Citizen: Friend William Smith
A founder and president of Smith & Egge Manufacturing Co., Friend William Smith was a successful Bridgeport businessman whose commitment to his hometown left a lasting legacy.
Smith was born in Kortright, N.Y. in 1829. His father, a minister, moved his family to New York City so his son could get his early education in public schools. At the time the term “public” did not mean free; Smith’s school was the equivalent of private school, requiring tuition. Later he attended Amenia Seminary in upstate New York’s Duchess County.
Smith began his business career as a clerk in a New York City hosiery store at a salary of $10 a month, remaining in that position for 13 years. Moving to Bridgeport in 1859, he opened a dry-goods store but a dishonest employee caused the store to fail and Smith was forced to go back to clerking. (The particulars of the tale are lost to posterity.)
An ardent Republican, Smith was a prominent member of the Wide-Awakes, a paramilitary organization formed during the John Frémont and Abraham Lincoln Republican primary campaign of 1860. As his reward for supporting Lincoln he was named postmaster of Bridgeport, a position he held until 1869. Later he became a member of the State Central Committee and chairman of the Executive Committee of Bridgeport.
After leaving the postmaster position, Smith organized the Forrester Manufacturing Co. in Bridgeport. In 1870 Smith left Bridgeport for a time, taking a position as superintendent of the Ellsworth Mill & Mining Co. in Nevada. He resigned in 1873 and returned to Connecticut.
About the time Smith returned east, the U.S. post office sought to devise standardized, secure letterboxes. Smith and Frederick Egge invented a lock and Smith came up with a key design. They became the successful bidders, receiving a contract to manufacture letterboxes for the government.
In 1878 the company was the successful bidder on another government contract, this time to manufacture small mailbox locks. For the next 20 years the company made locks for the postal service.
Smith was blessed with an inventive mind, devising a system of carrier and post office chains for securing the lock and key, resulting in orders from throughout the country. He also obtained contracts for all the cord fasteners and label cases used by the postal service. Another of Smith’s inventions was the window chain, used instead of cord for hanging weights to the windows.
Manufacturing experts Smith and Egge would try to produce nearly anything, from bicycle wrenches to sewing-machine parts. After receiving contracts to supply parts to companies like Singer, the company decided to manufacture its own sewing machines, a highly successful venture.
The Smith & Egge factory was the first in Bridgeport to introduce the nine-hour workday, and later an eight-hour day.
Always active in the Bridgeport community, Smith was a vestryman in Christ Episcopal Church and a member of Hamilton Commandery and Lafayette Consistory, both Masonic organizations. An energetic and sociable man, he was a member of St. John’s Lodge, the Algonquin Club, Brooklawn Country Club
and served as a governor of the Seaside Club, all in Bridgeport.
Smith was also an organizer of the Lake Torpedo Boat Co. in Bridgeport, organizer and president of the Bridgeport Deoxidized Bronze & Metal Co., a director of City National Bank and an incorporator and trustee of Farmers & Mechanics Bank.
He was also a member of the Bridgeport Historical & Scientific Society and the National Manufacturers’ Association. Smith died in 1917 at the age of 88. The company he helped to found is likewise gone. Exactly when it shuttered its doors is unknown; it is remembered today only by collectors searching eBay for Smith & Egge products.
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