Robert SMITH, Congress, IL (1802-1867)

SMITH, Robert, (nephew of Jeremiah Smith and Samuel Smith of New Hampshire), a Representative from Illinois; born in Peterborough, Hillsboro County, N.H., June 12, 1802; attended the public schools and New Ipswich Academy; taught school; engaged in mercantile pursuits in 1822 and in the manufacturing of textile goods in Northfield, N.H., in 1823; studied law; was admitted to the bar and practiced; moved to Illinois and settled in Alton in 1832 and again engaged in mercantile pursuits; elected captain in the state militia in 1832; extensive land owner and engaged in the real estate business; member of the state house of representatives 1836-1840; elected enrolling and engrossing clerk of the state house of representatives in 1840 and 1842; elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth Congresses and reelected as an Independent Democrat to the Thirtieth Congress (March 4, 1843-March 3, 1849); chairman, Committee on Roads and Canals (Twenty-ninth Congress); elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1857-March 3, 1859); chairman, Committee on Mileage (Thirty-fifth Congress); served as paymaster during the Civil War; died in Alton, Ill., December 21, 1867; interment in Alton City Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present