Individual Details
Harry Chapin Smith
(1 Jun 1867 - 25 Oct 1951)
Harry Smith lived alone for many years in a squalid three story frame house at 394 Cumberland St. in the Navy Yard section of Brooklyn and died, presumably a pauper, and was buried in Potter's Field. Later when his safety deposit box was opened, it was found that he was possessed of an estate of case and securities valued at near a half a million dollars. His body was then reinterred in the Linden Hill Methodist Episcopal Cemetery in Ridgewood Queens, Brooklyn, NY.
He graduated from the Springfield High School in 1884 and thirteen years later, in 1897, entered Harvard College which he left in 1901 without graduating. A classmate was the poet Robert Frost (the poet) and a friend was the philosopher Henry James who, it is said, helped him in his financial struggles at Harvard. He lived a very secluded life, saved his money and invested it wisely and at proper times.
Historically his life is nearly a blank. He did some newspaper reporting after leaving Harvard and is remembered in Brooklyn where he lived for many years, as a nocturnal character and rag and refuse collector, a vocation which evidently paid off"
Lt. Samuel Smith, His Children and One of Descendants (1952), pp. 87
He graduated from the Springfield High School in 1884 and thirteen years later, in 1897, entered Harvard College which he left in 1901 without graduating. A classmate was the poet Robert Frost (the poet) and a friend was the philosopher Henry James who, it is said, helped him in his financial struggles at Harvard. He lived a very secluded life, saved his money and invested it wisely and at proper times.
Historically his life is nearly a blank. He did some newspaper reporting after leaving Harvard and is remembered in Brooklyn where he lived for many years, as a nocturnal character and rag and refuse collector, a vocation which evidently paid off"
Lt. Samuel Smith, His Children and One of Descendants (1952), pp. 87
Events
| Birth | 1 Jun 1867 | ||||
| Death | 25 Oct 1951 | King's County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York Co., NY | |||
| Burial | Linden Hill Methodist Episcopal Cemetary in Ridgewood Queens, Brooklyn, New York Co., NY |
Families
| Father | Norman Smith (1833 - 1874) |
| Mother | Julia Sophia Chapin (1838 - 1911) |