Evening star., 1945-04-06
Harry ". Smith Dies;
Inventor and Noted
Hunt Country Figure
Ry the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
WORCESTER, Mass, April g.
Harry Worcester Smith, 70, interna-
tionally known sportsman, inventor
and master of a great many hunts
in the United States, died yesterday
At his estate, Lordvale, in nearby
North Grafton, which was destroyed
by fire in 1910, he had entertained
President Theodore Roosevelt in
1916.
Mr.. Smith was the first American
to be master of an Irish hunt, and
took the first American foxhounds
to Great Britain.
AS an inventor, he obtained 80
patents on an automatic color
weaving loom which revolutionized
the manufacture of ginghams His
rights to the loom, which reduced
the cost of manufacturing by half
were bought by European as well as
American loom builders. He held 40
patents for other textile machinery
improvements.
SteeTdechase Winner.
During the first decade of the
century, he was responsible for the
merger of several textile plants and
brought about the sale of the
Thomas G.. Plant shoe business al
Boston to the United Shoe Machin-
cry Co. for a reported $6,000,000.
Mr.. Smith once eyed horse pull
ing a horsecar in this city. He
bought him, named him THE Cad
and trained him, and in 1900 won
the $4,000 Calverts Steeplechase at
Baltimore with him.
AS gentleman rider" Mr.. Smith
won the gentelman's race in Sara
toga in 1896, the MeadoWbrook Hunt
Cup, the Grand National Steeple-
chase, the Myopia Steeplechase in
Moston, and the Hampstead CUP
at Long Island He swept Madison
Square Garden competition with his
tandem at the turn of the century.
Master of Clubs.
Mr.. Smith had been master OF
many hunt clubs, among them the
Grafton Hounds, Virginia FoXhound
Brunswick Foxhound Club of Barre
Genesee Valley, Upland Country
Piedmont Hunt, Loudoun Hunt OF
virginia and the Westmeath Hunt
of Ireland He held memberships In
many celebrated clubs and was
founder of the Masters Of Fox
hounds Association in America.
He was educated at Worcester
Polytechnic Institute, Lowell School
of Design of M. l. T. and at techni-
cal schools in Germany, Scotland
and England.
He is survived by his widow, Mrs
Mildred Crompton Smith: a son
Crompton Smith of Middleburg, Va.
a daughter, Mrs. Isabelle c. Mac
Duffie; two brothers. DR.. William
Lord Smith, explorer, hunter anc
traveller Of Brattleboro, VT, anc
Chetwood Smith of Worcester; 6
sister, Mrs. Charles Ranlett of Ole
Lyme, Conn, and six grandchildren
Funeral and burial will be Sun
day afternoon in Worcester.
y
inent figure in Old Dominion TO,
hunting circles and in recent years
occupied a home at Middlebure
called the Hunting Box. He at
tended every meet of importance anc
every horse show in Virginia's horse
country in recent years, generally
mounted on a thoroughbred In the
1910 Middleburg4 show, he rode over
the jumps in the Lest We Forget
Class" wearing the silks he sportec
when his entry won the Grand Ma
tional. Mr.. Smith was a regular
contributor to the Middlebure
Chronicle and other horse papers.
His son. Crompton Smith, also has
an estate near Middleburg and otter
rode with his father in hunt team
events. He was one of the leading
steeplechase riders in America. win
ming numerous point events
with Jumpers he has developed.