Dietrich Conrad Smith (April 4, 1840 – April 18, 1914) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Biography

Smith was born in

East Frisia East Frisia () or East Friesland (; ; ; ) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisia (peninsula), East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the ...

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover () was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Hanover, and j ...

. He immigrated to the United States with his parents, who settled in

Pekin, Illinois Pekin ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tazewell County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located on the Illinois River, Pekin is the largest city of Tazewell County and the second most populous municipality of the Peoria metropolitan area ...

, about 1850. He then attended the public schools of

, and Quincy College (now

Quincy University Quincy University (QU) is a Private college, private Franciscans, Franciscan college in Quincy, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1860, it has an enrollment of approximately 1,300 undergraduate and graduate students across five constituent sch ...

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ) is a city in Adams County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Mississippi River, the population was 39,463 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 40,633 in 2010. The Quincy, Illinois, mic ...

. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

he served in the Union Army as lieutenant in Company I, Eighth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He left the service as captain of Company C, One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was an organizer of the German College at Mount Pleasant in 1874. He served as member of board of trustees of that institution for many years. He served as member of the State house of representatives 1876-1878. He engaged in banking and manufacturing and also in the construction and management of railroads in Illinois. Smith was elected as a Republican to the

Forty-seventh Congress The 47th 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 in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1881, ...

(March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1883). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1882 to the

Forty-eighth Congress The 48th 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 in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1883, ...

. He again engaged in banking. He died in

, April 18, 1914. He was interred in Lakeside Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Dietrich Conrad 1840 births 1914 deaths People from Pekin, Illinois Quincy University alumni Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Union army officers Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Emigrants from the Kingdom of Hanover to the United States Military personnel from Illinois 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly