Alexander Smets
Alexander Augustus Smets (October 12, 1795 – May 9, 1862) was a French-born co-founder of the Georgia Historical Society in Savannah, Georgia, United States. A banker and philanthropist, he was also a large landowner in Georgia and one of the state's wealthiest people.[1]
Alexander Smets | |
|---|---|
 Smets, pictured around 1860 | |
| Born | Alexander Augustus Smets October 12, 1795 Nantes, France |
| Died | May 9, 1862 (aged 66) Indian Springs, Georgia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Philanthropist, banker |
| Spouse | Anne Watt (1820–1854; his death) |
Life and career
Smets was born on October 12, 1795, in Nantes, France, the son of Barthelemy Martin Smets, a native of Mechelen, Belgium, and Jean Marie Antoinette.[2]
At the age of eighteen, he was enlisted in the French Army and was stationed at La Rochelle. He was promoted to lieutenant, such was his dedication to the role he was initially given, but the war ended before he could serve in the role.[2]
Smets' friend, Charles Maurel, a merchant in Savannah, Georgia, persuaded him to return to the United States with him during a visit to France.[2] Smets arrived in Savannah on November 20, 1816.[3][2]
His early career was not entirely notable; a partnership formed shortly after his arrival in Savannah was dissolved, after which he moved into the lumber trade on his own. He was successful, and in 1849 he retired "with a fortune ample enough to satisfy his desires."[2]
On March 29, 1820, he married 22-year-old Annie Watt, with whom he had nine children,[2] including: Hortensia (born 1824), Eliza Jane Laura (1833), Uranie Cornelia (1836), Lucy Ellen (1839) and Pauline Hortense (1842).
In 1839, Smets co-founded the Georgia Historical Society.[4] He became a close friend of co-founder Israel Keech Tefft.[2]
Between the mid-1840s and mid-1850s, Smets had built what is now known as the Alexander Smets Range of properties stands between 102 and 108 West Broughton Street in downtown Savannah. He lived with his family at today's Alexander A. Smets House at 2–4 East Jones Street which was built in 1853.[5] It is now named Morris Hall, part of the Savannah College of Art and Design.[6] He also became a large land owner, including a plantation on Hutchinson Island in the Savannah River. He was also a slave owner.[7]
On November 2, 1859, Smets was elected a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society.[2]
During his life, Smets accumulated a large library, regarded as "one of the most valuable and extensive collections of books ever offered to the American public."[8]
Death
Smets died on May 9, 1862, in Indian Springs, Georgia, after a short illness.[2] He was 66. He was initially buried, on May 11, in Savannah's Laurel Grove Cemetery, where he was joined the following month by Israel Tefft, but on March 6, 1919, his (and the rest of his family's) remains were removed from the Smets Vault to Bonaventure Cemetery,[3] where he is now interred alongside his wife, who predeceased him by eight years.[2]
References
- "I Found It at the Watkinson! » Blog Archive » Death and the Maiden in a Medieval Book at the Watkinson Library". Retrieved 2022-04-09.
- Memorial Biographies of the New-England Historic Genealogical Society. New England Historic Genealogical Society. 1894. pp. 42–44.
- "Savannah, GA's Historic Jones Street". gosouthsavannah.com. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
- "How one university saved Savannah's architectural history". WKBT. 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
- Harney, Maggie (2017-02-09). "Savannah in Song". Savannah Magazine. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
- "Morris Hall". SCAD.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
- "Alexander Augustus Smets will and codicil (photocopy)". sclfind.libs.uga.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
- "Catalogue of the private library of the late Mr. A.A. Smets, Savannah, Ga. : | The Online Books Page". onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-09.