James Allwood Smith (November 6, 1806 – April 15, 1882) was an American minister and state legislator. Smith, son of Norman and Elizabeth (Kingsbury) Smith, was born in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, November 6, 1806. He graduated from

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, ...

in 1826. After graduating he spent nearly two years as principal of the Union Academy in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...

. He then entered 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 ...

, and completed his course of preparation for the ministry at

Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambridge. ...

in 1831. He was ordained pastor of the Congregational Church at Great Falls, in the town of

Somersworth, New Hampshire Somersworth is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,855 at the 2020 census. Somersworth has the smallest area and third-lowest population of New Hampshire's 13 cities. History Somersworth, originally ca ...

, April 17, 1832. He was dismissed from this charge, July 24, 1837, and on the 6th of December following was installed over the First Congregational Church in

Glastonbury, Connecticut Glastonbury ( ) is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, formally founded in 1693 and first settled in 1636. It was named after Glastonbury in Somerset, England. Glastonbury is on the banks of the Connecticut River, southeast ...

, where he continued for twenty years. Early in 1858 he removed to Unionville, in the town of

Farmington, Connecticut Farmington is a town in Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The population was 26,712 at the 2020 census. It sits 10 miles west of Hartford at the hub of major I-84 interchanges, 20 miles ...

, where he remained until his death, after three days' illness, of

dropsy Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...

of the heart, on April 15, 1882. He had been usefully occupied during much of his residence in Unionville in supplying vacant churches in the neighborhood, and had served for one year (1867) as a member of the

Connecticut State Legislature The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. Th ...

. In July, 1832, he married Mary Morgan, of Hartford; of their ten children, two sons and two daughters survived him, the elder son being a graduate of Yale in the class of 1854.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:smith, james allwood 1806 births 1882 deaths Religious leaders from Hartford, Connecticut Yale Divinity School alumni Andover Newton Theological School alumni American Congregationalist ministers Members of the Connecticut General Assembly 19th-century American legislators People from Somersworth, New Hampshire People from Glastonbury, Connecticut Politicians from Hartford, Connecticut Yale College alumni 19th-century American clergy 19th-century Connecticut politicians