Ira Harvey Smith (August 20, 1815 – April 18, 1883) was a Kansas state politician. Smith, son of Ira and Rachel (Riggs) Smith, was born in that part of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

which is now Seymour, Conn, August 20, 1815. He was for nearly two years a member of the class of

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

which graduated in 1841, but graduated in 1842. After having studied for three years in the

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

, he was ordained pastor of the Congregational Church in North Haven, Conn., February 11, 1846. His health failing him, he was dismissed from this charge in March, 1848. After five months' residence in the

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...

in Boston, he undertook the supply of the pulpit in

Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (mining ...

, Conn, but was very shortly obliged again to relinquish his profession for outdoor occupations. From the spring of 1853 till the summer of 1854 he resided in California, and in the fall of 1854 joined the tide of free emigration to Kansas, where he remained for the rest of his life. There he was at first engaged in the public surveys of the territory, and also took up the business of

land agent Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts. Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large estate (house), landed estate for a member of the landed gentry, supervising the farmi ...

. He was a member of the first

Kansas State Legislature The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 state representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 state senators. ...

, as a Republican from Brown County, and in the summer of 1861 was appointed Receiver of the United States General Land Office, first at

Kickapoo Kickapoo may refer to: People * Kickapoo people, a Native American nation ** Kickapoo language, spoken by that people ** Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, a federally recognized tribe of Kickapoo people ** Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, a federally recog ...

and afterwards at

Atchison Atchison may refer to: Places In the United States: *Atchison, California, a former settlement *Atchison, Kansas, a city *Atchison County, Kansas *Atchison County, Missouri People with the surname * Bob Atchison (born 1941), Canadian drag race ...

. He held this position until January, 1864, when he was made Register of the U. S. Land Office at Topeka, which he held until the summer of 1873. In 1876 he became interested in the development of the San Juan country in southwestern Colorado, but retained his residence in Topeka, to which he returned in 1880, and where he died after a severe illness on April 18, 1883, in his 68th year. He was one of the founders of

Washburn College Washburn University (WU) is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,100 u ...

in Topeka, and among its most generous benefactors. He was married, February 26, 1846, to Sarah J., daughter of William Bartholomew, of Wolcott, Conn., who survived him with one son, a graduate of the

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

References

External links

Ira Harvey Smith papers at the Kansas Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:smith, ira harvey 1815 births 1883 deaths People from Seymour, Connecticut Yale Divinity School alumni Republican Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives Washburn University people 19th-century American legislators Politicians from Topeka, Kansas Yale College alumni 19th-century Kansas politicians