Thomas Smith (politician, 1799)

Thomas Smith (born May 1, 1799 in Fayette County , Pennsylvania , †  April 12, 1876 in Versailles , Indiana ) was an American politician . Between 1839 and 1847 he twice represented the state of Indiana in the US House of Representatives .

Career

In 1818 Thomas Smith came to Rising Sun , Indiana, where he worked in the tannery business. In 1821 he moved to Versailles, where he ran his own tannery. Smith was also a member of the state militia, where he made it to the rank of colonel. At the same time he began a political career as a member of the Democratic Party . Between 1829 and 1836 he was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives . He then sat in the State Senate from 1836 to 1839 .

In the congressional elections of 1838 Smith was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the fourth constituency of Indiana , where he succeeded George H. Dunn on March 4, 1839 . Since he was not confirmed in 1840, he was initially only able to complete one legislative period in Congress until March 3, 1841 . In the elections of 1842 Smith was re-elected to Congress in the third district to succeed Joseph L. White , where he could serve two more terms between March 4, 1843 and March 3, 1847. These had been shaped by the events of the Mexican-American War since 1845 .

In 1846, Smith declined to run again. In 1850 he was a delegate to a meeting to revise the state constitution. Then he withdrew from politics. Thomas Smith died in Versailles on April 12, 1876.

Web links

• Thomas Smith in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)