John Cotton Smith (February 12, 1765 – December 7, 1845) was an American lawyer, judge and politician from Connecticut. He served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives 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 ...

, as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut and as the 23rd Governor of Connecticut.

Biography

Smith was born in Sharon in the Connecticut Colony, the son of Cotton Mather Smith, a

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

minister who moved from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

to Connecticut. Smith completed preparatory studies and graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1783. After graduation, he studied law and 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 ...

. He began the practice of law in Sharon in 1787. Smith married Margaret Evertson and they had one son together. He entered politics as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1793. He served in the State House in 1793, 1796 and 1800. In 1800 he 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: ** I ...

of that body. Smith was elected as a Federalist candidate to the Sixth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Jonathan Brace Jonathan Brace (November 12, 1754 – August 26, 1837) was an eighteenth-century American lawyer, politician and judge. He served as a United States Representative from Connecticut. Biography Brace was born in Harwinton in the Connecticut Co ...

. He was reelected to the

Seventh Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season e ...

, Eighth and Ninth Congresses, serving from November 17, 1800 until his resignation in August 1806. Smith was chairman of the Committee on Claims in the Seventh through Ninth Congresses. After serving in Congress, Smith served as an associate judge of the Superior Court and Supreme Court of Errors from 1809 to 1811. He served as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut from 1811 to 1812. He was the 23rd Governor of Connecticut from October 25, 1812 to May 8, 1817. Smith was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor on the Federalist ticket in 1817. He was the last Federalist Governor of Connecticut. Smith retired from politics but remained involved in academic and religious organizations. He was a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, the

Connecticut Historical Society The Connecticut Historical Society (CHS) is a private, non-profit organization that serves as the official statewide historical society of Connecticut. Established in Hartford in 1825, the CHS is one of the oldest historical societies in the US. ...

, and was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society i ...

in 1813. He served as president of the

American Bible Society American Bible Society is a U.S.-based Christian nonprofit headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As the American member organization of United Bible Societies, it supports global Bible translation, production, distribution, literacy, engage ...

from 1831 until his death in 1845. Smith died on December 7, 1845 in Sharon. He is interred in Hillside Cemetery. Smith's home in Sharon is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

References

External links

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: SMITH, John Cotton, (1765 - 1845)

*

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20130106140300/http://www.cslib.org/memorials/smithjcbio.htm Connecticut State Library: John Cotton Smith
Govtrack.us: Rep. John Cotton Smith

Biography

References

External links

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