Arthur R. Smith (November 8, 1805 – September 16, 1865) was a nineteenth-century American medical doctor and politician from Virginia.

Early life

Smith was born in

Suffolk, Virginia Suffolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and as such has no county. As of the 2020 census, the population was 94,324. It is the 9th most populous city in Virginia and the largest city in Virginia by boundary land area as ...

. He was educated in local county schools, and received a Medical Doctorate from the University of Virginia in 1825-1826.

Career

As an adult, Smith lived in Norfolk County, Virginia (now

Chesapeake Chesapeake often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian * The Chesapeake, a.k.a. Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated plac ...

) and practiced medicine there at Deep Creek. He attended medical lectures in Philadelphia in 1848. Smith was elected to the Virginia state Senate, and in 1856 relocated his practice to Portsmouth. In 1850, Smith was elected to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850. He was one of four delegates elected from the southeastern delegate district made up of his home district of Norfolk County, Norfolk City and Princess Anne County. Elected to the Virginia Senate for the session 1852/53, Smith was reelected for the 1853/54 session. Smith was a member of the Democratic National Convention of 1860 at Charleston, South Carolina. Elected to the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861, he voted for secession. During the American Civil War, Smith was banished from Portsmouth by General Benjamin Butler. Smith ran the blockade, and served in Confederate hospitals in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, and Farmville.

Death

Arthur R. Smith died on September 16, 1865, in

Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 41,567 at the 2010 census. The community lies to the west of Baltimore along the city's border. Catonsville contains the majority of th ...

, shortly after moving there following his Confederate hospital service. Pulliam 1901, p. 111

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith (doctor), Arthur R. Virginia state senators 1805 births 1865 deaths Politicians from Suffolk, Virginia Politicians from Chesapeake, Virginia Politicians from Portsmouth, Virginia University of Virginia School of Medicine alumni 19th-century American physicians Physicians from Virginia 19th-century American legislators 19th-century Virginia politicians