10 Dec

James Smith

Archive, Helen Mowatt, Norman Mowatt, People of the Picture House

James Smith was born in Glasgow in 1867, son of a Master Baker. He worked for several years as a clerk then as head clerk of the Central Hotel in Glasgow. From 1905 he was proprietor, manager, and later managing director of the Ugadale Arms Hotel in Machrihanish. He was one of the founding directors of the Picture House and had a large shareholding. He was a believer in provision of entertainment and excursions as methods of attracting tourist business to the area and to his hotel.

Biography File: People of Campbeltown Picture House
Full Name	James Smith
Birth date	2^nd July 1867	Birth place: Glasgow
Death date	unknown	Death place: unknown
Father’s full name	Robert Smith (Baker in Glasgow, Hotelier Bute Arms Hotel, Rothesay, Bute)
Mother’s full name (maiden name in brackets)	Agnes Hendrie Smith (Morrison) – married 11^th September 1866 Glasgow
Spouse(s)	(1) unknown (1) Robina Kelly Fraser – 7^th October 1909, Windsor Hotel, Glasgow
Children	Second Lieutenant Bertie Smith 1/8th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (WW1)
Places of residence	Duke Street, Dennistoun, Glasgow Central Hotel, Glasgow Ugadale Arms Hotel, Machrihanish
Occupation history	Clerk – Central Hotel, Glasgow Head Clerk – Central Hotel, Glasgow Proprietor/Manager/Managing Director – Ugadale Hotel, Machrihanish
Relationship with Picture House / Rex Cinema	One of the founding four directors and a shareholder of the Picture House
Life story in a paragraph (summary of above)	James Smith was born in Glasgow in 1867, son of a Master Baker. He worked for several years as a clerk then as head clerk of the Central Hotel in Glasgow. From 1905 he was proprietor, manager, and later managing director of the Ugadale Arms Hotel in Machrihanish. He was one of the founding directors of the Picture House and had a large shareholding. He was a believer in provision of entertainment and excursions as methods of attracting tourist business to the area and to his hotel.
Contact with family established (details)?	No
External source references (e.g. census, BMD, valuation rolls, probate index, wills, parish records etc.) include ref. numbers	Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950 Marriage Certificate Smith/Fraser – shows James Smith as a widower 1891 census 1901 census 1911 census Valuation Rolls Campbeltown 1905 – 1920 Newspaper ads for the hotel (note: We can find no mention of James Smith in adverts for the hotel after 1940 and there is an advert for 1950 which names a different manager). Shareholders certificates book and ledger The Wee Pictures by Norman Newton Reference to the Articles of Association for the Picture House p 4 Paragraph referring to James Smith p 6 Bertie Smith sources are newspaper reports of wounds and gassing in WW1. Campbeltown Courier August 26^th 1916 names James Smith, Ugadale Arms Hotel as his father and Robert Smith of the Bute Arms Hotel Rothesay as his grandfather.
CPH archive or object collection reference	Shareholders Ledger. Share Certificates book.
Other notes	The last newspaper ad for the Ugadale Arms showing James Smith as Managing Director is 1940 – the trail stops there so far ! Searching for James Smith’s first wife, his death, and details for son Bertie is very difficult with the surname Smith .
Researcher	Norman and Helen Mowatt		Creation Date: 25^th May 2017