James M. Smith Jr (ca. 1810 – June 5, 1898) was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Background

Smith was born in

New Baltimore, New York New Baltimore is a town in the northeastern part of Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 3,226 at the 2020 United States census,New Baltimore town, Greene County, New York https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchTyp ...

circa 1810. In November 1854, he was elected on the Democratic ticket (a fusion of Hards and Softs) as

Recorder of New York City The Recorder of New York City was a municipal officer of New York City from 1683 until 1907. He was at times a judge of the Court of General Sessions, the Court of Special Sessions, and the New York Court of Common Pleas; Vice-President of the Boar ...

, defeating the incumbent

Francis R. Tillou Francis Redding Tillou (c. 1795 – July 10, 1865) was an American lawyer and politician from New York, and co-founder of the Children's Village. Early life Tillou was born circa 1795. His family was said to have been descended from Pierre Till ...

. Upon the creation of the Metropolitan Police in 1857, Recorder Smith became one of the commissioners of the Police Board, along with Mayor

Fernando Wood Fernando Wood (February 14, 1812 – February 13, 1881) was an American Democratic Party politician, merchant, and real estate investor who served as the 73rd and 75th Mayor of New York City. He also represented the city for several terms in ...

and City Judge Sydney H. Stuart. When Mayor Wood resisted the new police force, maintaining the abolished Municipal Police instead, Smith issued a warrant for the arrest of the mayor, which led to the

New York City Police Riot The New York City Police Riot of 1857, known at the time as the Great Police Riot, was a conflict which occurred in front of New York City Hall between the recently-dissolved New York Municipal Police and the newly-formed Metropolitan Police on ...

. In October 1857, Smith was defeated for re-nomination on the Tammany ticket by

George G. Barnard George Gardner Barnard (c. 1829 Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York – April 27, 1879 New York City) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was one of only four people ever tried by the New York Court for the Trial of Impe ...

. Later Smith left Tammany Hall, and joined the Anti-Tammany Democratic organizations in New York City, like

Mozart Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

and

Irving Hall The Irving Place Theatre was located at the southwest corner of Irving Place and East 15th Street in the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1888, it served as a German language theatre, a Yiddish theatre, a burlesq ...

. In 1872, Smith was nominated for New York County District Attorney on the "National Democratic" ticket.

Personal life

Smith married Emily F. Sherman, and they had eleven children. In the summer of 1896, his wife died in a horse-carriage accident. Smith then retired from the bar, sold his home and moved into a boarding house. Smith died from "rheumatic gout" in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. He was buried in the Sherman family plot in

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (page 428; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
''CITY POLITICS; ...Soft-Shell Judiciary Convention''
in NYT on October 12, 1854
''City Nominations for Congress, Assembly, and City and County Offices''
in NYT on November 1, 1854
''Democratic primary Nominations''
in NYT on October 17, 1857

in NYT on May 8, 1863
''POLITICAL BREVITIES''
in NYT on October 16, 1872
''IRVING HALL DEMOCRATS''
in NYT on February 24, 1882
''DEATH OF FRANK SHERMAN SMITH''
in NYT on April 6, 1885
''JAMES M. SMITH DEAD''
in NYT on June 6, 1898 {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, James M Date of birth unknown 1898 deaths New York City Recorders People from New Baltimore, New York New York (state) Democrats Year of birth uncertain