Oliver H. Smith

Oliver Hampton Smith (born October 23, 1794 in Trenton , New Jersey , † March 19, 1859 in Indianapolis , Indiana ) was an American politician of the Whig Party . He represented the state of Indiana in both houses of Congress .

Oliver Smith was born on Smith's Island , a small island in the Delaware River near New Jersey's capital, Trenton. He first attended public schools and then went west. In 1818 he settled in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1820, whereupon he began practicing law in Connersville . From 1822 to 1824 he held his first political mandate as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives ; thereafter he was a public prosecutor in the third legal district of the state until 1825.

On March 4, 1827 Smith moved after a successful election as an independent candidate in the House of Representatives of the United States , where he represented the third constituency of Indiana until March 3, 1829 . He did not succeed in re-election. He returned to Congress on March 4, 1837, after he had been elected a US Senator - now a member of the Whigs . In the Senate he served a term until March 3, 1843; During this time he acted among other things as chairman of the Committee on Engrossed Bills . This time, too, he ran unsuccessfully for re-election.

Subsequently, Smith worked as a lawyer in Indianapolis. In 1845 he was offered the candidacy for governor of Indiana, but he turned it down. Instead, he worked until his death in 1859 in the railroad business, including the Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Cleveland Railroad .

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personal data
SURNAME	Smith, Oliver H.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Smith, Oliver Hampton (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	October 23, 1794
PLACE OF BIRTH	near Trenton , New Jersey
DATE OF DEATH	March 19, 1859
Place of death	Indianapolis , Indiana