John Melgar Smith was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 businessman and politician.

Born on a farm near Carthage, Illinois

Carthage, Illinois

Carthage is a city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,725 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Hancock County. Carthage is most famous for being the site of the murder of Joseph Smith in 1844.- History :...

, Smith lived in Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 1891–1895 working as a railroad telegraph operator and station agent. In 1895, he moved to Shell Lake, Wisconsin

Shell Lake, Wisconsin

Shell Lake is a city in Washburn County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,309 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Washburn County.-Geography:Shell Lake is located at ....

, where he worked in the cooperative, banking, and lumber industries. In 1938, he was elected State Treasurer, as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

, serving until his death in 1947.