Joseph Showalter Smith (June 20, 1824 – September 28, 1884) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a Representative from the U.S. state of Oregon from 1869 to 1871.

Early life

Born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, Smith moved with his farmer parents to Ohio and Indiana, where he attended the common schools. In 1844, at the age of 20, he was one of the early traveler on the Oregon Trail to Oregon, arriving in the spring of 1845 and settling in

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

, where he taught school, studied law, and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

Political career

In 1851, he sought election as

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

's first mayor, but lost by four votes to

Hugh O'Bryant Hugh Donaldson O'Bryant (1813–1883) was the first mayor of Portland, Oregon, United States, serving from 1851–1852. He later served as the President of the Oregon Territory’ Council chamber of the legislature, and was a member of Wash ...

. In 1853, he moved to Olympia, Washington, and was elected to the Washington territorial house of representatives in 1856 and served as speaker. He was appointed United States attorney for Washington Territory by President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

March 12, 1857. Smith returned to Salem in 1858 and practiced law for twelve years. In 1862, he was selected by the Democratic convention to be their candidate for Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, but he declined the nomination. In 1866, he was the Democratic candidate for United States Senate, but lost to Republican

Henry W. Corbett Henry Winslow Corbett (February 18, 1827March 31, 1903) was an American businessman, politician, civic benefactor, and philanthropist in the state of Oregon. A native of Massachusetts, he spent his early life in the East and New York (state), ...

by three votes in the Legislature. JosShoSmithGrave

In 1868, Smith 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 United States House of Representatives and served one term from March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1871. After his term was completed, he moved to Portland, Oregon and resumed his law practice. He ran for Governor of Oregon in 1882, but lost to Republican

Zenas Ferry Moody Zenas Ferry Moody (May 27, 1832 – March 14, 1917) was the seventh Governor of Oregon from 1882 to 1887. Early life Zenas Ferry Moody was born on May 27, 1832, in Granby, Massachusetts, to Thomas Hovey and Hannah Ferry.Corning, Howard M. ...

. He died in Portland on September 28, 1884 and was interred in Portland's River View Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Joseph Showalter 1824 births 1884 deaths Burials at River View Cemetery (Portland, Oregon) Politicians from Salem, Oregon Oregon pioneers Oregon lawyers Members of the Washington Territorial Legislature Washington (state) Democrats 19th-century American politicians Lawyers from Salem, Oregon 19th-century American lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon