Truman Smith (November 27, 1791 – May 3, 1884) was a Whig member of 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 po ...

from

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

from 1849 to 1854 and 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 ...

from Connecticut's 4th and

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

congressional districts from 1839 to 1843 and from 1845 to 1849. He also served in the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...

from 1831 to 1832, and in 1834.

Biography

Smith was born in Roxbury, Connecticut. He was the nephew of Nathaniel Smith and Nathan Smith. 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 1815, where he was a member of

Brothers in Unity Brothers in Unity (formally, the Society of Brothers in Unity) is an undergraduate society at Yale University. Founded in 1768 as a literary and debating society that encompassed nearly half the student body at its 19th-century peak, the group di ...

. He studied law at Litchfield Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1818, commencing practice in

Litchfield, Connecticut Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,192 at the 2020 census. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are located within the town. There are also three unincorpora ...

. He married Maria Cook on June 2, 1832, and they had three children, Catherine Marie Smith, Jeannie Penniman (Jane) Smith, and George Webster Smith. His wife, Marie, died on April 20, 1849. He married Mary Ann Dickinson Walker on November 7, 1850, by whom he had six children, Truman Houston Smith, Samuel Hubbard Smith, Edmond Dickinson Smith, Robert Shufeldt Smith, Henry Humphry Smith, and Allen Hoyt Smith.

Career

Smith was a member of the

from 1831 to 1832 and again in 1834. He was elected a Whig to the

, representing the 5th district, during the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses, and serving from March 4, 1839, to March 3, 1843, declining renomination in 1842. Smith was a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia app ...

on the Whig ticket in

1844 In the Philippines, it was the only leap year with 365 days, as December 31 was skipped when 1845 began after December 30. Events January–March * January 15 – The University of Notre Dame, based in the city of the same name, receives ...

He was elected back to the House of Representatives representing the 4th District for the Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Congresses. He served from March 4, 1845, to March 3, 1849. Smith declined the appointment to be the first

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natur ...

from

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

in 1849 having been elected to the

. He served from March 4, 1849, until his resignation May 24, 1854. Between 1846 and 1854, Truman Smith acted as a prototype to the National Party Chairman for Whig campaigns. For instance, in 1846, he travelled across the country collecting donations from business leaders. He also printed and dispersed pamphlets and speeches that made the Whig position clear, and distributed those throughout the country. In that midterm, the Whigs did particularly well, holding all of their Northern Congressional seats and picking up fourteen House Seats in New York, one in New Jersey, five in Pennsylvania, three in Ohio and one in Georgia. Admittedly, he focused on Iowa, as it was being admitted to the union and would therefore allocate two US Senators that year, but came up short and Democrats won the State Senate. That shouldn't downplay the dramatic success for Whiggery, however. While this did coincide with a legislative session which was heavy on Democrats passing economic policy that many in the country found controversial, Truman Smith's guidance no doubt further cemented Whig gains in that cycle. Afterwards, he lived in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 202 ...

, with his second wife, Mary Ann Dickinson Smith, while practicing law in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Mary Ann was the adopted daughter of the miniaturist Anson Dickinson. Smith's New York law office was open from 1854 to 1871. In 1862,

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

appointed Smith judge of the Court of Arbitration under the treaty of 1862 with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

for the suppression of the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

where he served until 1870.

Death

Smith retired from business that year and died in

, on May 3, 1884,(age 92 years, 158 days). He is interred at Stamford in Woodland Cemetery.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Truman 1791 births 1884 deaths Connecticut lawyers Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives New York (state) lawyers People from Roxbury, Connecticut Politicians from Stamford, Connecticut United States Article I federal judges appointed by Abraham Lincoln 1844 United States presidential electors United States senators from Connecticut Whig Party United States senators Yale College alumni Litchfield Law School alumni Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers