Bolton Smith
BornJuly 25, 1861
Indianapolis, Indiana, US
DiedMarch 27, 1935 (aged 73)
Washington, D.C., US
Resting placeElmwood Cemetery (Memphis, Tennessee)
Occupation(s)Lawyer, Banker, Philanthropist
Known forBoy Scouts of America
SpouseGrace Carlile
Children2

Bolton Smith (July 25, 1861 – March 27, 1935) was an American lawyer who was an early pioneer in the U.S. Scouting movement.

Personal life

Born in 1861 in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Francis Smith and Sarah Smith, received his early education in Germany and Switzerland. After the death of his mother, he was raised by his maternal grandmother, poet Sarah T. Bolton. [1] He graduated from American Central Law School in 1882, and also studied law at University of Virginia. [1]

In 1889, he married Grace Carlile. They had two children, Louise Bolton-Smith (1891–1914) and Carlile Bolton-Smith (1902–2001). [2]

Professional life

Professionally, Bolton Smith practiced law with the firm Caldwell & Smith. He was a trustee for George Peabody College, a teachers college in Nashville, Tennessee.

He was a mason; and a member of the Nashville Business Men's Club, the Tennessee Law and Order League, [3] and the Episcopal church.

Scouting

Smith (left)and a Boy Scout troop with President Franklin Roosevelt (seated), Colin H. Livingstone and James E. West, 1935

On February 22, 1916, with Scout Executive Edward Everett, Smith led the effort as Council President to organize the Chickasaw Council of the Boy Scouts of America. [4] On April 11, 1916, Smith purchased the land which would become Camp Kia Kima. [5]

Based on his work in Memphis, Smith was influential in the creation of the BSA's "National Committee on Inter-Racial Activities." This committee coordinated the creation of African American Scout troops. For this he was elected a national vice-president. [6] For his contributions to Scouting, he was awarded the Silver Buffalo Award. [a]

Camp Bolton Smith operated by the Piedmont Area Council was named after Smith, in honor of his work to promote expanding Scouting in the African American community. [7]


See also

Notes

  1. "Silver Buffalo Award Winners 1929–1926". Boy Scouts of America. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011.

References

  1. 1 2 James, Edward T.; James, Janet Wilson; Boyer, Paul S. (1971). Notable American Women, 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary. Vol. 1. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. pp. 191–92. ISBN 9780674627314.
  2. ↑ "Carlile Bolton-Smith Lawyer for Federal And Hill Offices". The Washington Post.
  3. ↑ Christian Advocate. Vol. 81. March 5, 1920. p. 319.
  4. ↑ Chickasaw Council (1959), Gordon Morris Biography, Dalstrom Papers, Special Collections, University of Memphis, archived from the original on March 5, 2017, retrieved April 22, 2016
  5. ↑ "On this date 100 years ago ..." Kia Kima Scout Reservation. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2016 – via Facebook.
  6. ↑ Dowdy, G. Wayne (March 18, 2014). On This Day in Memphis History. ISBN 9781625845917.
  7. ↑ "Segregated Scout Camps". ScoutingHistory.org. Scott Smith. February 16, 2018.

Further reading

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