John Smith (August 12, 1789 – November 26, 1858) was an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. He served as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for one term, prior to which he served as

Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives The Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives is the Speaker or presiding officer of the Vermont House of Representatives, the lower house of the Vermont Legislature. The Speaker presides over sessions of the Houses, recognizes members so t ...

Biography

Smith was born in

Barre Barre or Barré may refer to: * Barre (name) or Barré, a surname and given name Places United States * Barre, Massachusetts, a New England town ** Barre (CDP), Massachusetts, the central village in the town * Barre, New York, a town * Barre (c ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

to Deacon Samuel Smith and Patience Gregory Smith. His family moved to

St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...

in 1800, and he attended the

common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary o ...

s. Smith later studied law, first with his brother in law Roswell Hutchins, and later with

Benjamin Swift Benjamin Swift (April 9, 1780 – November 11, 1847) was an American lawyer, banker and politician from Vermont. He served as a United States House of Representatives, United States Representative and United States Senate, United States Se ...

. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1810 and began the

practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professi ...

in St. Albans as Swift's partner. He was

State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

for Franklin County from 1826 until 1832. Smith was a member of the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives ar ...

from 1827 until 1837, and served as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

from 1831 until 1833. He was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the

Twenty-sixth Congress The 26th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1839 ...

, serving from March 4, 1839 until March 3, 1841. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1840 to the

Twenty-seventh Congress The 27th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. between March 4, 1 ...

. While in Congress, Smith delivered the speech, ""The Defense of the Independent Treasury Idea", which gained national attention and was considered one of the best speeches on this subject. Smith received an honorary Master of Arts degree from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

. After leaving Congress, Smith became involved in railroad enterprises and helped establish the

Vermont and Canada Railroad The Central Vermont Railway was a railroad that operated in the U.S. states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, as well as the Canadian province of Quebec. It connected Montreal, Quebec, with New London, Conne ...

Family

John Smith married Maria Waitstill Curtis in 1814. Their children included Harriet Maria, J. Gregory, Edward Curtis, Worthington Curtis, Julia Pierpont, Francis Curtis, and Louisa Ten Broeck. He was the grandfather of

Edward Curtis Smith Edward Curtis Smith (January 5, 1854 – April 6, 1935) was an American attorney, businessman, and politician from Vermont. A Republican, he was most notable for his service as the 47th governor of Vermont from 1898 to 1900. Early life Edward Cur ...

. In addition, his family was related by marriage to those of

Lawrence Brainerd Lawrence Brainerd (March 16, 1794May 9, 1870) was an American businessman, abolitionist and United States Senator from Vermont. A longtime anti-slavery activist, after leaving the Jacksonian democracy, Jacksonians in the 1830s, Brainerd was act ...

Amaziah Bailey James Amaziah Bailey James (July 1, 1812 in Stephentown, Rensselaer County, New York – July 6, 1883 in Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence County, New York) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life His family removed to Sweden, New York in ...

and F. Stewart Stranahan. Smith was also the great-great-grandfather of

William Scranton William Warren Scranton (July 19, 1917 – July 28, 2013) was an American Republican Party politician and diplomat. Scranton served as the 38th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967, and as United States Ambassador to the United Nations f ...

, who served as

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of and a

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The genealogical line runs from John Smith (great-great-grandfather) to Worthington C. Smith (great-grandfather) to Katherine Maria Smith Scranton (grandmother) to Worthington Scranton (father) to William Scranton.

Death

Smith died on November 26, 1858 in

, Vermont. He in interred at Greenwood Cemetery in St. Albans.

References

External links

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
*
Govtrack.usHistory 50 States

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, John (Politician) 1789 births 1858 deaths Democratic Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives Speakers of the Vermont House of Representatives Vermont lawyers People from Barre, Massachusetts People from St. Albans, Vermont Burials in Vermont Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont 19th-century American politicians American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law State's attorneys in Vermont 19th-century American lawyers

Biography

Family

Death

References

Further reading

External links