In 1760 he was a partner in Johnston & Smith, a small firm operating in financial circles, which fell in a collapse of 1772. In 1773 he formed the bank Donald Smith & Son. In 1807 he was elected
Lord Provost of Edinburgh in place of Sir
William Fettes. In Edinburgh he lived at 10 Chapel Street in the south of the city (just off
George Square)and traded from the
Royal Exchange on the
Royal Mile. He was succeeded in 1808 by
William Coulter as Lord Provost. His term of office saw various extensions agreed to the
Second New Town including areas around
Calton Hill such as
Regent Terrace and
Royal Terrace. In 1831 the bank merged with
Thomas Kinnear & Son to form
Kinnear, Smiths & Co. However the bank closed with huge debts in 1834 due to poor speculation by Donald's brother, James Smith, in
London. The assets and partial liabilities were taken over by the
Bank of Scotland and
British Linen Bank. Smith's daughter Barbara Smith married
Rev Dr James Peddie of the Bristo Chapel in Edinburgh and had nine children including
William Peddie. ==References==