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Joann H. Smith

American politician (1934-1998)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionFeb 27, 2026
Entity authorityQ27970610 ↗
Source-derived summary

Joann H. Smith (May 12, 1934 - May 18, 1998) was an American politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from the 13th Legislative District from 1986 to 1998.

Early life

Born and raised in Perth Amboy, as Joann H. Belkowski, she was a 1952 graduate of Perth Amboy High School, and attended McDowell School of Design and Douglass College.

She married James D. Smith Sr. in 1955.

She was a teacher at the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools for twelve years. In 1972, Smith entered the banking field, and was a community reinvestment officer with Amboy Madison National Bank.

An Old Bridge Township member of the Middlesex County Republican Executive Committee from 1961 until her death, Joann Smith had also served as vice chair and recording secretary of the Old Bridge Republican Organization.

Smith served on the Old Bridge Township Zoning Board, and was a founder of the Old Bridge Economic development Corporation. In 1981 she was elected as a Republican to a four-year term on the Old Bridge Township Council, however this term was cut short as a result of the township's change from council–manager government to mayor–council government. Forced in 1983 to run for a new, four-year term under the new form of government, Smith was narrowly defeated for one of three at-large seats.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Joann H. Smith” is american politician (1934-1998). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Joann, Smith and American, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1934, 1998, 1986, 1952—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1934-05-12. For this dossier, Joann, Smith and American is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “american politician (1934-1998)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q27970610. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1934, 1998, 1986 and 1952.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Joann H. Smith”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Joann H. Smith primary sources, Joann H. Smith archive and Joann research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Joann H. Smith”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Joann H. Smith” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.