George William Smith was a Virginia lawyer and politician, who served several terms in the Virginia House of Delegates and was twice the acting governor before then being elected as the 17th Governor of Virginia.
Background
George William Smith was born in 1762 at the family estate "Bathurst" in Essex County, Virginia, to Alice and Meriwether Smith. His father was a notable Virginia politician, having served in the House of Burgesses, the Continental Congress and the Virginia House of Delegates.
Career
His term as elected governor was short and ended tragically with his death in the Richmond Theatre fire of 1811
Like his father, the younger Smith soon entered politics, first representing Essex County in the Virginia House of Delegates before taking his law practice to the city of Richmond. He was appointed to the Virginia Council of State Council and soon became its senior member and thus the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. He became acting Governor again, from April to December of the same year, when Monroe resigned to become United States Secretary of State.
Smith was then elected to the office in his own right as the 17th Governor of Virginia, representing the Democratic-Republican Party.
However, his official tenure lasted only three weeks before his death during the great Richmond Theatre fire of December 26, 1811. The Governor"s sudden and unexpected death left the Virginia executive branch in turmoil, prompting acting Governor Peyton Randolph to push the legislature to swiftly appoint a successor.
Smith"s ashes were placed under a rock at Monumental Church in Richmond with the ashes of other victims of the fire including former senator and president of the Bank of Virginia, Abraham B. Venable.
Membership
As the senior member of the Virginia Council, Smith became as the acting Governor of Virginia, between the terms of John Tyler, Senior and James Monroe, for five days in January 1811.