Background
Smith, Israel was born on April 4, 1759 in Suffield, Connecticut, United States. Son of Daniel and Anna (Kent) Smith.
governor judge lawyer politician representative senator
Smith, Israel was born on April 4, 1759 in Suffield, Connecticut, United States. Son of Daniel and Anna (Kent) Smith.
He studied at Yale University and graduated in 1781. He studied law and was admitted to the Barometer
He began his law practice in Rupert, Vermont. After Israel Smith"s death Abiah married Colonel William C. Harrington, who became an attorney in Burlington, Vermont. He served in the Vermont House again from 1788 to 1791.
During this period, he was active in solving Vermont"s boundary disputes with other states and served as a delegate to the Vermont Constitutional Convention, at which Vermont ratified the American Constitution.
By 1790 Smith had moved to Rutland, Vermont. When Vermont became a state in 1791, Smith ran for Vermont"s seat in the United States House of Representatives.
Smith represented Vermont"s 1st District in the United States. House from 1791 to 1797. In 1792 and 1794, Lyon unsuccessfully ran against Smith, but in 1796 Smith was defeated by Lyon.
In 1797, Smith again briefly served in the Vermont State House.
He became Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court in 1797, but resigned the following year. In 1800, Smith was reelected to the United States House of Representatives, where he served until 1802. In 1802, Smith was elected to the United States Senate from Vermont, and served in the Senate from 1803 to 1807.
Tichenor had served as governor for a decade.
Smith resigned from the Senate and served as Governor of Vermont from 1807 to 1808, when he was defeated for reelection by Tichenor. Smith served as Vermont"s fourth Governor.
After leaving the governorship, Smith moved back to Rutland, Vermont, where he retired from politics. He became ill and died in Rutland.
He is interred at West Street Cemetery in Rutland.
His home in Rutland has been preserved.
He held a wide variety of positions in the state of Vermont, including as a member of the United States House of Representatives, a member of the United States Senate and Governor of Vermont. Smith began his political career in 1785 when he served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives. By this time, Smith had become a member of the Democratic-Republican Party.
Married Abiah Smith between 1779-1789, 2 children.