EGBERT A. SMITH was born in Dundas, Dominion of Canada, June 18, 1856.
His father, George Smith, who died in Cairo, Illinois, October 30, 1864, was
born in Ely, England, about 1806, where he married Annie Groves, who died in
Canada, leaving a family of six children. George Smith with his family
immigrated to Canada about the year 1839 or 1840. Four sons, Thomas, George,
William H. and Fuller, and two daughters, Emma and Annie M., belonged to
this family. All are now dead with the exception of William H. Smith, of
Denver, Colorado, and Annie M. Guion, of Cairo, Illinois. The father, George
Smith, with his six children lived in Dundas, Canada, and on December 31,
1849, married Catherine Turner, of Brantford, Canada. To these parents were
born seven children: Cyrus E., Arthur W., James R., Egbert A., Clara, Mary
E. and Caroline F. The four sons were born in Canada and the three daughters
in Cairo, Illinois. All of his family are now dead with the exception of
Egbert A. Smith.
George Smith, the father, by trade was a machinist
and carpenter, and while in Dundas, Canada, was engaged in the business of
manufacturing straw cutters, cultivators, etc. In the year 1856 he sold out
the business and in 1858 moved his family to Cairo, Illinois, where he died
in 1864. In 1859 he had established a store at the corner of Thirteenth and
Poplar streets, Cairo. This business was continued by him until his death
and afterward carried on by his sons until the year 1867, when it was closed
out, the family moving to different places. The mother again returned to
Cairo in the year 1872. She was a daughter of Robert and Sarah Turner, being
one of twins and was born June 22, 1834, in the town of By Town (now the
city of Ottawa), Ontario, Dominion of Canada. Her father, Robert Turner, was
born in Glasgow, Scotland, about the year 1795 and died in Brantford,
Ontario, about the year 1851. Sarah Jennings, her mother, was born in
Northumberland, England, about the year 1800, and died in Brantford,
Ontario, about 1845. Her mother was the daughter of Nicholas Jennings and
was married to Robert Turner in Edinburgh, May 10, 1818. After the death of
George Smith his widow married Louis Lincoln, of Carbondale, Illinois, at
Cairo, this state, in 1867. Of this marriage three sons were born: Louis
Logan Lincoln and Bishop Grant Lincoln, twins, and Staata S. Lincoln, but
all are now deceased. Catherine Lincoln died in Cairo, Illinois, in the year
1911, at the age of seventy-seven years. All were members of the Episcopal
church.
Egbert A. Smith at the age of eighteen years and with his
brother James R. again started the business at the old stand, with a capital
of one hundred dollars and under the style of Smith Brothers. James R. Smith
died in the year 1886, leaving a widow and one son, James Arthur Smith.
Another brother, Cyrus E. Smith, became associated with Egbert A. Smith in
the business, but later disposed of his interests therein to Egbert A.
Smith, who continued the business under the firm name of Smith Brothers, but
Egbert A. being the sole owner. He also gave some attention to saw milling
in Alexander county and owns large tracts of farming land there, besides
smaller tracts in Pulaski county and a farm inside the city limits of Cairo
containing about nine hundred acres. This land a few years ago was
considered of small value, but the improvements made upon it with a large
expenditure of money have made this trace a very valuable addition to Cairo.
About seven miles of driveway have been constructed over the land and
following the Mississippi river, known as Smith Drive, which is enjoyed by
the citizens of Cairo. As Cairo grows this land will be required as a part
of the city.
In 1903 Egbert A. Smith organized the Cairo National
Bank, with a capital of $100,000, was elected its president and still holds
that position. This bank is a prosperous institution with over a half
million deposits. During the year 1903 the Cairo & Thebes Railroad was
projected by him, and in the year 1905, through the Cairo Commercial Club,
of which he was president, the project took life and he with his associates
organized the company with a capital of ten thousand dollars. He was elected
its president, and through his efforts it was financed and constructed.
About a million dollars has already been expended on terminals in the city
of Cairo and about one million dollars in constructing the main line through
Alexander county to Thebes, Illinois.
Mr. Smith served about ten
years in the city council of Cairo, was president of the Cairo Board of
Trade about six years and was president of the Cairo Commercial Club for
five years. He has been identified with river improvement associations for
thirty years, and is vice president of the Ohio Valley Improvement
Association for Illinois and is a member of the Lakes to the Gulf
Improvement Association, the National Rivers and Harbors Congress and the
Good Roads Organization.
Mr. Smith was married in 1886 to Miss
Phyllis Howard, a daughter of Phillip and Lucy A. Howard, early settlers of
Cairo. The children of this union are: Berta Tyler, now Mrs. Wilfred W.
Beach, of Sioux City, Iowa; Phyllis H., Egbert A. Jr., Catherine and
Caroline, and they have also taken two boys to raise, Arthur and Robert
Lincoln, sons of the deceased brother. The children received their education
in the Cairo schools, and Berta and Phyllis completed their education in
Chicago and New York. The family are members of the Episcopal church.
Extracted 06 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from 1912 History of Southern Illinois, Volume 3, pages 1560-1561.
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