Jonathan Bayard Smith (February 21, 1742 – June 16, 1812) was an American politician and merchant from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

who was one of the

Founding Fathers of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American Revolution, American revolutionary leaders who United Colonies, united the Thirteen Colon ...

. Smith served as a delegate for

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

in 1777 and 1778, where he signed the

Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...

Early life

Smith was born on February 21, 1742, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Mary Harrison and Samuel Smith. His father was a successful mercantile businessman in

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on ...

, who had moved to Philadelphia. Smith graduated from Princeton in 1760 and joined his father in business. He was elected to the revived

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1768. His first marriage was to Susannah Bayard of Maryland. Together, they had one son, Samuel Harrison Smith, who founded the ''National Intelligencer'' newspaper.

Revolutionary War

Smith became a member of the local committee of safety and in 1775 was made its secretary. He was elected a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1777, serving from April 4 of that year until November 1778. While in Congress, Smith endorsed the Articles of Confederation for Pennsylvania. He resigned from the Continental Congress to assist in the defense of Philadelphia in 1778. Having advocated taking up arms (a sometimes unpopular stance in largely

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

Pennsylvania) he also joined the militia, becoming a lieutenant colonel of John Bayard's regiment and serving in the Brandywine campaign.

Later work

After his congressional career, Smith returned his attention to business, but remained active in civic affairs. In 1778 he became a member of the Court of Common Pleas. He became a great promoter of education and in 1779 was one of the founders and a trustee of the "University of the State of Pennsylvania". In 1795, when it merged with two other schools to become the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, Smith became a trustee of the new school, serving until his death. He also served as a trustee for his alma mater, Princeton, for thirty years. Smith served in other fraternal and civic organizations. He became an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

in Philadelphia, a grand master of the Masons, and a member of the

. Smith died at his residence in Philadelphia in 1812 and was buried in the Second Presbyterian Church Graveyard. In 1867, his remains were reinterred to Mount Vernon Cemetery.

References

University of Pennsylvania archives

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jonathan B. 1742 births 1812 deaths Bayard family Burials at Mount Vernon Cemetery (Philadelphia) Businesspeople from Philadelphia Merchants from colonial Pennsylvania 18th-century American merchants Continental Congressmen from Pennsylvania Huguenot participants in the American Revolution Members of the American Philosophical Society Pennsylvania militiamen in the American Revolution Princeton University alumni Signers of the Articles of Confederation University of Pennsylvania people Founding Fathers of the United States