Roy Campbell Smith

Captain
Roy Campbell Smith
21st Naval Governor of Guam
In office
May 30, 1916 – November 18, 1918
Preceded byEdward Simpson (Acting)
Succeeded byWilliam Gilmer
Personal details
Born(1858-07-16)July 16, 1858
Fort Mason, Texas
DiedApril 10, 1940(1940-04-10) (aged 81)
Somerville, South Carolina
SpouseMargaret Aldrich Smith
Children3
RelativesWilliam T. Sampson (father-in-law)
Alma materUnited States Naval Academy
OccupationNaval officer, Governor of Guam
Military career
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service / branchUnited States Navy
RankCaptain
CommandsUSS Arkansas (BB-33)
AwardsNavy Cross

Roy Campbell Smith (1858 – April 11, 1940) was an American naval officer and the Governor of Guam from 1916 to 1918.

Early life

On July 16, 1858, Smith was born in Fort Mason, Texas. Smith's father was Charles Henry Smith, an assistant surgeon general of the United States and later of the Confederate States of America. Smith's mother was Maria McGregor Campbell Smith.[1]

Education

In 1878, Smith graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.[2]

Career

Smith was the commanding officer of the USS Arkansas (BB-33) from 17 September 1912 to 13 October 1914.[3][4]

In 1916, Smith became the Naval Governor of Guam, until 1918.[5][6]

Smith retired as a U.S. Navy Captain.[2]

Awards

Personal life

On October 11, 1887, in Annapolis, Maryland, Smith married Margaret Aldrich Sampson, daughter of Rear admiral William Thomas Sampson. They had three children, Roy, Marjorie, and William.[1]

Smith's daughter Marjorie Sampson Smith became a sponsor of USS Sampson (DD-63) on March 4, 1916. It was named for Rear admiral William Thomas Sampson, Smith's father-in-law.[7] In 1918, Smith's daughter Marjorie Sampson Smith married Spotswood Dandridge Bowers, a lawyer.[8]

On May 21, 1929, Smith's wife Margaret Smith died in Newport, Rhode Island. She is interred at Lakewood Cemetery in Cooperstown, New York.[1]

On April 10, 1940, Smith died in Summerville, South Carolina.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Roy Campbell Smith papers, MSC-005. Naval Historical Collection - Biographical Note". usnwcarchives.org. Retrieved November 18, 2021.(archived)
  2. ^ a b c "Roy Campbell Smith". militarytimes.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  3. ^ "Arkansas III (Battleship No. 33)". navy.mil. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  4. ^ "BB-33 USS ARKANSAS". navsource.org. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  5. ^ "Guam Naval Governors 30 August 1899 – 10 December 1941". guampedia.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  6. ^ "Captain Roy Smith, Ex-Guam Governor. Retired Naval Officer Received Surrender of First German Vessel in War, Dies at 82. Supervisor Of Port Here. Decorated for Part in Battle of Santiago. He Participated in Vera Cruz Occupation". Associated Press in the New York Times. April 12, 1940. Retrieved 2011-01-27. Word was received here today of the death of Captain Roy Campbell Smith, former Governor of the island of Guam, in Somerville, S.C., yesterday. He was 82 years old.
  7. ^ Hall, Anne Martin; Benham, Edith Wallace (1925). Ships of the United States Navy and Their Sponsors, 1913-1923. The Plimpton Press. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  8. ^ "Guide to the Bowers Family Papers, 1686-1982, MS 2902". nyu.edu. April 9, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
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