Smith Brothers
Encyclopedia
Biography
William Wallace Smith I (1830-1913) and Andrew Smith (1836-1895) werethe sons of James Smith (c1800-1866) of Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie (city), New York
Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...
. James' family had emigrated from Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, in 1831, and James had emigrated from St. Armand, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
in 1847.
In New York, he opened an ice cream shop called "James Smith and Son". James Smith bought a cough drop recipe from a peddler named Sly Hawkins and in 1852 he made his first batch. William and Andrew took over the business after their father died in 1866. The brand was first called "Smith Brothers Cough Drop".
In 1872, to prevent drug stores from selling generic versions, they developed their filled boxes. Andrew Smith died in 1895, and William continued as president of the company and died in 1913. William was succeeded by his son, Arthur G. Smith (c1875-1936), who continued to expand the company. He added menthol
Menthol
Menthol is an organic compound made synthetically or obtained from peppermint or other mint oils. It is a waxy, crystalline substance, clear or white in color, which is solid at room temperature and melts slightly above. The main form of menthol occurring in nature is -menthol, which is assigned...
drops in 1922, cough syrup in 1926 and wild cherry drops in 1948. Arthur G. Smith had two sons: William Wallace Smith II (1888-1955) and Robert Lansing Smith (1891-1962).
In 1963 the brand was purchased by Warner-Lambert. The brand was bought by F & F Foods of Chicago, Illinois around 1972. In 2011 the brand was sold to GemCap, a private equity fund in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
.
Timeline
- 1830 Birth of William Wallace Smith I
- 1831 Emigration from Scotland
- 1836 Birth of Andrew Smith
- 1847 Emigration from Canada to Poughkeepsie, New YorkPoughkeepsie (city), New YorkPoughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...
- 1852 Cough drops advertised in newspapers
- 1866 Death of James Smith
- 1870 Trademark bill defeated
- 1872 Prepackaged cough drops introduced
- 1876 Trademarks recognized
- 1877 Smith Brothers trademark registered
- 1888 William Wallace Smith II born
- 1891 Birth of Robert Lansing Smith
- 1894 Death of Andrew Smith
- 1913 Death of William Wallace Smith I
- 1922 Menthol drops introduced
- 1926 Cough syrup introduced
- 1936 Death of Arthur G. Smith
- 1948 Wild cherry drops introduced
- 1955 Death of William Wallace Smith II
- 1962 Death of Robert Lansing Smith
- 1964 Brand is sold to Warner-Lambert
- 1977 Manufacturing moved to Chicago, Illinois