About the Author

Alice E. Smith was born in Grantsburg, Wisconsin in 1896. In 1923 she received a B.A., and in 1926 an M.A., from the University of Minnesota, where she worked as an assistant at the university press. At the Minnesota Historical Society she served as a research and editorial assistannt on the multi-volume History of Minnesota. From 1929 until 1946, Miss Smith was chief of the maps and manuscripts division of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. She became the Society's director of research in 1947 and held that post until her retirement in 1965. Her books, all published by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, include James Duane Doty: Frontier Promoter (1954): George Smith's Money: A Scottish Investor in America (1966); and Millstone and Saw: The Origins of Neenah-Menasha (1967).