William H Smith

photographer: Smith and Hooper
Washington, KS

See Henry Thomas Hooper page for timeline and biography.

W H Smith was a rather popular name around the northeast quarter of Kansas in the 19th century. Attorney, seed dealer, politician, cattleman, postmaster, sheriff and many other occupations were found. These may have been all one person or several. No connections have been made.

According to a Kansas tax roll, at least one of them was a photographer for a short time in Pardee, KS. Pardee, KS, became a ghost town about 1905, so unfortunately there is little information about the place.

What can be established is from two small advertisements in the Columbus (KS) weekly, 5 March 1885 and 12 March at the Southeast Corner of the Square. By April of the same year, the corner had been taken by D C Bacon, photographer. No earlier ads were found.

There were at least, two men named William H Smith in the right area and about the right time. Around the turn of the century, they both lived in the same town, Chanute, KS. One was a clerk for a drug company and the other was the husband of Mary Elizabeth Mater-Smith, photographer at Chanute, KS. Chanute is about 70 Miles from Columbus, KS. Chanute however is about 150 miles from Pardee, KS, where the tax roll says a William H Smith, photographer was working in 1865.

So no conclusions can be drawn about who the W H Smith was on the Kansas tax roll.

He was probably NOT the Smith in the partnership of Smith and Hooper.

The cabinet card at the left is by Hooper and Smith. Henry Thomas Hooper was found and documented fairly well. See Henry Thomas Hooper page.

But there were at least NINE photographers named Smith that could POSSIBLY have been in Washington, KS, for a brief stay, between the years of 1892 and 1909. This is a list:

Smith, Charles P, Topeka, KS (123 miles to Washington)
Smith, Eugene Warren, Pittsburg, KS (290 miles to Washington)
Smith, Gregory, Ottawa, KS (171 miles to Washington)
Smith, Mrs M E, Chanute, KS; AKA Mrs M E Smith AND Mrs Mary Elizabeth Maters-Smith
Smith, P S, Le Roy, KS (193 miles to Washington)(the same as Peter Smith?)
Smith, Peter, Seneca, KS (71 miles to Washington)(No information found on either)
Smith, R R, Larned, KS (191 miles to Washington)
Smith, Rodrigo Gilbert Leavenworth, KS (144 miles to Washington)
Smith, W H, Pardee, KS, (Pardee is now a ghost town in Atchison county, KS)(117 miles to Washington)

The photographer Smith, of Hooper and Smith, could be any one or none of these. In order to determine which, if any, of these photographers was possibly the one associated with Henry T Hooper in Washington, KS, a timeline or biography for each was developed.

The research above indicates that William H Smith was probably NOT the photographer in partnership with H T Hooper in Washington, KS.

After investigating all of the Smith photographers in this list, Rodrigo Gilbert Smith appears to be the photographer that was partners with
Henry T Hooper in Washington, KS,
around 1891.

photographer: Smith
Girard, KS
example from auction site
(which Smith is unknown)

photographer: Smith California Photo Car
Haddam, KS
excample from Flickr collection of mj aux
(which Smith is unknown)

Not the one you were looking for? Here's the photographer's INDEX by name. Listed here are all the Cabinet Card photographers of the 19th century found in LOST GALLERY. This is a work in progress. For a look at the original postings go to LOST GALLERY.

New examples and additional information are always welcome. Any additional information will help narrow the time that these precious antiques were made.

All submissions should be free of glare and shadows. Do not crop. Leave a border around each card. The edges are sometimes an important clue to the age of the card.

Some examples on this page have been enhanced or restored for clarity and presentation here.

This page is free for educational and research purposes only but, as always, if the original owner of any of these examples objects to the use on this page, just let me know and they will be immediately removed.