Deloss Warren Smith

By Rick Hendricks

Deloss Warren Smith was born in Colorado on 8 January 1877.[1] Smith served in the Spanish-American War and was stationed in the Philippines for a time, a corporal in Company M of the 43^rd Infantry Regiment.[2] Smith and his first wife, Laura B. Smith, an Illinois native, were living in Tyrone when he registered for the draft in September 1918.[3]

During the First World War, he attained the rank of captain in the Corps of Engineers, serving from 6 November 1918 until 20 September 1919. After the war, Smith resettled in Tyrone in Grant County with his first wife, Laura, and their daughter, Helen, who had been born in Colorado.[4] Smith was the postmaster in Tyrone, an appointment he had received on 29 August 1919, even before his discharge from the military.[5]

A Democrat, Smith served in the New Mexico House, representing Grant and Hidalgo Counties and serving as Speaker in 1925.[6] By 1930 Smith and his family had relocated to Silver City where he was the proprietor of a retail grocery.[7]

Smith died in El Cajon, California, on 30 July 1961.[8] At the time of his death he had been living with his second wife, Lillian L. Smith, at their home in San Diego. He is buried in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Smith was a member of the Congregational Church.