Gilded Age – 1877-1883

Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series

Reconstruction had ended with the Compromise of 1877, and Georgia wasted little time in imposing Jim Crow laws like the 1877 statewide poll tax. The poll tax had existed in a previous form, but the 1877 poll tax required voters to also pay any back taxes before they could vote, and an 1883 act by the Georgia legislature exempted “crippled and disabled Confederate soldiers” from paying the poll tax. In December of 1877 Georgia voters, excepting the disenfranchised ones, decided that Atlanta, not Milledgeville would be the permanent capital of the state. Atlanta was continuing to grow and by 1880 the population was 37,409 and had eclipsed Savannah in size to become the largest city in Georgia.

The Smith household was also continuing to grow. Mary gave birth to a son named Robert Wright Smith sometime in 1877, but he died the following year in 1878. A daughter named Rosa Clare Smith was born in September of 1879.

The 1880 census was enumerated on June 1, 1880 and at that time the Smith household included Robert (39), Mary (36), son Eugene (12), daughter Evelyn (10), daughter Spencer (6), daughter Rosa (8 mos.), and domestic servant (listed as a cook) Flora Wall. Flora was listed in the 1870 census at the Smith household, but her age recorded at that time was 12. The age recorded in the 1880 census for her is 20, so my guess is she was around 20-22.

In 1881 Mary gave birth to another son (her eighth childbirth), Julian T. Smith but like so many others he did not live long, and passed away the following year in 1882.

The 1880 Atlanta tax digest shows an interesting change related to the L. Windsor Smith estate. While Robert’s uncle William McNaught was still functioning as the administrator of the estate, Robert was listed as the agent for the estate’s city property valued at a substantial $18,000.

My guess here is that Robert was to some degree responsible for the Whitehall storefronts and placement of tenants, but I’m not entirely sure. However we do know that the storefronts were occupied by various stores from 1877 through 1882. A variety of lawyers, confectioners, and dry goods retailers such as W. E. Cater, Muse & Swift, L. Wurzburg’s The Bazar, and Haskell & Shulafer’s occupied the 54/56 Whitehall buildings around this time.

However, two notices in the April 8th and 9th, 1882 Atlanta Constitution informed the public that the 54/56 Whitehall storefronts were to undergo a significant renovation. While the paper indicated that the storefronts were owned by Robert, I believe that they were in fact still owned by his father’s estate. The renovation would take over 5 months to complete and the tenant was one of the most important names in Atlanta retail history.

M. Rich & Bro. was originally opened as M. Rich and Co. in 1867 by Morris Rich (Mauritius Reich) at 36 Whitehall. The store did very well, in part due to the fact that they allowed customers to pay on credit, an important enticement during Reconstruction. In 1877 Emanuel Rich joined his brother in business and the store became M. Rich & Bro. Another brother joined in July 1884 and the store was rebranded again as M. Rich & Bros. Their credit and generous return policies ensured that the Rich’s store brand would persist until 2005, and was an important Atlanta institution for many decades.

The grand opening of the new M. Rich & Bro. store at 54/56 Whitehall was on Saturday, September 15th, 1882.

Upon its grand opening, the High Victorian architecturally styled store, decorated with black and gold colors and elaborate gas chandeliers inside, was heralded as the most complete store of its kind in the South.

Rich’s: A Southern Institution – Jeff Clemmons 2012

On May 20, 1883 Mary and Robert welcomed their son Earnest Parker Smith into their family. Earnest was Mary’s ninth and final childbirth. Up next we will take a brief look at Robert’s interest in breeding and showing dogs, specifically his mastiff Turk II.