Samuel William Smith (August 23, 1852 – June 19, 1931), was a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. He was born in Independence Township and attended the common schools in Clarkston and

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. He began teaching school in 1869, served as superintendent of schools in Waterford Township in 1875 and also served as principal of the school at

Waterford, Michigan Waterford Township is a charter township in the geographic center of Oakland County, Michigan, United States. In 2020, the population of Waterford Township was 70,565. Communities Waterford Township has five unincorporated communities: * Clin ...

. He went on to study law, 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 ...

in 1877 and graduated from the law department of the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

at Ann Arbor in 1878. He began legal practice in

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

, where for six months he worked alone with considerable success, and then formed a partnership with Judge Levi Taft and Hon. Aaron Perry. Judge Perry retired from the firm during the second year of the partnership, but the connection between Judge Taft and Mr. Smith continued until the death of the former in 1897. Smith was prosecuting attorney of Oakland County from 1880 to 1884. He served in the Michigan Senate from 1885 to 1887, representing the 15th District. He was elected as a

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 ...

from

Michigan's 6th congressional district Michigan's 6th congressional district is a United States congressional district in southeast Michigan. In 2022, the district was redrawn to be centered around Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County, as well as western and southern Wayne County, small ...

to the

55th United States Congress The 55th 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, 1897, to M ...

and to the eight succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1897, to March 3, 1915. During his tenure, Smith was chairman of the Committee on the District of Columbia in the 60th and 61st Congresses. He did not stand for reelection to the

64th Congress The 64th 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, 1915, to M ...

, but moved to Detroit in 1913 and continued the practice of law. He died in Detroit and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Adrian, Michigan.

References

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Samuel William 1852 births 1931 deaths Burials in Michigan Republican Party Michigan state senators People from Clarkston, Michigan People from Waterford, Michigan Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Schoolteachers from Michigan University of Michigan Law School alumni 19th-century American educators 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians