Melancton Smith

Melancton Smith (born May 7, 1744 in Jamaica , Queens , Province of New York , † July 29, 1798 in New York City ) was a British- American officer , trader and politician .

Life

Melancton Smith was homeschooled by his parents. He later did business in Poughkeepsie, New York, and pursued a political and military career. He took part on May 22, 1775 as a delegate to the First Provincial Congress of New York. After the outbreak of the American War of Independence , he enlisted in the army. He served in the Continental Line Regiment , which was formed on June 30, 1775. He also set up the Dutchess County Minutemen of which he became the captain . In addition, he served in 1777 and 1778 as the secret service commissioner and sheriff of Dutchess County. After the war, he moved to New York City in 1785, where he worked as a dealer. In the same year he was elected to the Continental Congress, where he worked until 1787. He then belonged to the delegation that ratified the American Declaration of Independence at Poughkeepsie in 1788 . Smith served in the New York State Assembly from 1791/1792 . During this time he was a member of a committee that had to decide on several formal errors in the gubernatorial election of 1792 . The decision was in favor of George Clinton . Smith died in 1798 and was buried in Jamaica Cemetery, New York City.

Web links

• Melancton Smith in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Letters from the Federal Farmer
• Melancton Smith at The Political Graveyard