Truman Smith
Truman Smith | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Connecticut | |
In office March 4, 1849 – May 24, 1854 | |
Preceded by | John M. Niles |
Succeeded by | Francis Gillette |
Member of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut's 4th district | |
In office March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1849 | |
Preceded by | Samuel Simons |
Succeeded by | Thomas B. Butler |
Member of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut's 5th district | |
In office March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1843 | |
Preceded by | Lancelot Phelps |
Succeeded by | (none) |
Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives | |
In office 1831–1832 1834 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Roxbury, Connecticut, USA | November 27, 1791
Died | May 3, 1884 Stamford, Connecticut, USA | (aged 92)
Political party | Whig |
Spouse(s) | Maria Cook Smith, Mary Ann Dickinson Smith |
Children | Catherine Marie Smith, Jeannie Penniman (Jane) Smith, George Webster Smith, Truman Houston Smith, Samuel Hubbard Smith, Edmond Dickinson Smith, Robert Shufeldt Smith, Henry Humphry Smith, Allen Hoyt Smith |
Alma mater | Yale College Litchfield Law School |
Profession | Politician, Lawyer, Judge |
Truman Smith (November 27, 1791 – May 3, 1884) was a Whig member of the United States Senate from Connecticut from 1849 to 1854 and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut's 4th and 5th congressional districts from 1839 to 1843 and from 1845 to 1849. He also served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1831 to 1832, and in 1834.
Biography
Smith was born in
Career
Smith was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1831 to 1832 and again in 1834. He was elected a Whig to the United States House of Representatives, representing the 5th district, during the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses, and serving from March 4, 1839, to March 3, 1843,[3] declining renomination in 1842.
Smith was a
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.[4]
Afterwards, he lived in Stamford, Connecticut, with his second wife, Mary Ann Dickinson Smith, while practicing law in New York City, New York. Mary Ann was the adopted daughter of the miniaturist Anson Dickinson.[5]
Smith's New York law office was open from 1854 to 1871.
Death
Smith retired from business that year and died in Stamford, Connecticut, on May 3, 1884,(age 92 years, 158 days). He is interred at Stamford in Woodland Cemetery.[6]
References
- ^ "Truman Smith". Litchfield Historical Society. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- ^ a b "Truman Smith". The Cyclopædia of American Biography. Vol. 5. New York: Press Association Compilers, Inc. 1915.
- ^ a b "Truman Smith". Govtrack US Congress. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-19-516104-5. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ^ Shelton 2008.
- ^ "Truman Smith". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
External links
- Shelton, Don (2008). "Dickinson, Anson - portrait of a young man". Retrieved 2013-01-03.
- United States Congress. "Truman Smith (id: S000621)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Truman Smith at Find a Grave
This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress