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- Thomas' birth record has not been identified. He was the eldest son of Thomas Smith and Helen Jaffrey, Heiress of Glassingall. As the eldest son, he should have inherited Glassingall from his mother, however the estate went to his younger brother, Alexander, instead. Allegedly, Thomas and Alexander fell in love with the same woman and struck a deal whereby Thomas relinquished his rightful interest in the estate of Glassingall in exchange for Alexander withdrawing his love-interest in the woman. Her name is lost to history. Their alleged real-life love-triangle provided some of the inspiration for author Robert Louis Stevenson for the story in his novels, Kidnapped and Catriona, in which Thomas Smith is portrayed as the deceased character of Alexander Balfour of Shaws, father to the central character of Davie Balfour. The fictional estate of Shaws is based on the real-life estate of Glassingall.
Thomas Smith was one of the founders of the Canada Company with John Galt and other investors in Canada and the UK. It was established to acquire and develop Upper Canada's undeveloped clergy reserve and Crown reserve lands and to redistribute them to immigrant settlers at a profit to the company. Galt was the original superintendant, but quickly found himself in trouble. When Galt was accused of gross mismanagement in 1829, Thomas Smith was sent to Canada to review Galt's books and business practices. This resulted in Galt's dismissal from the company. Smith also uncovered disreputable investment practices on the part of several Canadian investors who were among a group of powerful elites known collectively known as "The Family Compact." Upon discovering these illegalities, Smith found himself on the wrong side of power and was fired.
After losing his job with the Canada Company, he travelled to the USA and later to Cuba where he is believed to have died in a shipwreck offshore on route to India in 1829.
He fathered an illegitimate son, Thomas Stuart Smith who went on to become a respected painter and founder of the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum in Stirling, Scotland.
Thomas is mentioned in the Glassingall Court of Session Papers (1849-1856), as "Thomas Smith, who previous to leaving for India on his passage to which he died unmarried, conveyed his joint interest to his brother, Alexander."
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