Robert Smith (June 12 1802 - December 21 1867) was a
U.S. RepresentativeThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
, nephew of
Jeremiah SmithJeremiah Smith was an American lawyer, jurist and politician from Exeter, New Hampshire. Born in 1759 in Peterborough, New Hampshire, he represented New Hampshire in the U.S. House and served as Governor of New Hampshire in 1809 and 1810. Smith defeated Governor John Langdon by only 319 votes...
and
Samuel SmithSamuel Smith was a U.S. Representative from New Hampshire, brother of Jeremiah Smith and uncle of Robert Smith....
of
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian province of...
.
Born in
Peterborough, New HampshirePeterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,883 at the 2000 census, with an estimated population of 6,100 in 2006....
, Smith attended the public schools and New Ipswich Academy. He taught school. He engaged in mercantile pursuits in 1822 and in the manufacturing of textile goods in
Northfield, New HampshireNorthfield is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,548 at the 2000 census.- History :The town was incorporated in 1780, having formerly been a part of the neighboring town of Canterbury.- Geography :...
in 1823. He studied law. He was
admitted to the barIn the United States, admission to the bar is permission granted by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction In the United States, admission to the bar is permission granted by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice...
and practiced. He moved to Illinois and settled in
AltonAlton is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about 15 miles north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 34,511 at the 2006 census.-History:...
in 1832 and again engaged in mercantile pursuits.
Smith was elected captain in the state militia in 1832.
Robert Smith (June 12 1802 - December 21 1867) was a
U.S. RepresentativeThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
, nephew of
Jeremiah SmithJeremiah Smith was an American lawyer, jurist and politician from Exeter, New Hampshire. Born in 1759 in Peterborough, New Hampshire, he represented New Hampshire in the U.S. House and served as Governor of New Hampshire in 1809 and 1810. Smith defeated Governor John Langdon by only 319 votes...
and
Samuel SmithSamuel Smith was a U.S. Representative from New Hampshire, brother of Jeremiah Smith and uncle of Robert Smith....
of
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian province of...
.
Born in
Peterborough, New HampshirePeterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,883 at the 2000 census, with an estimated population of 6,100 in 2006....
, Smith attended the public schools and New Ipswich Academy. He taught school. He engaged in mercantile pursuits in 1822 and in the manufacturing of textile goods in
Northfield, New HampshireNorthfield is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,548 at the 2000 census.- History :The town was incorporated in 1780, having formerly been a part of the neighboring town of Canterbury.- Geography :...
in 1823. He studied law. He was
admitted to the barIn the United States, admission to the bar is permission granted by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction In the United States, admission to the bar is permission granted by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice...
and practiced. He moved to Illinois and settled in
AltonAlton is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about 15 miles north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 34,511 at the 2006 census.-History:...
in 1832 and again engaged in mercantile pursuits.
Smith was elected captain in the state militia in 1832. He was an extensive land owner, and engaged in the real estate business. He served as a member of the
Illinois House of RepresentativesThe Illinois House of is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from individual...
from 1836-1840. He was elected enrolling and engrossing clerk of the Illinois House of Representatives in 1840 and 1842.
Smith was elected as a
DemocratThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
to the
Twenty-eighthThe Twenty-eighth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1843 to March 3, 1845, during the last two years...
and
Twenty-ninthThe Twenty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1845 to March 3, 1847, during the first two years...
Congresses and reelected as an Independent Democrat to the
ThirtiethThe Thirtieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1847 to March 3, 1849, during the last two years of...
Congress (March 4 1843-March 3 1849). He served as chairman of the Committee on Roads and Canals (Twenty-ninth Congress).
Smith was elected as a
DemocratThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
to the
Thirty-fifthThe Thirty-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1857 to March 3, 1859, during the first two years...
Congress (March 4 1857-March 3 1859). He served as chairman of the Committee on Mileage (Thirty-fifth Congress). He served as paymaster during the
Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
. He died in Alton, and was interred in Alton City Cemetery.
Smith attended an event in
Greenville, IllinoisGreenville is a city in Bond County, Illinois, United States, east of St. Louis. The population was 6,955 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bond County.Greenville is home to Greenville College, a private Free Methodist college.-History:...
in 1858 in which
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery...
and Stephen Douglas gave speeches around the time of the
Lincoln-Douglas debatesThe Lincoln–Douglas Debates of 1858 were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate, and the incumbent Stephen A. Douglas, a Democrat, for an Illinois seat in the United States Senate. At the time, U.S...
.