difficult to imagine that the roots of H. A. & E. Smith Ltd. lie in a Shelly Bay home.

But according to the company's president, W. Roger Davidson, it was in 1889 that the business first began operating as a dry goods store in Hamilton Parish.

"H. A. & E. Smith Ltd. was started in 1889 by Henry A. and Edith Blackburn Smith,'' he explained. "Edith was originally from Liverpool, England and met and married Henry Smith in Antigua, where he was running a ship provisioning business for Gosling Brothers of Bermuda.

"Three of their children were born in Antigua, where the family remained until it was necessary to return to Bermuda for education purposes. On their return, Henry continued to work for Gosling's and Edith ran a dry goods store from `Aintree', their home in Shelly Bay.'' Mr. Davidson said that the business became so successful, that Mrs. Smith persuaded a cousin of hers in England to emigrate to Bermuda, and join her as a milliner.

"Henry left Gosling's to become Edith's partner in the company's first premises on Reid Street where Office Equipment was formerly located. It expanded to Queen Street in 1905 and was successfully run as a partnership until 1922 when their eldest son, Alfred Blackburn Smith took over, incorporating the business and retaining its name.'' Mr. Smith continued to run the company, said Mr. Davidson, working closely with N. Henry P. Vesey until his death in 1934. It was at this time that Mr.

Vesey, who later went on to become Sir Henry Vesey, took over as president, continuing to head the company until 1993.

"Alfred Blackburn Smith was a farsighted individual who encouraged a number of young men to join the firm, including Ira Stuart Outerbridge, Lionel M.

Barnes, H. Stewart Atwood, T.W.P. Vesey, Sr., and T. Christopher Smith,'' continued Mr. Davidson.

He explained that Alfred Blackburn Smith's two daughters -- Frances Zuill Hallamore and Elfrida Wardman Chappell, were actively involved from the late 1930's. Frances Hallamore's daughters -- Shirley Moulder and Dana Goodfellow, and Elfrida Chappell's son, George Wardman, all take an active interest in the firm today, while Alfred Blackburn Smith's children and heirs currently retain a controlling interest in the company.

"H. A. & E. Smith Ltd. subsequently moved to Queen and Reid Streets, with major consolidation of the store under one roof and the opening of a Front Street entrance taking place when Smith's swapped the former Godet & Young Building with Watlington & Conyers in the mid-1950's.

Purchased by Sir Henry at a private auction for 42,500 on behalf of H. A. & E. Smith Ltd., the Front Street property formerly belonged to the estate of the late Mary Dorothea Tucker, but was sold on instructions from interested parties in England.

"The small lot was the first piece of really valuable city property to come under the auctioneer's hammer since a real estate boom which flooded across the Island two years prior,'' stated an article which appeared in The Royal Gazette at the time.

And, according to the auctioneer, Morris A. Gibbons, the sale was regarded as: "...a most unusual opportunity. This property is in one of the finest sites in our small city. It is what I call the hub of the city.'' "In 1978, a branch store was opened in Alexandria, Virginia, and eventually another in McLean, with both located in preferred suburban areas of Washington D.C.'' Along with Mr. Davidson, the current directors of H. A. & E. Smith's Ltd. are Alfred G. Spearing, Allan J. Davidson, Julietta Bento, P. Graham Smith, Sharon Vesey, Anthony Goodfellow, George A. Wardman and Stephen Outerbridge.

H.A. & E. Smith Ltd.'s first shop on Queen Street opened in 1905 A Front Street view of today's H. A. & E. Smith Ltd.

Henry A. Smith Edith Blackburn Smith H.A. & E. SMITH MINI SUPPLEMENT SUP