Jeremiah Smith (November 29, 1759 – September 21, 1842) 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 ...

for

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for New Hampshire, a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the United States Circuit Court for the First Circuit, the sixth

governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Verm ...

and chief justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court of Judicature and the New Hampshire Supreme Judicial Court. He was a member of the Federalist Party.

Early life

Born on November 29, 1759, in

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

Province of New Hampshire The Province of New Hampshire was a colony of England and later a British province in North America. The name was first given in 1629 to the territory between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers on the eastern coast of North America, and was n ...

, British America, Smith was fifth of seven sons born to William Smith, an immigrant from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and Elizabeth (Morison) Smith. Smith's siblings also included three sisters. William Smith was a successful farmer who served in local offices including justice of the peace and was a member of New Hampshire's Provincial Congress in 1774. Jeremiah Smith received instruction from his father and several private tutors. He attended the now prestigious, Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire for his preliminary education. At age 16, Smith enlisted for the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

in the Continental Army company of Captain Stephen Parker of

New Ipswich, New Hampshire New Ipswich is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,204 at the 2020 census. New Ipswich, situated on the Massachusetts border, includes the villages of Bank, Davis, Gibson Four Corners, Highbridge, New ...

. He participated in the

Battle of Bennington The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, part of the Saratoga campaign, that took place on August 16, 1777, on a farm owned by John Green in Walloomsac, New York, about from its namesake, Bennington, Vermont. A r ...

and was grazed by a musket ball which left a permanent scar on his throat. Smith attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, graduated from Queens College (now

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

) in 1780. He returned to military service in 1781and performed garrison duties in and around

Peekskill, New York Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, from New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across from ...

before returning home. In 1782, Smith began to study law with attorney

Shearjashub Bourne Shearjashub Bourne (June 14, 1746 – March 11, 1806) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Massachusetts who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and United States House of Representatives. Bourne was born in B ...

Barnstable, Massachusetts The Town of Barnstable ( ) is a town in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population, on Cape Cod, and is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalit ...

while working as a tutor in the home of Joseph Otis. He completed his legal studies with attorney William Pynchon of

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

while serving as headmaster of a school for girls. Smith 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 1786 and entered private practice in Peterborough.

Start of career

In 1786, Smith was elected Peterborough's town clerk, and in 1787 he was elected as the town's surveyor of highways. In addition, Smith served terms as town agent and a member of Peterborough's board of selectmen. He was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1788 to 1791. As a House member, Smith voted against the impeachment of

Woodbury Langdon Woodbury Langdon (1739 – January 13, 1805) was a merchant, statesman and justice from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He was the brother of John Langdon, a Founding Father who served as both senator from and Governor of New Hampshire, and father ...

, a judge of the state superior court. The legislature voted in favor, and appointed Langdon to conduct the impeachment, despite the fact that he had voted no. Langdon resigned before the trial took place, and the legislature took no further action. Smith was a member of the New Hampshire constitutional convention in 1791 and 1792. Though he was not the convention's official clerk, most of its records are in his handwriting. As a delegate, he fought unsuccessfully to remove a clause from the state constitution which required that members of the state legislature adhere to Protestant Christianity.

Congressman

Smith was elected to 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 a Pro-Administration candidate from New Hampshire's at-large congressional district and served in the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...

and

3rd United States Congress The 3rd 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 at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Penn ...

es. He was reelected as a Federalist and served in the 4th and

5th United States Congress The 5th 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 at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Penns ...

es. Smith was a member of the House from March 4, 1791, until his resignation July 26, 1797. He was Chairman of the United States House Committee on Revisal and Unfinished Business for the 5th United States Congress. Following his departure from Congress, Smith moved to Exeter, New Hampshire and served as the

for the District of New Hampshire from 1797 to 1800. He was Judge of the Rockingham County, New Hampshire Probate Court from 1800 to 1801.

Federal judge

Smith was nominated by President

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

on February 18, 1801, to the United States Circuit Court for the First Circuit, to a new seat authorized by . He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on February 20, 1801, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on July 1, 1802, due to abolition of the court.

Later career

Smith was the chief justice of the Superior Court of Judicature of New Hampshire from 1802 to 1809, and chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of New Hampshire from 1813 to 1816, his service on the later court terminating due to removal of the court by the legislature. He was the 6th

Governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Verm ...

from 1809 to 1810. He resumed private practice in New Hampshire from 1810 to 1813, and from 1816 to 1820, when he retired.

Other service and membership

Smith served as President of a bank and as treasurer of Phillips Exeter Academy. Following his retirement, he moved to Dover, New Hampshire. Smith 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 1814.

Honors

Smith received the

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

legum Doctor Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the ear ...

(LL.D.) from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

in 1804 and

in 1807.

Death

Smith died on September 21, 1842, in Dover. He was interred in Winter Street (also called Old) Cemetery in Exeter.

Family

In March 1797, Smith married Eliza Ross of

Bladensburg, Maryland Bladensburg is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland. The population was 9,657 at the 2020 census. Areas in Bladensburg are located within ZIP code 20710. Bladensburg is from central Washington. History Originally called Garrison's Landi ...

, whom he met at the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

boarding house they were staying at while he was attending a session of Congress and she was attending to her sick mother. Their children included Ariana (1797–1829), William (1799–1830), and Jeremiah (1802–1808). In 1831, Smith married Elizabeth Hale (1800–1882), a daughter of William Hale. They were the parents of a son, Jeremiah Smith (1837–1921). In addition, they raised the daughter of William Smith and several nieces and nephews, as well as orphans they took into their home. Smith was the brother of Samuel Smith, a

from New Hampshire, and the uncle of Robert Smith, a United States Representative from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

References

Sources

External links

Jeremiah Smith
at
National Governors Association
' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jeremiah 1759 births 1842 deaths 18th-century American judges Chief Justices of the New Hampshire Supreme Court Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Hampshire Federalist Party state governors of the United States Governors of New Hampshire Harvard University alumni Judges of the United States circuit courts Members of the American Antiquarian Society Probate court judges in the United States Rutgers University alumni United States Attorneys for the District of New Hampshire United States federal judges appointed by John Adams United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Phillips Exeter Academy faculty People from Peterborough, New Hampshire