Madison Roswell Smith (July 9, 1850 – June 18, 1919) was a

United States 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 ...

from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Biography

Born on a farm near

Glenallen, Missouri Glen Allen is a village in central Bollinger County in Southeast Missouri, United States, located near the intersection of State Highway 34 and Route ZZ just west of Marble Hill. The population was 57 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cap ...

, Smith attended public schools and Central College in

Fayette, Missouri Fayette is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 2,803 at the 2020 census. History Fayette was laid out in 1823. The ...

. He taught school and studied law, being 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 ...

in 1874. He began the practice of law at

Marble Hill, Missouri Marble Hill is a fourth-class city in central Bollinger County in Southeast Missouri, United States. Located at the intersection of State Highways 34 and 51, it is the largest city in Bollinger and serves as the county seat. The population was 1, ...

, in 1877 and served as the prosecuting attorney of

Bollinger County Bollinger County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 10,567. The county seat is Marble Hill. The county was officially organized in 1851. Bollinger Co ...

from 1878 to 1882. He served in the state Senate from 1884 to 1888. He declined to be a candidate for re-election. He served as editor of reports for the St. Louis

court of appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

for four years and resigned. He served as delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

s in

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wil ...

and

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

. 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 Sixtieth Congress (March 4, 1907 – March 3, 1909). He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1908 to the

Sixty-first Congress The 61st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1909, to ...

. He organized and served as secretary of the Federal Trust Co. of St. Louis from 1909 to 1912. He was the U.S. Minister to Haiti from 1912 until his resignation in 1914. After his return to the US, he returned to the practice of law in Farmington, Missouri. He died there on June 18, 1919, and was interred in the Masonic Cemetery. In 2011 Smith's tombstone was desecrated. Police continue to investigate this act as an unsolved crime as of 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Madison R. 1850 births 1919 deaths Burials in Missouri Missouri lawyers Democratic Party Missouri state senators Ambassadors of the United States to Haiti Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri 19th-century American legislators People from Bollinger County, Missouri 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American diplomats 19th-century Missouri politicians