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THE SMITH BROTHERS: AN AMERICAN LEGACY In 1847, Scotland-born New York confectioner James Smith met Sly Hawkins, a peddler who sold him a recipe for cough formula drops. As a candymaker, Smith's big idea was to tweak the recipe to create a cough drop formula with sweet, candy-like flavors. He filled glass jars on his shop counter with his newfangled cough drops. Word of the novel confections spread, and, soon enough, countless New Yorkers were stopping by the shop to try them. His sons William and Andrew Smith took over the business in 1866, creating the now-famous logo featuring their iconic bearded portraits. They continued production of their cough drops at their factory in Poughkeepsie, New York, adding new innovations over the years. The result? A great American legacy of entrepreneurship, invention, and great taste-not to mention a lot less coughing.