Abel Smith was a longtime British Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

.

He was the eighth child but eldest son of Samuel Smith, also a Member of Parliament, and nephew of Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington

Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington

Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington FRS was a British Member of Parliament and banker.Smith was the third son of Abel Smith and his wife Mary . His grandfather Abel Smith was the third son of Thomas Smith, the founder of Smith's Bank of Nottingham. Smith was elected to the House of Commons for...

. The family had grown wealthy through banking in Nottingham

Nottingham

Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

.

Abel Smith entered Parliament in 1810 as member for Malmesbury

Malmesbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Malmesbury was a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1275 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.- MPs 1275–1508 :...

, and subsequently also represented Wendover

Wendover (UK Parliament constituency)

Wendover was a borough constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...

 and Midhurst

Midhurst (UK Parliament constituency)

Midhurst was a parliamentary borough in Sussex, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1311 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the constituency was abolished...

, both pocket boroughs controlled by his uncle Lord Carrington, sitting in the Commons for 20 of the last 22 years before the Great Reform Act. He and his father were Wendover's last MPs, as they sat together as its members for the last two years before the borough's abolition.

Three years after the Reform Act, he was elected for Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Hertfordshire was a county constituency covering the county of Hertfordshire in England. It returned two Knights of the Shire to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...

, and served another twelve years as its MP. He was High Sheriff of Hertfordshire

High Sheriff of Hertfordshire

The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire was an ancient High Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years...

 in 1849.

Smith married Frances Anne Calvert, the daughter of General Sir Harry Calvert

Harry Calvert

Lieutenant General Sir Harry Calvert, 1st Baronet GCB GCH was a British general.-Military career:He was born in 1763 at Hampton, near London. He was educated at Harrow, and at the age of fifteen, was commissioned into the 23rd Foot...

. Their son Abel Smith also became MP for Hertfordshire.

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