Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

ceremonies at Trenton on the occasion oi the
reception to General Washington,
Colonel Lowerj represented Hunterdon county
in the Provincial Congress oi [773, and was a
member oi the Legislature for several years after
the war. \t one time he owned about one thou-
sand acres of land where Frenchtown is n
local Frenchtown part h or LSooo.
1 Bj 1800 1 he had mpleted the old red mill and the
saw- mill at Milford, which was first called Lowerytown.
He was the founder of Frenchtown,
where he resided until his death. November to,
[809, l!i> widow. Esther, survived him until
October 13, r8i 1. being -. he purchased what is now
Flemington village, and at later dates acquit
oilier properties II also was an ardent patriot
during the Revolution. He built the first house
in the village, which he kept ;i< a tavern. It is
claimed that the Fleming family is descended
from Archibald Fleming, a nobleman of Flanders,
who went to England with William the Con-
queror, and acquired the manor and lordship of
Bratton. His descendant, Archenbald Fleming,
attended Henry II. in his invasion of Ireland, and
obtained the lordships of Alsmayn and Eskerti
in Tipperary and New Castle and Slane on the
river l'.oyne. He was a great baron in Ireland,
and from him the Irish Flemings are said to be
descended.
(VII) Hon. James Dickinson Smith,
son of Rev. John and Esther Mary
(Woodruff) Smith, was born at Exeter,
New Hampshire, November 24, 1829, dur-
ing the pastorate of his father at that
place. One who knew the family well
said that Mr. Smith "inherited the best
traits of his ancestors and it is not diffi-
cult to trace in him the prominent characteristics
of the Treats, Woodruffs, Low-
erys, and Flemings, as well as the progenitors
whose name he bore." His
formal education was directed with a
view to his becoming a business man.
1 1 is experience began as a clerk in a country
store. From there, while still a young
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
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man, lu- went t< > New York *ity, where
he entered the drj business and
won an enviable success among merchants
in that line; hut lie was even more
successful as a financier, fur which nature
seems t.i have especially gifted him. He
established the banking house of Jameson,
Smith & Cotting, which subsequently
became lames I). Smith & Company, and
for nearly half a century lie was a promi-
nent factor in the world of finance, as
well as a promoter of great business en-
terprises. When he retired from business
he was one of the oldest members of the
New York Stock Exchange, which had
honored him twice by electing him as its
president. The fact that he passed
through some of the greatest financial
crises that the country has ever known,
and maintained an unspotted escutcheon,
evinces foresighl and business sagacity
of the highest order. He was cautious
and conservative, possessed excellent
judgment, and strong determination, and
cherished the highest ideals. As a direc-
tor and stockholder, he was interested in
some of the greatest railroad enterprises
in the world, notably, the Union Pacific,
Pacific Mail and Panama railroads, ex-
tending over thousands of miles, develop-
in"; barren wastes of millions of acres,
comparatively valueless, into fertile acres
and into great and flourishing cities and
industrial centers. But such was the
scope of his mind, the breadth of his in-
terests and sympathies, that his activities
reached far beyond the fields of business
and finance. His splendid public service
rendered at much sacrifice to his personal
interests has already been touched upon.
His interest in yachting and his contribu-
tions to the sport demand a more extended
notice. A writer in a well-known
yachting publication said of him :
Mr. Smith has won an international reputation
as a yachtsman, devoting his leisure hours to