William N. H. Smith

Quill platform ID: p16088.

(September 24, 1812 — November 14, 1889) William Nathan Harrell Smith, a Representative from North Carolina; born in Murfreesboro, N.C., September 24, 1812; attended the common schools in Murfreesboro, N.C., Kingston, R.I., and Colchester and East Lyme, Conn.; was graduated from Yale College in 1834 and from Yale Law School in 1836; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Murfreesboro, N.C., in 1839; held several local offices; was a member of the State house of commons in 1840, 1858, 1865, and 1866; served in the State senate in 1848; solicitor of the first judicial district of North Carolina for eight years; elected as an Opposition Party candidate to the Thirty-sixth Congress (March 4, 1859-March 3, 1861); unsuccessful candidate for Speaker, lacking one vote of election; served in the Confederate Congress 1862-1865; delegate to the Democratic National Convention at New York City in 1868; chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court 1878-1889; died in Raleigh, N.C., November 14, 1889; interment in Oakwood Cemetery. [Source: “Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 - Present,” available at https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/S000634]

Member of North Carolina Delegation—The Road to Civil War.

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