Nathan Smith (senator)

Nathan Smith
United States Senator from Connecticut
In office March 4, 1833 – December 6, 1835
Preceded by	Samuel A. Foot
Succeeded by	John M. Niles
Personal details
Born	(1770-01-08)January 8, 1770 Woodbury, Connecticut
Died	December 6, 1835(1835-12-06) (aged 65) Washington, D.C.
Political party	Whig
Alma mater	Litchfield Law School
Occupation	lawyer politician

Nathan Smith (January 8, 1770 – December 6, 1835) was a United States Senator from Connecticut.

Biography

Smith was born in Woodbury, Connecticut son of Richard and Annis (Hurd) Smith; brother of Nathaniel Smith and uncle of Truman Smith. He received a modest education. He studied law with his brother and at Litchfield Law School in 1790; was admitted to the bar in 1792, and commenced the practice of his profession in New Haven. In 1808 Smith received an honorary master's from Yale. He was also an incorporator of Washington College, later known as Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.^[1]

Career

Smith was prosecuting attorney for New Haven County from 1817 until his death in 1835. He was also a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1818. In 1825, he was an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Connecticut, but was appointed United States Attorney for the district of Connecticut, serving in 1828 and 1829.^[2]

Elected as a Whig to the United States Senate, Smith served from March 4, 1833, until his death.^[3] He was 63 when he took his seat in the US Senate, one of the oldest serving members of that body and his only time in elected office.

Death

Smith died in Washington, D.C., on December 6, 1835 (age 65 years, 332 days). President Jackson and his Cabinet attended Smith's funeral in the Senate Chamber and there was also a large funeral service held in New Haven. He is interred at the Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven, Connecticut. There is a cenotaph at Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.^[4]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nathan Smith (senator).

• Find A Grave

United States Senators from Connecticut
Class 1	Ellsworth Hillhouse Dana Boardman Edwards Foot N. Smith Niles Betts Huntington R. S. Baldwin Toucey Dixon Buckingham Eaton Hawley Bulkeley McLean Walcott Maloney Hart R. E. Baldwin Benton Purtell T. Dodd Weicker Lieberman Murphy
Class 3	Johnson Sherman Mitchell Trumbull Tracy Goodrich Daggett Lanman Willey Tomlinson P. Smith Niles T. Smith Gillette Foster Ferry English Barnum Platt Brandegee Bingham Lonergan Danaher McMahon Purtell Bush Ribicoff C. Dodd Blumenthal

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.