CHARLES CARD SMITH. 509 



CHARLES CARD SMITH (1827-1918) 



Fellow in Class III, Section 3, 1892 



Charles Card Smith, the only child of George and Harriet (Card) 

 Smith, was born in Boston on March 27, 1827, and died in that city on 

 March 20, 1918. His youth was passed in the city of Gloucester, 

 where he attended the public and private schools, but he was not 

 graduated from any university. In 1887 Harvard University, in 

 recognition of his distinguished services as a historian and a writer, 

 conferred on him the honorary degree of Master of Arts. 



When sixteen years old INIr. Smith entered the office of the North- 

 ampton ^Yoolen Manufacturing Company in Boston, and was con- 

 tinuously employed there until 1853 when he was chosen secretary of 

 the Boston Gas Company and discharged the duties of that office for 

 thirty-six years, until 1889. During that period he served as 

 Treasurer of the American Unitarian Association, from 1862 to 1871. 



Thirty years prior to his decease he retired from active business 

 employment and devoted himself mainly to his duties as Editor and 

 Treasurer of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and as a contribu- 

 tor to many historical and literary publications. He was Treasurer 

 •of the Massachusetts Historical Society from 1887 to 1907. No one 

 of his predecessors surpassed him in length of service in that position, 

 and only one, Richard Frothingham, held that office for as many years 

 as Mr. Smith. He brought to the discharge of its duties long experi- 

 ence, business sagacity, and wise conservatism, and under his manage- 

 ment the in^'estments of the Society increased more than twelve fold. 

 He became the Editor of the Society in 1889 and continued until his 

 resignation as Treasurer and Editor in 1907 at the age of seventy-nine. 



He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and 

 Sciences in 1892, but was not a frequent attendant at its meetings 

 nor a contributor to its proceedings. 



His scholarship, learning, and accuracy, and his critical and pains- 

 taking researches made his literary and historical studies and con- 

 tributions of substantial importance and value. He was a welcome 

 contributor to the Christian Examiner, making his first contribution 

 to that paper at the age of twenty; and his writings appeared in the 



