The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1908-02-13
THE SMITH BROTHERS.
Picturesque Career of Four Maine Boys
Who Became Multimilli0naires.

Picturesque Career of Four Maine Boy
Who Became Multimillionaires.
The death of Francis Smith, eighty
five years old, at Warrenton Park
Rockland, Me-, on Jan. Is. is the first
break in a remarkable family of foul
brothers, whose wealth is variOusly
estimated at from $40, 900, 600 to twice
that amount. The four brothers, Fran
els, George w., David c. and Benja-
min f., were born in Freedom, Waldo
County. Their early life was spent on
their fathers farm, with only the edu-
cational opportunities afforded by Free
dom Academy. Francis left Freedom
at twenty and appeared as a vender of
almanacs in Worcester, Mass. His
stay there was very brief. He entered
the employ of the Print Publishing
house of New York, where he remained
about ten years, being Joined by his
three brothers.
While David C. Smith was abroad in
the fifties his attention was drawn to a
steel engraving, entitled Last Days of
Wellington" He conceived the idea
that a picture of the same type could
be put on the American market with
great commercial success, and the
Smith brothers Immediately arranged
to publish steel engraving with the
subject, "Last Days of Webster at
Marshfeld." Copies of it are still to
be found in many homes throughout
the country. A famous artist was paid
$500 for the picture and Mottram was
paid $4,000 for the line steel engraving,
which was thirty by twenty-six inches
in size Copies of the famous picture
on plain paper sold at $40 each. India
paper copies for S25 and the artists
proof for $55 each. Agents went into
almost every State of the United States
and in spite of the fact that the panic
of 81 delayed delivery and the out
break of war caused southern subscrip-
tions to be cancelled, the brothers net
ted $4,000 from their venture.
With this as nucleus the four broth
! ers went West. They opened bank
ing office in Omaha, Neb., then city
of 5000 inhabitants With this success
fully under way they penetrated the
Rockies and invested in gold-mining
property at Black Hawk. There they
employed night and day shifts OF 200
men each for six years. A lode parallel
to theirs was owned by the late Cen
eral Fitz John Porter, but was far
from being so productive. General
Porter's miners encroached upon the
Smith lode and there was period OF
warfare which resulted in few deaths
and the complete triumph of the Smith
brothers.
In 1864 the Smiths Black Hawk gold
mine was sold in Wall street. the first
ever sold there, it is said. 1t had been
listed on the stock exchange and at
that time was one of the most Specula-
tive stocks. having reached as high as
1885, The property after its purchase in
Wall street could not have been bought
for much less than 100000.
The Smiths returned to Omaha and
New York after the sale of their gold
mine and invested heavily in railroads
and real estate. They built the Omaha
& Sioux City railroad, and Francis
Smith was its president for consider
able time. The brothers were connect
ed with nearly all the important west
ern railroad enterprises, such as the Z.
B. & O., and at the time of his death
Francis Smith was director in the
Fitchburg railroad.
The Smiths bought real estate in Ne
braska at government prices OF SLIGO an
acre and farm prices OF 81 and So an
acre. Civilization pushed westward
with rapid STRIDES, ana lanu WHICH tHt
government once sold at SLIGO an acre
brought Mr.. Smith several thousand
dollars an acre in some instances. To-
day some of it is covered with the finest
business structures in the center OF
Omaha. AS extensive owners of rail
road stocks and bonds, the Smith broth
ers have figured in many important
railroad wars. They fought Jay Gould
and Russell Sage at close range, and did
not come out of the encounters as losers1
In 1879 Mr. Smith and his brothers
bought some 200 acres of shore property
and established the beautiful estate
known as Warrenton. located in the
town of Rockport, near the Rockland
line. They built three handsome sum
mer houses, one of which was occupied
by Francis and George, and one each
by David and Benjamin. Warrenton
is one of the show places on the Maine
coast. Francis Smith spent his sum-
mers there uufaiiingly, and for four or
five years had been a permanent resi-
dent, due to his enfeebled condition.
He generally spent his winters in Florl-
da California or Mexico.