James Smith (September 17, 1719 – July 11, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was an Irish/American lawyer and a signer to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Pennsylvania. He was born in Ireland; his family immigrated to Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1729. Smith attended the

Philadelphia Academy The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

. He studied law at the office of his brother George and was admitted to the bar in Pennsylvania, initially practicing near

Shippensburg Shippensburg is a borough in Cumberland and Franklin counties in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Settled in 1730, Shippensburg lies in the Cumberland Valley, southwest of Harrisburg, and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan St ...

and later near York. He became captain of the militia there. He was appointed to the provincial convention in Philadelphia in 1775, to the state constitutional convention in 1776, and was elected to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

, where he signed the Declaration of Independence. He was reelected to Congress in 1785 but declined to attend because of his advanced age. Smith died on July 11, 1806, and is buried in York, Pennsylvania, First Presbyterian Churchyard. The University of Delaware has a dormitory on its North Campus bearing his name.

References

* ''Lawyers and Leaders: The Role of Lawyers in the Development of York County, Pennsylvania'', 2005, , York County Bar Association by Georg R. Sheets

External links

* http://www.libraryireland.com/biography/JamesSmith.php
Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, James 1719 births 1806 deaths People from Ulster American Presbyterians Presbyterians from Pennsylvania American people of Scotch-Irish descent Continental Congressmen from Pennsylvania 18th-century American politicians Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence Foundrymen Irish writers University of Pennsylvania alumni Politicians from York, Pennsylvania People from Chester County, Pennsylvania 18th-century Irish people 19th-century Irish people

See also

References

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