William Smith (New York state senator)

William Smith (June 28, 1720 – March 17, 1799) was an American politician from New York.

Life

He was born on June 28, 1720,[1] at Manor St. George in Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, the son of William Henry Smith (1690–1743) and Hannah (Cooper) Smith.

He married Mary Smith (1735–1758), and their son was U.S. Senator John Smith (1752–1816). Mary Smith died on April 22, 1758, a week after the birth of their daughter Mary who died the next year.[2]

On March 2, 1762,[3] William married Ruth Woodhull (1740–1822), and they had six children.[4]

He was a judge of the Suffolk County Court from 1771 to 1775.[5] At the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War he sided with the Patriots. He stayed with friends in Orange County and got involved in politics.

He was a member of the 3rd and 4th New York Provincial Congresses in 1776 and 1777. He was appointed by the New York Constitutional Convention to the New York State Senate to represent the Southern District which was under British control and no State election could be held there. He was a member of the State Senate from 1777 to 1783, sitting in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th New York State Legislatures.[6]

He died on March 17, 1799.[7]

Chief Justice of the Province of New York William "Tangier" Smith (1655–1705) was his grandfather; Gen. Nathaniel Woodhull (1722–1776) and State Senator Jesse Woodhull (1735–1795) were his brothers-in-law.

Sources

  1. ↑ "Family: William Smith/Ruth Woodhull" at Long Island Surnames
  2. ↑ "Mary Smith (1735–1758)" at Long Island Surnames
  3. ↑ New York Marriages Previous to 1784 (Clearfield Co., reprinted 1999 from original publication in 1860; pg. 470; ISBN 0-8063-0259-3)
  4. ↑ Godey's Magazine and Lady's Book (1849, Vol. XXXVIII, pg. 384)
  5. ↑ The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, 1788–1790 edited by Gordon DenBoer (University of Wisconsin Press, 1986; Vol. III, pg. 203; ISBN 0-299-06690-8)
  6. ↑ The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pg. 53 and 110ff; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
  7. ↑ Samuel W. Eager (1846). An Outline History of Orange County: Together with Local Tradition and Short Biographical Sketches of Early Settlers, Etc. S. T. Callahan, Newburgh NY. p. 544. William Smith...was born in 1720...He died March 17, 1799.
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