James Martin Smith (December 12, 1892 – May 24, 1970) was an American civic, business, and religious leader in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. The youngest Child of American

frontiersman A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, the ...

and Mormon Pioneer,

Lot Smith Lot Smith (May 15, 1830 – June 20, 1892) was a Mormon pioneer, soldier, lawman and American frontiersman. He became known as "The Horseman" for his exceptional skills on horseback as well as for his help in rounding up wild mustangs on Ut ...

, Smith was born in Tuba City,

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the Arizona Territory, was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the ...

, but spent most of his life in

Central, Arizona Central is a census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each d ...

. His mother name was Diantha Elizabeth Mortensen Smith, she was Lot Smith's 8th wife. James moved to Central after his father's death in a grazing conflict with

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

Indians. He served in various county, state, and religious leadership positions, including

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Arizona State Highway Commission,

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

in the

Arizona State Legislature The Arizona State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. Composed of 90 legislators, the ...

, LDS Bishop of the Central Ward, and President of the St. Joseph Stake. He ran two unsuccessful Arizona

gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

campaigns in 1948 and 1950. He was a publisher of the Arizona Journal, a short lived statewide newspaper. He married Winnie Elizabeth Bigler in 1913 and was the father of nine children, eight sons and one daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, James Martin 1892 births 1970 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople People from Tuba City, Arizona People from Graham County, Arizona Arizona state senators Latter Day Saints from Arizona 20th-century members of the Arizona State Legislature