayits as to
he cohabitstion can be obtained in Wood
tock, but whether any agreement or any
hing purporting to b5 marriage cere-
.ony could be proved without Mrs. Smiths
id IL doubtful. and she will not testify to
nythIng against him that she can avoid |
this marriage and the subsequent one
/ New Jersey-which Smith las always
aimed to be the legal marriage-can be
roved, Smith would doubtless rather 90
Europe and resign his seat than face II
rOseeutiOn for bigsmy. backed BY the
.paeity OF the Republican party lighting
r vote.
We shall be curious to see what the MOI
syille Citizen has to say to the statement :
sewhere copied from the Brattleboro Re {
rnier. That the support given to Mr. Bar
W by some Of his papers was purchased ,
ltright, we suppose TO intelligent citizen q
'ubts In view. however, of the oil animos- ,
: of the editor of the CHt.ep to General
rout, We had not supposed that it could be /
'cessary Tor Mr. Barlow to bribe iid, paper,