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 ...
,
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
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 ...
, Vermont. He in interred at Greenwood Cemetery in St. Albans.
References
Further reading
* ''"Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation, Volume 2"'' by Hiram Carleton, published by Lewis Publishing Company, 1903.
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