Joseph Showalter Smith (June 20, 1824 – September 28, 1884) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a Representative 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 so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

from 1869 to 1871.

Early life

Born in

Connellsville, Pennsylvania Connellsville is a City (Pennsylvania), city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Pittsburgh and away via the Youghiogheny River, a tributary of the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Th ...

, Smith moved with his farmer parents to Ohio and Indiana, where he attended the common schools. In 1844, at the age of 20, he was one of the early traveler on the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

to Oregon, arriving in the spring of 1845 and settling in

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...

, where he taught school, studied law, and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

Political career

In 1851, he sought election as

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

's first mayor, but lost by four votes to

Hugh O'Bryant Hugh Donaldson O'Bryant (1813–1883) was an American politician who served as the first mayor of Portland, Oregon, from 1851 to 1852. He later served as the President of the Oregon Territory Council, and as a member of the Washington Ter ...

. In 1853, he moved to

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...

, and was elected to the Washington territorial house of representatives in 1856 and served as speaker. He was appointed United States attorney for Washington Territory by President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He also served as the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvan ...

March 12, 1857. Smith returned to Salem in 1858 and practiced law for twelve years. In 1862, he was selected by the Democratic convention to be their candidate for Associate Justice of the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest State court (United States), state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.

, but he declined the nomination. In 1866, he was the Democratic candidate for

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

, but lost to Republican Henry W. Corbett by three votes in the Legislature. JosShoSmithGrave

In 1868, Smith was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

and served one term from March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1871. After his term was completed, he moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

and resumed his law practice. He ran for

Governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...

in 1882, but lost to Republican

Zenas Ferry Moody Zenas Ferry Moody (May 27, 1832 – March 14, 1917) was the seventh Governor of Oregon from 1882 to 1887. Early life Zenas Ferry Moody was born on May 27, 1832, in Granby, Massachusetts, to Thomas Hovey and Hannah Ferry.Corning, Howard M. ...

. He died in Portland on September 28, 1884 and was interred in Portland's River View Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Joseph Showalter 1824 births 1884 deaths Burials at River View Cemetery (Portland, Oregon) Politicians from Salem, Oregon Oregon pioneers Oregon lawyers Members of the Washington Territorial Legislature Washington (state) Democrats Lawyers from Salem, Oregon 19th-century American lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives United States attorneys for the District of Washington