A. H. Smith, editor of the leader, Earlville, Illinois, dates his birth in the town in which he now lives, December 9, 1868, and is a son of Charles M. and Mary C. Smith. Charles M. Smith was a man well known throughout this locality and was recognized as an authority on horses. He was a breeder of trotting horses, took great delight in the turf, and acted as judge at many a race.
A. H. Smith was early taught the value of a dollar and that it required work to get it, and when a mere boy he began saving a part of his earnings. The small amount thus saved and put out at interest later gave him a start in business. He received a common-school education in Earlville, which he followed with a commercial course in the Gem City Business College at Quincy, Illinois. In 1886 he entered the employ of the Earlville Leader, with which he was connected at that time for two years. He then went to Chicago and secured a position as job printer in a large concern, where he obtained a valued experience in all kinds of job printing and where he remained two years. Returning to Earlville at the end of that time, he and his brother, Charles M. Smith, Jr., purchased the Earlville Leader, which they successfully conducted together until 1893, when the subject of this sketch bought out his brother's interest in the paper. Since that date he has been the sole proprietor. The Leader has always been conducted on independent principles, and under the efficient management of Mr. Smith has prospered and largely increased in circulation.
While in Chicago, December 18, 1889, Mr. Smith married Miss Fannie Dumond, of Earlville, and they have two children, Marjory and Bryce.
Extracted by Norma Hass from Biographical and Genealogical Record of LaSalle County, Illinois published in 1900, volume 1, pages 382-383.
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