Dennis Smelt

Dennis Smelt (born November 23, 1763 in Essex County , Colony of Virginia , †  October 22, 1818 in Augusta , Georgia ) was an American politician . Between 1806 and 1811 he represented the state of Georgia in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Dennis Smelt attended the College of William & Mary and then took part in the Revolutionary War despite his youth . However, it is not known what role he performed during the war. Later he studied in England medicine . After his approval as a doctor, he began to work in his new profession in Augusta. He also carried out medical research in the field of infectious diseases. Smelt was also the founder of one of the first churches in Augusta.

Between 1800 and 1811, Smelt was a curator at the University of Georgia . Politically, he was one of the leading figures in opposition to the Federalist Party . He joined the Democratic Republican Party founded by President Thomas Jefferson and was one of its founders at the state level in Georgia. In the presidential election of 1800 he was the elector of his party.

Following the resignation of MP Joseph Bryan , Smelt was elected as his successor to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC at the due by-election for the third Georgia seat . There he took up his new mandate on September 1, 1806. After two re-elections, he could remain in Congress until March 3, 1811 . In 1810, Smelt declined to run again. After leaving the US House of Representatives, he returned to work as a doctor. He died on October 22, 1818 in Augusta and was buried there. Dennis Smelt was married to Mary Cooper Smelt (1778-1858); the couple had a daughter.

Web links

• Dennis Smelt in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Dennis Smelt in the database of Find a Grave (English)