Biographical Note
Elizabeth Allen Smart was born in Schoharie, New York, on January 8, 1889, to Reverend John Gardiner Smart and Leleka Allen Smart. Smart graduated from Smith College and attended Columbia Law School. After being admitted to the New York State Bar Association, she practiced law in New York City for several years, and returned to her family home in Cambridge, New York, after her brother died in World War I. In 1922, Smart became the owner of the Washington County Post, a publication that had previously been owned by her uncle, James S. Smart. From 1922 to 1929, Smart simultaneously ran the newspaper as well as her own law practice. She sold the newspaper in 1945.
Smart was involved in the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) for much of her life and held several different roles, including national corresponding secretary and director of the national legislative program. From 1918 to 1950, she served as WTCU’s consultant to the United Nations. Smart was also an active member of the Prohibition Party and was a candidate in 1932 for representative-at-large for New York State’s Law Preservation Party.
In addition to her pursuits focused on temperance, Smith was also an author and published Business Law: A Working Manual of Everyday Law with Thomas Conyngton sometime around 1920. Additionally, Smart wrote for the WCTU’s periodical, The Union Signal.
Smart died in Washington, D.C., on August 16, 1959.