Nels Hansen Smith (August 27, 1884July 5, 1976) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

who served as the 18th Governor of

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

from 1939 until 1943. He was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Biography

He was born on August 27, 1884, in Gayville in the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of N ...

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

immigrants Margaret (née Larsen) and Peter Smith. Smith moved to

in 1907 and subsequently was elected to the

Wyoming House of Representatives The Wyoming House of Representatives is the lower house of the Wyoming State Legislature. There are 60 Representatives in the House, representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the state, each with a population of ...

for the Fifteenth State Legislature. He lived in Crook County. He was elected governor in 1938, defeating incumbent Governor Leslie A. Miller. In 1942, when it was proposed

Japanese-American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

s be relocated to Wyoming Governor Smith told

Milton Eisenhower Milton Stover Eisenhower (September 15, 1899 – May 2, 1985) was an American academic administrator. He served as president of three major American universities: Kansas State University, Pennsylvania State University, and Johns Hopkins Univers ...

, “If you bring any Japs into my state they will be hanging from every tree.” He lost the 1942 election to

Lester Hunt Lester Callaway Hunt, Sr. (July 8, 1892June 19, 1954), was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from the state of Wyoming. Hunt was the first to be elected to two consecutive terms as Wyoming's governor, serving as ...

, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. In 1942, Smith and two partners bought Ranch A in Crook County, from the estate of

Moses Annenberg Moses Louis Annenberg (February 11, 1877 – July 20, 1942) was an American newspaper publisher, who purchased ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the United States in 1936. ''The Inquirer'' has the sixte ...

; it is now listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. He died on July 5, 1976, in

Spearfish, South Dakota Spearfish ( Lakota: ''Hočhápȟe'') is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota. The population was 12,193 at the time of the 2020 census. History Before the Black Hills Gold Rush of 1876, the area was used by Native Americans (primarily bands ...

. Smith's granddaughter Connie Smith, 10 years old, disappeared in

Lakeville, Connecticut Lakeville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, close to Dutchess County, New York. It is within the town of Salisbury, but has its own ZIP Code (06039). As of the 2010 census, the population of Lak ...

(a part of

Salisbury, Connecticut Salisbury () is a town situated in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is the northwesternmost in the state of Connecticut; the Massachusetts-New York-Connecticut tri-state marker is located at the northwest corner of the town ...

) while attending summer camp in 1952. He and his son, Connie's father, exhausted all resources trying to find her, but to no avail. She has never been found.

References

Wyoming State Archives biography
Accessed January 17, 2007

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Nels H. Republican Party governors of Wyoming American Lutherans American people of Danish descent 1976 deaths 1884 births People from Yankton County, South Dakota People from Crook County, Wyoming Republican Party members of the Wyoming House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians 20th-century Lutherans