George Hugh Smith
Encyclopedia
George H. Smith was a Confederate Civil War veteran and prominent Los Angeles lawyer and judge.
when he was a child. Smith attended Virginia Military Institute
(VMI) in Lexington, Virginia
with his cousin George Smith Patton, and graduated in 1853. Smith was admitted to the bar in 1855, and he practiced law until the out break of the Civil War
.
in 1861, first as Captain, then as Colonel of the 25th Virginia Infantry
, and transferred in the late 1862, to the 62nd Virginia Mounted Infantry
, then Brig. General Imboden's
Cavalry Brigade, which he commanded through closing campaigns of war. Smith fought in the Battle of Gettysburg
, the Battle of New Market
, the Second Battle of Bull Run
, and in the Battle of Cedar Creek
.
. He then went to San Francisco
in 1868, and then to Los Angeles
in 1869.
and Andrew Glassell
, the firm becoming known as Glassell, Chapman & Smith. Their law practice was confined chiefly to real estate transactions and they made their fortunes in the large partition suits. This law firm acquired and developed the land which ultimately became the city of Orange, California
.
Colonel Smith became a California State Senator (1877–1878), Reporter of the California Supreme Court (1879–1882), and volumes 54 thru 62 of California Reports (1881–1884) were issued under his name, Commissioner California Supreme Court (1899–1904), and an Associate Justice of the California Courts of Appeal (1905–1906).
George Smith was a prolific author of California Supreme Court opinions. He was a frequent contributor to the American Law Review. He was a founding trustee and teacher at the Los Angeles Law School.
, graduated VMI in 1847. He was a captain of engineers in the Confederate Army. After the war, Isaac Smith went to Mexico
where he served as district engineer on the Imperial Mexican Railroad from Veracruz
to Mexico City
.
George H. Smith's younger brother Henry Martyn Smith (1844–1892), was a Captain in the Confederate Army. Henry Smith also went to Mexico in 1866 - 1867. In 1868, he went to San Francisco, and taught school at the Oakland Academy. In 1869, Henry Smith came to Los Angeles, practiced law; and was a Superior Court Fudge 1883 - 1884. Henry Martyn Smith is interred at Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles.
In June 1870 George H. Smith married his cousin’s widow Susan Glassell Patton (1835 - 1883)
.
George H. Smith died at his desk in Los Angeles and is interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery
in Los Angeles.
Early life and career
George Hugh Smith was born in Philadelphia, the son of George Archibald Smith and Ophelia Ann Williams. His family moved back to VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
when he was a child. Smith attended Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...
(VMI) in Lexington, Virginia
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
with his cousin George Smith Patton, and graduated in 1853. Smith was admitted to the bar in 1855, and he practiced law until the out break of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Civil War
Smith entered the Confederate States ArmyConfederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
in 1861, first as Captain, then as Colonel of the 25th Virginia Infantry
25th Virginia Infantry
The 25th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of the Northwest and Army of Northern Virginia...
, and transferred in the late 1862, to the 62nd Virginia Mounted Infantry
62nd Virginia Mounted Infantry
The 62nd Virginia Mounted Infantry Regiment, raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, served in many capacities including the war, including as an infantry regiment, a cavalry regiment, a mounted infantry unit, a partisan unit of rangers, and...
, then Brig. General Imboden's
John D. Imboden
John Daniel Imboden was a lawyer, teacher, Virginia state legislator. During the American Civil War, he was a Confederate cavalry general and partisan fighter...
Cavalry Brigade, which he commanded through closing campaigns of war. Smith fought in the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, the Battle of New Market
Battle of New Market
The Battle of New Market was a battle fought on May 15, 1864, in Virginia during Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War. Cadets from the Virginia Military Institute fought alongside the Confederate Army and forced Union General Franz Sigel and his army out of the Shenandoah...
, the Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...
, and in the Battle of Cedar Creek
Battle of Cedar Creek
The Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, October 19, 1864, was one of the final, and most decisive, battles in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. The final Confederate invasion of the North, led by Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early, was effectively ended...
.
Postbellum
After the Civil War in 1866, Colonel Smith went to try farming in MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. He then went to San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
in 1868, and then to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in 1869.
Los Angeles legal practice
In 1870 Smith joined the law partnership of Alfred ChapmanAlfred Chapman
Alfred Beck Chapman was a Los Angeles real estate attorney and investor. He may be best known as one of the founders of the city of Orange, California.-Life:Chapman was born on September 6, 1829, in Greensboro, Alabama...
and Andrew Glassell
Andrew Glassell
Andrew Glassell was a Los Angeles real estate attorney and investor. He may be best known as one of the founders of the city of Orange, California.-Early life and career:...
, the firm becoming known as Glassell, Chapman & Smith. Their law practice was confined chiefly to real estate transactions and they made their fortunes in the large partition suits. This law firm acquired and developed the land which ultimately became the city of Orange, California
Orange, California
Southern California is well-known for year-round pleasant weather: - On average, the warmest month is August. - The highest recorded temperature was in 1985. - On average, the coolest month is December. - The lowest recorded temperature was in 1950...
.
Colonel Smith became a California State Senator (1877–1878), Reporter of the California Supreme Court (1879–1882), and volumes 54 thru 62 of California Reports (1881–1884) were issued under his name, Commissioner California Supreme Court (1899–1904), and an Associate Justice of the California Courts of Appeal (1905–1906).
George Smith was a prolific author of California Supreme Court opinions. He was a frequent contributor to the American Law Review. He was a founding trustee and teacher at the Los Angeles Law School.
Family life
George H. Smith's elder brother Isaac Williams Smith (1826 - 1896)Isaac W. Smith (surveyor)
Isaac Williams Smith was an American soldier, surveyor and engineer.-Early life:Smith was born in 1826 in Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania County, Virginia, the son of Episcopalian preacher Reverend George A...
, graduated VMI in 1847. He was a captain of engineers in the Confederate Army. After the war, Isaac Smith went to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
where he served as district engineer on the Imperial Mexican Railroad from Veracruz
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
to Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
.
George H. Smith's younger brother Henry Martyn Smith (1844–1892), was a Captain in the Confederate Army. Henry Smith also went to Mexico in 1866 - 1867. In 1868, he went to San Francisco, and taught school at the Oakland Academy. In 1869, Henry Smith came to Los Angeles, practiced law; and was a Superior Court Fudge 1883 - 1884. Henry Martyn Smith is interred at Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles.
In June 1870 George H. Smith married his cousin’s widow Susan Glassell Patton (1835 - 1883)
Susan Thornton Glassell
Susan Thornton Glassell was the wife of George Smith Patton and George H. Smith, and the sister of Andrew Glassell.-Early life:...
.
George H. Smith died at his desk in Los Angeles and is interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery
Inglewood Park Cemetery
Inglewood Park Cemetery was founded in 1905 in Inglewood, California. A number of notable people, including entertainment and sports personalities, have been interred or entombed here.-List of notable and celebrity interments at Inglewood Park:...
in Los Angeles.
Published works
- 1877: Right and Law, A. L. Bancroft & Co
- 1886: The Law of Private Right, A. L. Bancroft & Co
- 1887: Elements of Right and of the Law, Callaghan and Co., 398 pages
- 1893: A Critical History of Modern English Jurisprudence, Bacon
- 1901: Logic, or, The analytic of explicit reasoning, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 266 pages
- The Certainty of the Law and the Uncertainty of Judicial Decisions
- The True Method of Legal Education
- Logic and Its Uses — A Lawyer's View
- Logic, or the Analytic of Explicit Reasoning
- Theory of the State
- The Theory of Jurisprudence