Hiram Ypsilanti Smith (March 22, 1843 – November 4, 1894) was a nineteenth-century

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician, lawyer and clerk from

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. For three months, he represented

Iowa's 7th congressional district Iowa's 7th congressional district is a former congressional district in Iowa. It was eliminated after the 1970 election, leaving Iowa with six congressional districts. The state has since been reduced to four congressional districts. Redistrict ...

in the

U.S. 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 ...

, after winning election to serve out the term of

John A. Kasson John Adam Kasson (January 11, 1822 – May 18, 1910) was a nineteenth-century lawyer, politician and diplomat from south-central Iowa. Elected to the U.S. House six times, he repeatedly interrupted his congressional service to serve in the D ...

following Kasson's appointment as U.S. Envoy to Germany.

Biography

Born in

Piqua, Ohio Piqua ( ) is a city in Miami County, southwest Ohio, United States, 27 miles north of Dayton. The population was 20,522 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was founded as the village of Washington in ...

, Smith moved to

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Rock Island Arsenal, Arsenal Island. The popul ...

with his parents in 1850 and again to

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

in 1854. He attended public schools and enlisted in the Iowa Militia for service against the Indians in 1861. He was appointed a clerk in the

Post Office Department The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, in the form of a Cabinet department, officially from 1872 to 1971. It was headed by the postmas ...

in 1862, serving until 1864 when he was transferred to the Treasury Department, serving there until 1865. Smith graduated from the

Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and has an affiliation agreement with University at A ...

in 1866 and was admitted to the bar later the same year, commencing practice in Des Moines. He served as

district 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 l ...

of the fifth judicial district of

from 1875 to 1879, and was a member of the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

from 1882 to 1884. In 1884, Smith became a candidate for the Republican nomination to succeed retiring Republican Congressman (and former Ambassador to Austria-Hungary) John A. Kasson as representative for Iowa's 7th congressional district."The Seventh District," Davenport Daily Gazette, 1884-08-02 at p. 1. Smith's closest competitor for the nomination was Iowa State Treasurer

Edwin H. Conger Edwin Hurd Conger (March 7, 1843 – May 18, 1907) was an American Civil War soldier, lawyer, banker, Iowa congressman, and United States diplomat. As the United States' minister to China during the Boxer Rebellion, Conger, his family, and ...

, Smith's former law-school classmate. However, in August 1884, Kasson left Congress early when President

Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James ...

selected him as the next envoy to Germany. This appointment required a double election in the 7th district in November 1884 - the regular election to pick a representative for the upcoming Forty-ninth Congress, and a special election of a representative to serve out the remainder of Kasson's term in the Forty-eighth Congress. By the time of the district nominating convention, Smith ran only for the shorter term, and Conger ran only for the longer term. Smith (and Conger) were nominated and defeated their opponents in the November election."Congressional," Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, 1884-11-08 at p. 1. Smith served in the lame-duck session, from December 2, 1884 to March 3, 1885. Afterwards, Smith resumed practicing law until his death in Des Moines on November 4, 1894. He was interred in

Woodland Cemetery Woodland Cemetery may refer to: * Woodland cemetery, a type of cemetery or it may refer to specific places: in Sweden * Skogskyrkogården (The Woodland Cemetery) in Stockholm, Sweden in the United States (by state) * Woodland Cemetery (Quincy, I ...

in Des Moines.

References

External links

Retrieved on 2009-05-12 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Hiram Y. 1843 births 1894 deaths Albany Law School alumni Burials at Woodland Cemetery (Des Moines, Iowa) District attorneys in Iowa Republican Party Iowa state senators Iowa lawyers Politicians from Des Moines, Iowa People from Piqua, Ohio Politicians from Rock Island, Illinois Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers