Series I. Correspondence/Contents of Letter Boxes, 1899-1935, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Contents
This series holds the content of about 52 letterboxes in the collection, dating from about 1899 to about 1935. The boxes had deteriorated so the contents were removed into archival folders and rehoused in October 2021, but the arrangement of the folders retained that of the letterboxes.
The series primarily includes incoming letters, and also holds drafts or copies of outgoing letters and various forms of print matter and ephemera (e.g., newspaper clippings, advertisements, pamphlets, political handbills, programs, business cards, solicitations for donations, etc.).
The correspondence was only skimmed for subject matter content by the archivist. It appears that there is some correspondence here related to Smith's clients/legal matters, but these seem to be mostly of a transactional nature (e.g., arrangements for title searches, inquiries about potential matters, etc.); more client-related correspondence is likely found with the legal files in Series III.
More extensive here is Smith's correspondence on personal affairs and on matters that lie on the blurry boundary between personal and professional interests. These include documents related to elections and politics (filed under "P") and to Smith's apparent support for the Republican Club of the City of New York (under "R"). A consistently sizable amount of material over the years is found filed under "C" for various churches, most especially those of the Methodist Episcopal denomination in the Bronx and New York City generally, and for various Christian charitable causes, such as the YMCA. Under "T" can be found extensive material from the North Side Board of Trade in the City of New York (renamed in 1914 as the Bronx Board of Trade in the City of New York). While some of this material is of a general solicitation nature, some is specific to Smith and reflects his deeper support of some of these institutions and activities.
Arrangement
The series retains the order of the original letterboxes from which the contents were removed. Based on the original label on the spine of the boxes, most of the letterboxes held documents from one of two 6-month periods for each year (January 1-July 1 and July 1-January 1). It seems likely, though, that some of the boxes held documents from somewhat outside their stated date range. A few letterboxes explicitly held documents from longer periods, that is, one or more years.
Within each box, documents were further arranged alphabetically by Smith, but how that was applied by him was idiosyncratic and somewhat inconsistent over time. No rearrangement was done when the archivist rehoused the documents. Although many documents were filed by correspondent surname, much more was filed by a keyword or general subject regardless of the name. As examples: Banks tend to be under B; miscellaneous Bronx-oriented organizations are also under B; churches and Christian associations tend to be under C; lawyer or legal associations under L; candidates for public office and election matters under P for politics, except those specific to the Republican Party, which is under R; trade or transit organizations tend to be under T. Nonetheless, despite these filing trends, there are some inconsistencies in how names were filed over time.
Processing Information
The series was processed at a minimal level by archivist Larry Weimer in October 2021. The container list reflects the entire date range for each archival box. Within the boxes themselves, individual folders are labeled to reflect their contents' letterbox labeling/date range.
Correspondence (17 folders), circa 1899-1903 July, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Some 1901 letterbox content may have been removed and may be that found in box 17 (see Series III).
Correspondence (16 folders), 1903 July-1906 January, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The letter box for January-July 1904 was missing when the documents were rehoused to archival folders in October 2021; these are likely found mixed with the legal papers in box 17 and possibly 37 (see Series III). For letterbox July 1905-January 1906, this box holds correspondents A-S; T-Z is in the next box.
Correspondence (14 folders), 1905 July-1908 January, inclusive
Scope and Contents
For letterbox July 1905-January 1906, this box holds correspondents T-Z; A-S is in the prior box.
Correspondence (14 folders), 1908-1910 January, inclusive
Correspondence (14 folders), 1910-1912 January, inclusive
Correspondence (21 folders), 1912-1914 July, inclusive
Correspondence (19 folders), 1914 July-1917 January, inclusive
Correspondence (20 folders), 1917-1920 July, inclusive
Correspondence (20 folders), 1920 July-1924 January, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The letterbox for the period July 1921-January 1922 was not found in the collection in October 2021; the related documents are possibly in box 37 (see Series III).