George William Smith (1762December 26, 1811) was a Virginia lawyer and politician, who served several terms in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

and was twice the acting governor of the state before then being elected as the 17th

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

. His term as elected governor was short and ended with his death in the Richmond Theatre fire of 1811.

Early life

George William Smith was born in 1762 at the family estate "Bathurst" in

Essex County, Virginia Essex County is a county located in the Middle Peninsula in the U.S. state of Virginia; the peninsula is bordered by the Rappahannock River on the north and King and Queen County on the south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,599. ...

, to Alice and Meriwether Smith. His father was a notable Virginia politician, having served in the

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been establishe ...

, the Continental Congress and the Virginia House of Delegates. His mother (maiden name “Lee”) was a great grandchild of

Richard Lee I Richard Lee I (1618 – 1 March 1664) (later nicknamed "The Immigrant") was the first member of the Lee family to live in America (although he also considered himself an English gentleman). Poor when he arrived in Virginia in 1639 on a ship w ...

(“The Immigrant”). George Williams Smith took up the practice of law, and was married twice. His first marriage to Sarah Adams in 1793 produced children, though his second marriage to Jane Reade Jones did not.

Political career

Like his father, the younger Smith soon entered politics, first representing Essex County in the

before taking his law practice to the city of Richmond. He again won election to the Virginia House from 1802 to 1808, this time representing Richmond. He was appointed to the Virginia Council of State Council and soon became its senior member and thus the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. As the senior member of the Virginia Council, Smith became as the acting

, between the terms of John Tyler Sr. and

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

, for five days in January 1811. He became acting Governor again, from April to December of the same year, when Monroe resigned to become

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

. Smith was then elected to the office in his own right as the 17th Governor of Virginia, representing the

Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the earl ...

. However, his official tenure lasted only three weeks before his death during the great Richmond Theatre fire of December 26, 1811. Governor Smith had initially reached safety, but he went back into the fire and died trying to find his young son. The Governor's sudden and unexpected death left the Virginia executive branch in turmoil, prompting acting Governor

Peyton Randolph Peyton Randolph (September 10, 1721 – October 22, 1775) was an American politician and planter who was a Founding Father of the United States. Born into Virginia's wealthiest and most powerful family, Randolph served as speaker of Virginia' ...

to push the legislature to swiftly appoint a successor. Smith's ashes were placed under a rock at

Monumental Church Monumental Church is a former Episcopal church at 1224 E. Broad Street between N. 12th and College streets in Richmond, Virginia. Designed by architect Robert Mills, it is one of America's earliest and most distinctive Greek Revival churches. I ...

in Richmond with the ashes of other victims of the fire including former senator and

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the

Bank of Virginia Cordia Bancorp Inc (formerly trading as NCM:'BVA'') was a bank holding company for the Midlothian, VA-based Bank of Virginia. Before being acquired by First Citizens Bank, Cordia Bancorp operated six full-service banking branches around the Richmon ...

, Abraham B. Venable.

References

External links

*
George William Smith
at the

National Governor's Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

;Archival Records
A Guide to the Governor George William Smith Executive Papers, 1811–1812
a
The Library of Virginia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, George William 1762 births 1811 deaths Governors of Virginia People from Essex County, Virginia Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Virginia Democratic-Republicans Accidental deaths in Virginia Deaths from fire in the United States Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American Episcopalians