William Edward Smallman (1837 - 1917)

Born 29 Sep 1837 in Cornwall, Stormont, Upper Canada

Husband of Mary Jane Broughton — married 4 Oct 1861 in Franklin County, New York, United States

Descendants

Died 13 Feb 1917 at age 79 in Malone, Franklin, New York, United States

This profile is part of the Franklin County, New York One Place Study.

Biography

William was born 29 Sep 1837 in Cornwall, Upper Canada.

The following is from the Clinton County Historical Association Facebook Page:

PLATTSBURGH SENTINEL – July 21, 1916 – 105 years ago Clinton Mills Changes Hands – New Owner Clinton Mills, including a considerable part of a little farming settlement in the western end of Clinton County on the Rutland Railroad line, has been sold by William M. Smallman of Malone and William Stevens of Clinton Mills, to Frederick R. Wemple of Norwalk, CT, for $15,000. The land where Clinton Mills now stands was acquired by Mr. Smallman about 30 years ago and at that time included over 15,000 acres of fertile timber land then owned by R. W. Adams, a wealthy New York lumberman…

…Mr. Smallman has always been a staunch Democrat and, at one time, was the Democratic candidate for member of assembly in Franklin County, at which time he succeeded in greatly reducing the then normal Republican majority for that office. In 1884, when Cleveland ran on the Democratic ticket for the presidency of the United States, Mr. Smallman made the statement to a friend that if Cleveland was elected, he would celebrate the event by painting Clinton Mills red.

When the Democratic candidate was elected Mr. Smallman was as good as his word and a few weeks later hired a force of men, provided a sufficient amount of red paint and personally supervised the painting of every building in the town with the exception of the church a vivid vermillion.

After he had assumed the presidential chair, Grover Cleveland heard of the painting of Clinton Mills in his honor and, during the summer following his election, stopped off in Clinton Mills for a few minutes to view the transformation that his election had brought about there.

See the whole story about the sale at: http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn88075736/1916-07-21/ed-1/seq-3/

He passed away in 1917.

Sources

• Find A Grave: Memorial #93199636
• Clinton Mills Changed Hands
• "United States, GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2011", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q5MT-9R2Z : 18 July 2020), William E Smallman, 1917.
• "New York, State Death Index, 1880-1956", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGJD-9YWH : 20 October 2019), William E Smallman, 1917.
• "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSX5-181 : accessed 9 May 2021), Wm E Smallman, Malone Township Malone village, Franklin, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 83, sheet 8A, family 172, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,036.
• “New York State Census, 1905," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SP6W-XY9 : 8 March 2021), William E Smallman, Malone, Malone Village, E.D. 01, Franklin, New York; citing p. 5, line 14, various county clerk offices, New York; FHL microfilm 878,022.
• "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M5M7-NGH : accessed 9 May 2021), William E Smallman, Malone, Franklin, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 94, sheet 9B, family 217, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 938; FHL microfilm 1,374,951.
• "New York State Census, 1915", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9JQ-T44 : 27 November 2020), William E Smallman, 1915.
• "New York Marriages, 1686-1980", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6SW-YXC : 21 January 2020), William E Smallman in entry for William Edward Smallman, 1909.
• "New York, County Marriages, 1847-1848; 1908-1936," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2CL-P7F7 : 9 March 2021), William E Smallman in entry for William Edward Smallman, 2 Dec 1909, Franklin, New York, United States; citing ref. ID , county clerk offices from various counties, New York; FHL microfilm 1,029,812.
• "New York Marriages, 1686-1980", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6HY-253 : 21 January 2020), William E Smallman in entry for William Edward Smallman, 1909.
• "New York Marriages, 1686-1980", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6S4-S5D : 21 January 2020), William E Smallman in entry for John T Huntington, 1911.
• "New York, County Marriages, 1847-1848; 1908-1936," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2CL-PJGD : 9 March 2021), William E Smallman in entry for John T Huntington, 11 Oct 1911, Franklin, New York, United States; citing ref. ID , county clerk offices from various counties, New York; FHL microfilm 1,029,812.