Ulysses Smith: His Life and Work

by Kristen Murphy
December 2002

Collins' oldest building has been known by many names during its nearly eighty years of existence. When it was completed in 1924, the Men's Dormitory was the only one of its kind and needed no other name. At the residents' request it was soon christened Washington Hall, but that was quickly changed to South Hall, a title that would last for over thirty years. Finally, in 1961, the building was rededicated with the name it holds to this day — the name of a talented businessman, administrator, and teacher without whom it and its companion buildings would likely not have been constructed. The oldest dormitory on campus is now known as Ulysses H. Smith Hall.

Ulysses Howe Smith was born on January 11, 1865, and grew up on a farm near Bloomington with his parents, Dudley F. and Sally (Blankenship) Smith, and his siblings.¹ He began his college career as a commerce student at Eureka College in Illinois, but he only studied there for one year, 1883-4.² The following year saw him back in Indiana and teaching in the Monroe County schools.

Smith himself returned to school in 1888, when he entered Indiana University to study pedagogy.³ Although today it seems unlikely that a 23-year-old freshman would be particularly involved in undergraduate activities, Smith was extremely active in the campus community. As a freshman, he was initiated into Phi Gamma Delta fraternity⁴ and won third prize in a declamation contest sponsored by IU's literary societies (which had been the forerunners of the greek system). For his winning recitation of "The Death of Benedict Arnold," Smith received a handsome prize of $2.50.⁵

During his junior year Smith acted in a play that he recalled fondly over forty years later:

I remember the Y.M.C.A. having been active on the campus 'way back in 1890 when I played Falstaff in a "Y" play, "The Merry Wives of Windsor"…. I was a junior in the University then and my 150 pounds weren't enough for a successful characterization so I had to be padded with pillows before I went on the stage.⁶

That summer Smith was an instructor for the Monroe County Normal, a five-week teacher training school organized by Indiana University.⁷ Smith's special charge was a course in bookkeeping, which he had studied at Eureka. His experience as an educator continued outside the confines of the university: from 1891 to 1892, while still a student at IU, he served as superintendent of schools in Ellettsville.⁸

Smith's senior year was particularly busy. Every Friday at 6:30, he went up to the third floor of the Old College Building for meetings of the venerable Philomathean Literary Society, of which he was president.⁹ He also served as secretary of the IU Pedagogical Club, a brand new organization for future teachers who wished to conduct additional study of their chosen profession.¹⁰ But Smith was most prominent as co-Editor and Business Manager of the Indiana Student.¹¹ The future IDS was then only a monthly publication and was actually owned by students — more specifically, by Smith himself. His work with the Student began many decades of interest in the newspaper business.

Smith graduated from Indiana University in 1893 with an A.B. in Pedagogics.¹² He was 28 years old. Following graduation, he took a job as high school principal and math teacher in Anderson, Indiana.¹³ He worked in Anderson for four years, occasionally traveling to Bloomington to visit his family and his Phi Gam brothers. Perhaps it was his fraternity brothers who first gave him the nickname "Up High" — chosen for his initials and because he was very tall. In most cases, however, he was known to his family and friends as "Uley."¹⁴

In 1897 Smith made a move across country to Whitehorn, a gold-mining town near Cripple Creek, Colorado. There he founded, edited, and published the Whitehorn News, a successful local newspaper.¹⁵

Smith returned to Indiana after only two years, but a part of his heart still remained in Colorado, and in order to maintain some property there he staked a gold claim with three other partners. With questionable optimism they dubbed the site the "Doubtful Lode."¹⁶ Yearly work by each partner was required in order to keep the claim, so Uley hired a man to do his portion of the digging.

Back in Bloomington, he accepted a job as Assistant Registrar of Indiana University, in special charge of accounting.¹⁷ His supervisor, Registrar John Cravens, shared Smith's interest in journalism (he had founded two newspapers in Indiana) and through that connection and their work for IU the two men became close friends. Both would later befriend their much younger colleague, Clarence Edmondson — a friendship that should seem highly fitting to current Collinsites.

Smith began graduate work at IU in 1899, the same year he became Assistant Registrar, but he never completed his degree.¹⁸ The reasons for his giving up graduate study after only one year are not known, although it seems likely that the decision had to do with his marriage that year to Mary Louise List of Franklin, Indiana.¹⁹ The newlyweds moved in with Uley's parents, an arrangement which delighted the rest of the family since they felt this lightened the burden on the elder Smiths.²⁰ Mary Louise and Uley had one child, Winifred, who was born within the first two years of their marriage. She would eventually follow her father's footsteps as a journalist and serve on the editorial staff of the Indianapolis Star.²¹

Although Uley was busy in Bloomington caring for his new family and organizing the University's financial structure, Colorado continued to demand a large part of his attention. His brother Paul, who was his partner in the newspaper business, still lived in Salida, Colorado and wrote him frequently about business matters. In January 1900 the brothers already owned the Whitehorn News and Turret Goldbelt and were making plans to acquire the Salida Record. Paul hoped that his brother would soon rejoin him out West and resume a direct role in the business. Soon after Uley's marriage he wrote: "I expect some day - - and I hope not very far distant - - to welcome you both to Salida where we can all grow up with the country together."²²

The Record deal went through in February 1901 and Paul Smith took charge of the newly acquired paper. It was an extremely time-consuming enterprise, since Paul and his Colorado partners were not only the business managers of the paper, but also its reporters, editors, and printing press operators. Clearly, however, it was an occupation that Paul and his brother both loved and excelled in. Right away, the Record acquisition seemed promising:

We have taken charge of the Record, got it three days before time which gave us some advantage as several parties were waiting on us to give us job work. More than twenty subscriptions have come in without asking and before we have issued a paper. Things look encouraging and our room is being refinished inside and a new composing room added that will be the best of any that I have seen in the state.²³

Not all of Uley's dealings in Colorado were so positive. In October 1901, his partners in the "Doubtful Lode" came under the impression that he had jumped their mining claim.²⁴ Two months of angry, confused letter writing and a resurvey of the land ensued. As it turned out, the man Smith had hired to work on the site had not dug deeply enough to legally hold the claim.²⁵ The matter was finally untangled; however, Uley's letters to his mining partners reveal the frustration and helplessness he faced while trying to do business at a distance:

Does my name appear on the Record for 1/4th interest? If it does, and if you all assure me that I will have a clear title, under your arrangement, to a 1/4th interest, I shall let my stake go by default and will continue with you as a 1/4th holder. I must first have your assurance, however, that all is OK. If you tell me that all is OK, I shall rely upon you, and shall send you the money you ask for.

I can't help but feel that you, Dick, and Blackman will do the right thing by me. I think it no more than right that you send me some paper to show that your proposed arrangement does not entirely throw me out.²⁶

Throughout the early years of the century Smith's brother Paul exerted constant pressure for him to return to Colorado. In an early letter Paul wrote: "You would be pleased at the number of inquiries I have for you and the number of people who are anxious that you should return to Salida. In fact they look upon you as merely being away for a time and that you will some time come back. Of this I feel sure myself."²⁷ Paul's urging intensified when one of the Smiths' newspaper partners was forced to leave Salida because of his wife's health. He campaigned relentlessly for Uley to move out West and replace the departing colleague. Ulysses' replies to his brother are lost, but Paul's letters suggest he was hedging about the decision. They debated the matter via post for over a year, with Paul constantly insisting that a move west would be to Uley's advantage:

19 February 1902
Now I think that this plan is good and if you can see your way to coming out, even if you cannot come till the end of the college year, I feel satisfied that it will be the proper thing to do. You know what the country is and that now is the time, if ever, for us to take advantage of the growth and development.²⁸

8 March 1902
Your answer is what I expected. I think that you are making a mistake and that you do not treat the matter in the serious light that you should. If you are coming to Colorado it is the time now to come. If you are not coming now I think that you should make up your mind to stick to Indiana. The time has past for so much moving about after making a start in some certain direction.

For my part I would prefer working on the section in Colorado to a soft snap in Indiana.²⁹

31 March 1902
You are too cynical regarding your Colorado experience. You must admit that at least all of the fault was not with Colorado and Colorado conditions. But as that is a matter of the past there is no use in mentioning it. As to "shipping ore" and "building smelters" I know the differences between hot air and facts. The Salida smelter is rapidly going up and the investment is one of the greatest in Colorado for this year…. You should read the news a little more carefully and with more of a view to your own interests.³⁰

28 February 1903
Now I think that you had best decide just as soon as you can what you will do. If you want to come I feel that we can make a success. We have succeeded so far and the battle is practically won now. But if you come at all I feel sure that you should come to stay for good. Do not come with the idea that the move is temporary, for if you do it will only make the undertaking more difficult. If you think that you ought to stay in Bloomington it seems to me that you had best decide to remain there permanently, or at least for several years. It is no use for you to stay and build up yourself in that line year after year and then suddenly stop off and begin at something new. I feel sure that now is the time for you to come here (I mean next June) if you are coming at all, or else put the matter off indefinitely pending the matter of your success in holding a place in the university. My advice for you is to decide now and let that settle it. Don't make a half way proposition, for that will only tend to confuse matters and to make a final decision more difficult.

Do not construe me as trying to persuade you. I am merely trying to put the matter before you in the clearest possible light so that you will be better able to make up your mind. Of course, as you know, I have always wanted you to be associated with me in business and of course as long as the business is successful you will have it as a sort of reserve on which to depend.³¹

Ironically, Paul himself would be forced to leave Colorado in 1904. His health had become poor and he went to seek less stressful work in a lower altitude.³²

Meanwhile back in Bloomington, Ulysses Smith continued to broaden his role in IU. Commerce was added to the University curriculum in 1903 and Smith, because of his abundant experience in the field, became the accounting instructor.³³ In April 1904 the commerce course was expanded into a full department, as reported by the IDS:

Along with the establishment of schools of Medicine and Journalism the University is installing another department whose practical value can scarcely be overestimated. This is the new Business Department under assistant Registrar U.H. Smith. At present there are 36 students enrolled and the classes are growing.

The aim of the course is to give a comprehensive study of the methods of accounting used in various lines of business. The students are to become acquainted with the books of large wholesale and retail houses by actually making entries in a set of books furnished them. They will be taught the manner of drawing and the use of all commercial papers.

The work will be only begun this term. Probably most of the time will be spent in auditing accounts and learning the different forms of business correspondence. The entire course will comprise a thorough study of all the methods of accounting used in various lines of business. […]

The opinion is probably prevalent that only those who are looking forward to some practical business career are taking the course but this is not true. An inventory of the intentions of the students in regard to this was taken by Mr. Smith with interesting results. He found that only about half the members of his classes were actually preparing to enter the practical business world. A number of them were taking the work in connection with their work in Economics while many more were wisely taking it for no other reason than for its value as an element in general culture.³⁴

In addition to teaching business courses and working in the Registrar's office, Smith was active in many other facets of the University. In the summer of 1904 he was elected secretary of the Alumni Association,³⁵ and the following year he was appointed to the University athletic board, on which he would serve continuously for 31 years.³⁶ Smith was also present for University social events, such as the Woman's League Christmas party in 1905 at which "[a]fter a social hour, Santa Claus impersonated by Prof. U. H. Smith, added to the merriment of the evening by distributing gifts for 'all children who had not bolted classes more than half the term.' "³⁷

Perhaps for financial reasons, or perhaps because of the ever-present chance of moving to Colorado, the Smiths had not yet established a permanent home in Bloomington. Since the spring of 1904 they had been living in a house rented from Uley's "Aunt Narcie," Narcissa Brandon. However, this arrangement would soon come to a bitter end. Smith had understood that the rental agreement was for three years — but, oddly for an experienced businessman, had nothing in writing. Perhaps he felt it would be inappropriate to demand such assurance from a family member, but it could have saved him a lot of trouble. Expecting to stay put for at least three years, he invested a great deal of time and money in improvements to the property. Then in May 1905, after only one year, Aunt Narcie rented the house to someone else. She claimed not to remember the three-year agreement. Uley wrote angrily to his aunt: "We never dreamed that you intended to sell us out — , or that we were setting a trap for ourselves by making the place beautiful. But all that is done. We are sold out, it is reported, and we have not a line in writing. We are at your mercy."³⁸ The Smiths vacated Aunt Narcie's house at the end of June.³⁹ It was not until the spring of 1908 that Uley began soliciting bids for someone to build him a house on East Third Street.⁴⁰

1908 also brought a career change for Smith when he left the Registrar's office and was appointed Bursar.⁴¹ This move made him one of the top officials in the University: he, Registrar John Cravens, and President William Lowe Bryan were often considered to be a sort of administrative triumvirate. Smith would occupy the post of Bursar until his retirement and it is for that position that he is best known. His brother Paul, who was still a frequent correspondent, wrote to congratulate him:

Say, Bill. Please explain that there title the board conferred on you. If there are to be any titles in the family I want to understand them even if I can't have one for myself. Was the board suffering from sea-sickness when they conferred the said title? It does seem that it ought to be worth more than nineteen hundred a year to carry that title around. Still a man can afford to do a whole lot for nineteen hundred a year. Why don't you tell the board that if they will change the title to just plain, American treasurer during vacation time with bursar as the proper stunt during the actual term of hostilities that you will take two thousand a year as a starter and agree to say nothing about a raise for a while? I think a vacation is a good thing even for a title. But I am mighty glad the compensation is so much as nineteen hundred. Don't you get a grouch on that salary.⁴²

Over the next several years Uley was extremely active on campus and in the community. He continued to work with the Alumni Association and the Athletic Board and served as president of the Association of University and College Business Officers⁴³ and the Bloomington Rotary Club.⁴⁴ He was very involved in the Episcopal Church, serving as a trustee of the diocese and as a member of the Bishop's council and the local vestry.⁴⁵ He also wrote articles on various aspects of journalism and business and presented them to audiences of fellow journalists. As the University's top financial officer, Smith was heavily involved in the Memorial Fund campaign after World War One. This was a massive fundraising effort that enabled the construction of the Indiana Memorial Union, Memorial Hall, and (the original) Memorial Stadium. Between 1911 and 1934 Smith traveled to Indianapolis once a week on University business — a staggering figure in those days before long commutes became commonplace. The IDS calculated that his trips totaled 124,384 miles, or five times the circumference of the earth. "For several years I made the trip on the Monon and Pennsylvania railroads," said Uley of these trips; "later I went on the Illinois Central line and then on the newly established bus line. I now go by train to Indianapolis and return by bus."⁴⁶

Uley was also an important part of the Olympiad Campaign that lobbied so successfully for the construction of West (Edmondson) and North (Cravens) Halls. In fact, the campaign strategy was his idea:

That men in charge of the campaign should ascertain the sentiment of other unorganized students not in the dormitory, and bring this before the trustees, was the plan offered by U.H. Smith, bursar. This was elaborated on somewhat by John W. Cravens, registrar, who told the committee that the dormitory idea should be sold gradually to a small group first, enlarging this number by several meetings and then making their campaign for completion of the waiting list at South Hall.⁴⁷

Smith's idea was a success: the campaigners obtained hundreds of names of students who committed to live in the new dormitories. Construction of West and North Halls began and the buildings opened in 1940.

In 1936 Smith was named Treasurer of IU. However, he only held this position for a year before retiring in the summer of 1937.⁴⁸ The Board of Trustees voted him the title of Bursar Emeritus upon his retirement, and he maintained a deep interest in the affairs of the University.

The following year, Smith was honored in a ceremony on Alumni Day when an oil portrait of him by Brown County artist Marie Goth was presented to Indiana University. John S. Hastings was the speaker on the occasion and said of Smith:

His service was rendered in a spirit of untiring conscientious devotion. He carried the heavy burden of the fiscal affairs of the university, and discharged his responsibility through long hours of ceaseless work. He was a member of the administrative triumvirate of this institution which contributed so much to the advancement of its best interests.

U.H. Smith was more than all of this. He was, and is, a delightful personality, characterized by a warmth akin to affection, and unselfishness approaching personal abandon. His life has endeared him to thousands of undergraduates with whom he had contact and whose faltering moments were made steady by his helping hand and generous thought. …They felt free to speak of him as "Up High" and "Uley" in a spirit of true comradeship.

…His colleagues… have appreciated this warmth of his personality and the sincerity of his friendship. He was a welcome addition to any group of his fellows. He was lovable and kind, warm and true.

These choice characteristics still measure him today. He is with us here and we hope for many happy years to come his genial soul will enrich our lives with its personal radiance. How fine it is that we can say these things to him in person and in the hearing of his delightful wife and charming daughter. Their influence on his life and work can not pass unmentioned and unrecognized. It has been a part of him and a joy to us.

And so, that we may give some expression of the depths of our feeling and appreciation, and that future generations may know of this, it is my happy privilege to present to Indiana University, on behalf of the alumni of our institution and the friends of Ulysses H. Smith, his portrait in oil done by the master hands of Marie Goth. As it hangs in an appropriate place may it continue to radiate the men (sic) and the personality which it so delightfully portrays.⁴⁹

Uley's portrait was originally displayed in an administrative office, but in 1965 it was moved to the Smith 1 lounge, where it remains today.⁵⁰ Dozens of Collinsites pass through the lounge on a daily basis, many never realizing that the man in the painting gave their home its name.

Smith moved to California after his retirement, and he died there on April 21, 1953 at the age of 88.⁵¹ His funeral took place in Hollywood at St. Mary's-of-the-Angels Church. South Hall was renamed in his honor on September 24, 1961, the same day that the rest of the Men's Residence Center was rededicated.⁵² His former secretary, Vestie Burks, unveiled the building's nameplate. The student representative who spoke at the ceremony was a Smith Hall resident.⁵³

Ulysses Smith was a man of many interests and talents whose service to his alma mater over more than three decades cannot be measured. He and his friends, John Cravens and Clarence Edmondson, were vital in creating the Indiana University we know today. Their contributions are proudly memorialized in the buildings of Collins Living-Learning Center, whose residents still display their exemplary qualities of kindness, service, and intellectual curiosity.

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Footnotes

¹ "Ulysses Howe Smith papers, 1901-1912." Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Available http://www.indiana.edu/~libarch/Personal/c197pers.html. Back

² "Ulysses Howe Smith papers, 1901-1912." Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Available http://www.indiana.edu/~libarch/Personal/c197pers.html. Back

³ "Ulysses Howe Smith papers, 1901-1912." Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Available http://www.indiana.edu/~libarch/Personal/c197pers.html. Back

⁴ Indiana Student, Vol. 15, No. 1. October 1888, p. 13:2. Back

⁵ Indiana Student, Vol. 15, No. 3. December 1888, p. 53:2. Back

⁶ Indiana Daily Student, Vol. 60, No. 7. 20 September 1933, p. 1:6. Back

⁷ Indiana Student, Vol. 16, No. 7. April 1890, p. 145-147. Back

⁸ Indiana Daily Student, Vol. 35, No. 29. 25 October 1909, p. 4:3. Back

⁹ Indiana Student, Vol. 19, No. 1. October 1892, p. 26:2. Back

¹⁰ Indiana Student, Vol. 19, No. 3. December 1892, p. 21:2. Back

¹¹ Indiana Student, Vol. 19, No. 9. June 1893, p. 3:1. Back

¹² "Ulysses Howe Smith papers, 1901-1912." Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Available http://www.indiana.edu/~libarch/Personal/c197pers.html. Back

¹³ Indiana Student, Vol. 20, No. 1. 3 October 1893, p. 4:2, and Ibid. Back

¹⁴ Fact sheet, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

¹⁵ Alumni Quarterly, summer 1937. Back

¹⁶ Letter from D. D. Dick to W. H. Covey. 4 October 1901. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

¹⁷ "Ulysses Howe Smith papers, 1901-1912." Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Available http://www.indiana.edu/~libarch/Personal/c197pers.html. Back

¹⁸ "Ulysses Howe Smith papers, 1901-1912." Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Available http://www.indiana.edu/~libarch/Personal/c197pers.html. Back

¹⁹ Indiana Daily Student, Vol. 63, No. 145. 19 May 1937, p. 1:8. Back

²⁰ Letter from Paul B. Smith to U. H. Smith. 8 January 1900. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

²¹ Indiana Daily Student, Vol. 63, No. 145. 19 May 1937, p. 1:8. Back

²² Letter from Paul B. Smith to U. H. Smith. 8 January 1900. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

²³ Letter from Paul B. Smith to U. H. Smith. 27 February 1901. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

²⁴ Letter from D. D. Dick to W. H. Covey. 4 October 1901. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

²⁵ Letter from W. H. Covey to U. H. Smith. 14 November 1901. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

²⁶ Letter from U. H. Smith to W. H. Covey. 25 November 1901. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

²⁷ Letter from Paul B. Smith to U. H. Smith. 17 September 1901. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

²⁸ Letter from Paul B. Smith to U. H. Smith, 19 February 1902. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

²⁹ Letter from Paul B. Smith to U. H. Smith, 8 March 1902. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

³⁰ Letter from Paul B. Smith to U. H. Smith, 31 March 1902. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

³¹ Letter from Paul B. Smith to U. H. Smith, 28 February 1903. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

³² Letter from Paul B. Smith to U. H. Smith, 8 June 1904. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

³³ Indiana Daily Student, Vol. 29, No. 43. 12 November 1903, p. 1:1. Back

³⁴ Indiana Daily Student, Vol. 29, No. 139. 15 April 1904, p. 1:4. Back

³⁵ Indiana Daily Student, Vol. 29, No. 184. 23 July 1904, p. 1:1. Back

³⁶ Indiana Daily Student, Vol. 63, No. 155. 2 June 1937, p. 5:6. Back

³⁷ Indiana Daily Student, Vol. 31, No. 57. 9 December 1905, p. 3:2. Back

³⁸ Letter from U. H. Smith to Narcissa Brandon, 6 May 1905. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

³⁹ Letter from U. H. Smith to Narcissa Brandon, 14 June 1905. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

⁴⁰ Misc. letters, March 1908. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

⁴¹ "Ulysses Howe Smith papers, 1901-1912." Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Available http://www.indiana.edu/~libarch/Personal/c197pers.html. Back

⁴² Letter from Paul B. Smith to U. H. Smith, 13 March 1909. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN.Back

⁴³ Indiana Daily Student, Vol. 46, No. 140. 11 May 1920, p. 1:1. Back

⁴⁴ Indiana Daily Student, Vol. 57, No. 175. 4 June 1931, p. 1:4. Back

⁴⁵ Indiana Daily Student, Vol. 63, No. 145. 19 May 1937, p. 1:8. Back

⁴⁶ Indiana Daily Student, Vol. 61, No. 44. 15 November 1934, p. 3:2. Back

⁴⁷ "Selling Idea of Dormitory Life to Unorganized Men Is Decided on at Meeting." Indiana Daily Student, 28 September (no year). Back

⁴⁸ Indiana Daily Student, Vol. 63, No. 145. 19 May 1937, p. 1:8. Back

⁴⁹ "Remarks of John S. Hastings on the occasion of the presentation of a portrait of Ulysses H. Smith." Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

⁵⁰ Letter from Robert E. Burton to Morris C. Barker, 20 April 1965. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

⁵¹ "Ulysses Howe Smith, 88 Dies in Los Angeles Home." Indiana Daily Student, 22 April 1953.Back

⁵² Program from Men's Residence Center rededication ceremony, 24 September 1961. Indiana University Archives, Bloomington, IN. Back

⁵³ "University Housing Dedicated Sunday." Indiana Daily Student, 26 September 1961. Back

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