Henry Walton Smith Explained

Henry Walton Smith (1738 – 23 August 1792) was an Englishman who was the founder of W. H. Smith, one of the United Kingdom's largest bookselling and newspaper vending businesses.

Career

Brought up in Wrington in Somerset, Henry Walton Smith moved to London and became a personal assistant to Charles Rogers, an English customs official and art collector.^[1]

In 1792, together with his wife Anna, he founded his news vending business in London.^[2]

He died only a few months later^[2] on 23 August 1792.

Family

In 1784 he married Anna Eastaugh, a servant girl (1756-c. 1816), leading to the loss of his inheritance.^[3] They went on to have two sons, Henry Edward Smith and William Henry Smith, and one daughter, Mary Anne Smith.^{[4] [5]}

Further reading

• Book: Wilson, Charles . Charles Wilson (historian) . 1985 . First with the News: The History of W.H. Smith, 1792-1972 . London . Jonathan Cape . 978-0-22402-156-2.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Henry Walton Smith 1738 - 1792 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220214040314/https://genealogy.links.org/links-cgi/readged?/home/ben/camilla-genealogy/current+c-smith3056+4-10-0-0-0 . 2022-02-14 . . genealogy.links.org.
2. Web site: History of WHSmith 1792-1900 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101112035327/http://www.whsmithplc.co.uk:80/about_whsmith/history_of_whsmith . 2010-11-12 . WHSmith plc.
3. Web site: Secrets of our favorite brands revealed. 21 January 2017. AZ Vision. 31 January 2018.
4. Book: Reade, Compton . 1904 . The Smith Family, being a popular account of most branches of the name - however spelt - from the fourteenth century downwards, with numerous pedigrees now published for the first time . London . Elliot Stock . 142.
5. Web site: Anna Eastaugh (Easter) 1756 - c. 1816 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220214050302/https://genealogy.links.org/links-cgi/readged?/home/ben/camilla-genealogy/current+c-eastaugh3057+4-10-0-0-0 . 2022-02-14 . . genealogy.links.org.