This enterprise was established by 1871 as Smart & Steacy. By 1879 it had become Smart & Shepherd, with partners Elswood Smart and B. C. Shepherd; Elswood was the nephew of well-known Brockville businessman James Smart. Smart & Steacy began manufacturing a solid-chisel foot-powered Gould pattern mortiser; manufacture of this product continued under the Smart & Shepherd name. That business was acquired in 1885 or '86 by James Smart, who in 1891 renamed his business to James Smart Manufacturing Co. Smart continued to manufacture the mortiser for at least a couple of decades. See that entry for more information.
Information Sources
- Lovell's Canadian Dominion Directory for 1871 lists James Smart as proprietor of the Brockville Novelty Works, and Smart & Steacy as "manufacturers of cast and wrought iron work, cabinet, shelf and builders hardware, laborsaving machines, &c." There is no listing for Smart & Shepherd.
- Thad Leavitt's History of Leeds & Grenville, published 1879, mentions (page 194) "the Novelty Works of James Smart and iron works of Smart & Shepherd". Thanks to Art Shaw for providing us this data point.