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Smith, Francis Hopkinson, 1838-1915

We have 10 books for this author.

Francis Hopkinson Smith, ca. 1903.
Francis Hopkinson Smith, ca. 1903.

Francis Hopkinson Smith (October 23, 1838 – April 7, 1915), United States author, artist and engineer, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, a descendant of Francis Hopkinson, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Smith became a contractor in New York City and did much work for the federal government, including the stone ice-breaker at Bridgeport, Connecticut, the jetties at the mouth of the Connecticut River, the foundation for the Bartholdi Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, the Race Rock Lighthouse (southwest of Fishers Island, New York) and many life-saving stations. His vacations were spent sketching in the White Mountains, in Cuba and in Mexico. He also visited and sketched in Venice, Constantinople and the Netherlands.

He illustrated and published numerous travelogues, including:

  • Old Lines in New Black and White (1885)
  • Well-Worn Roads (1886)
  • A White Umbrella in Mexico (1889)
  • Gondola Days (1897)
  • The Venice of To-Day (1897)

His novels and short stories are especially felicitous in their portrayal of the Old South. Among them are:

  • Col. Carter of Cartersville (1891), which was successfully dramatized
  • A Day at La Guerre's and other Days (1892)
  • A Gentleman Vagabond (1895)
  • Tom Grogan (1896)
  • Caleb West, Master-Diver (1898)
  • The Other Fellow (1899)
  • The Fortunes of Oliver Horn (1902), which has reminiscences of his artist friends
  • Col. Carter's Christmas (1904)
  • At Close Range (1905)
  • The Tides of Barnegat (1906)
  • The Veiled Lady (1907)
  • The Romance of an Old Fashioned Gentleman (1907)
  • Peter (1908)
  • Forty Minutes Late and Other Stories (1909)

External links

References

  • This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
  • New York Times; April 8, 1915, Thursday; F. Hopkinson Smith, Author-Artist, Dies; Engineer Who Built Foundation for the Statue of Liberty Expires at 76. Created 'Colonel Carter' His Many Famous Stories Include "Caleb West, Master Diver". Received Awards for His Paintings.

This biographical information was gathered from the Francis_Hopkinson_Smith page, courtesy of the Wikipedia project.

Books

Colonel Carter of Cartersville
Felix O'Day
The Fortunes of Oliver Horn
A Gentleman Vagabond and Some Others
Kennedy Square
Peter: a novel of which he is not the hero
Tides of Barnegat
Tom Grogan
The Under Dog
The Veiled Lady and Other Men and Women

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