Background
He was born on September 7, 1727 in Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom, the son of Thomas Smith, a gentleman of means, and Elizabeth (Duncan) Smith.
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He was born on September 7, 1727 in Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom, the son of Thomas Smith, a gentleman of means, and Elizabeth (Duncan) Smith.
After attending the parish school he was taken in charge by the Society for the Education of Parochial Schoolmasters and educated under its care until 1741, when he entered the University of Aberdeen, from which he graduated A. M. in 1747.
In 1763 the University of Dublin honored Smith with the degree of doctor of divinity.
From 1748 William spent time in London as agent of the Society that had sponsored him, and also, for a time, he was an agent of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. On March 3, 1751, he sailed for New York as tutor to two sons of Colonel Martin of Long Island, who were returning to their native country. He was a member of the Martin household until August 1753.
He prepared and published A General Idea of the College of Mirania (1753), addressed particularly to the trustees nominated by the legislature to receive proposals relating to the establishment of a college in New York. Smith sent a copy of his pamphlet to Benjamin Franklin and to the Rev. Richard Peters, trustees of the Academy and Charitable School, Philadelphia. Franklin wrote Smith, expressing interest in his ideas. Accordingly, the young man visited Philadelphia, with the result that he was invited to connect himself with the Academy. So impressed with the institution was he that he addressed to the trustees A Poem on Visiting the Academy of Philadelphia, June 1753 (1753).
Before entering upon his duties, he went back to England and was ordained deacon in the Established Church on December 21, 1753; two days later he was elevated to the priesthood.
On his return to Philadelphia in May of the year following, he at once became teacher of logic, rhetoric, and natural and moral philosophy in the Academy. From that time until the Revolution he was the dominant influence in its affairs. In December 1754 the trustees requested Smith and Francis Alison, the rector, to prepare a clause to be incorporated in the charter, empowering the Academy to grant degrees. They drew up what was practically a new charter, adding the word college to the title of the institution, and providing for a provost and viceprovost. The charter was approved and went into effect the next year, and Smith became provost of the College, Academy and Charitable School of Philadelphia.
During the French and Indian War, he publicly condemned the Assembly for its failure to adopt aggressive military measures, publishing in 1755 A Brief State of the Province of Pennsylvania. The pamphlet drew forth caustic replies and in 1756 Smith published A Brief View of the Conduct of Pennsylvania in 1755. His enemies assailed his character in the newspapers, and accused him of teaching what was inconsistent with the charter of the college and even with religion itself. A committee appointed by the trustees of the College, July 5, 1756, investigated the charges and completely exonerated the provost.
Partly because of his interest in literature, but more especially to provide himself with a political weapon, Smith established in 1757 The American Magazine and Monthly Chronicle of the British Colonies, published by William Bradford. It was particularly notable for its encouragement of poetry, among its contributors being Francis Hopkinson, the younger Thomas Godfrey, and James Sterling. The genius of young Benjamin West, also, was first announced to the public through this publication. Smith himself wrote for the magazine a series of papers entitled "The Hermit, " and signed Theodore, which were religious in character.
The periodical was issued for only a year, however, since in December 1758 Smith's political troubles compelled him to sail for England. These troubles arose from his association with William Moore, a Pennsylvania judge. The next Assembly ordered the arrest of both Moore and Smith, which was effected January 6, 1758. Smith was later brought before the bar of the House, charged with promoting and publishing seditious libels, and convicted. He was ordered committed to jail and confined until he had made satisfaction. He remained there until after the Assembly had adjourned, being released by order of the supreme court on April 11; in the meantime he had taught his classes at the jail.
In September he was arrested for a second time and kept in jail until the House was dissolved. During his first confinement he had appealed to the King, and early in December 1758 he sailed for England to prosecute the appeal. Here his writings and activities had brought him into great favor. Vindicated in his contention that his arrest had been illegal, Smith was back in Philadelphia on May 3, 1759.
In February 1762, however, he again sailed for England and was away from home more than two years engaged in collecting funds for the College. This work, in which he was highly successful, was carried on jointly with James Jay under a royal brief authorizing them both to solicit subscriptions. The funds they secured were divided between the two institutions.
At the request of Henry Bouquet and from facts supplied by him he prepared An Historical Account of the Expedition Against the Ohio Indians in 1764 (1765), which attained much popularity abroad. From 1766 to 1777 he acted as rector of Trinity Church, Oxford. In 1769 he was associated with David Rittenhouse and John Lukens at the former's Norriton observatory in observing the transit of Venus.
Smith's activities were transferred to Maryland. He became rector of Chester Parish, Chestertown, Kent County, and established Kent School, which had 142 pupils in 1782, when it was chartered as Washington College with Smith as president. He was always successful as a money-raiser, he secured much funds for the new institution.
His ambition to be bishop was never realized, however. The Maryland Convention of 1783 elected him to that office, but the General Convention did not confirm the election. During his residence in Maryland, Smith had kept in close touch with Philadelphia and labored to have the rights of the old College restored. Finally, his efforts and those of others were successful, the Assembly on March 6, 1789, declaring the act of 1779 repugnant to justice and restoring the former charter with all its privileges.
On March 1 of that year, in behalf of the American Philosophical Society, Smith, ironically enough, had delivered an oration on the death of Franklin, in the German Lutheran Church.
He spent the most of his remaining days on his estate at the Falls of the Schuylkill, engaged more or less in land speculation and in advocating the development of canal navigation in Pennsylvania. At the time of his death he was preparing his writings for publication in five volumes, two of which appeared in 1803. He died at the home of a daughter-in-law in Philadelphia.
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An ardent churchman, William was prominent in ecclesiastical matters and in constant communication with Church officials in England. He strongly favored the appointment of an American bishop and undoubtedly hoped to occupy that position himself.
Politically, he was a friend of the Penns and a leading supporter of the proprietary interests, by this affiliation, as well as by other actions, incurring the bitter enmity of Franklin.
He opposed the Stamp Act as "contrary to the faith of charters and the inherent rights of Englishmen, " but he did not favor independence.
Notwithstanding his Loyalist tendencies, he was an ardent supporter of liberty, and his political activities, while not uninfluenced by personal motives, were in the main directed by a passion for the best interests of his state and the country.
He was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society, January 2, 1768.
Quotes from others about the person
Ezra Stiles said: "Dr. Smith is a haughty, self-opinionated, half-learned Character"; and on another occasion, "His moral character is very exceptionable and unbecoming a Minister of Christ, & it is even a doubt whether he is a Believer of Revelation. He is infamous for religious Hypocrisy".
Dr. Benjamin Rush, who knew him well and attended him in his last illness, left a vivid portrait of him. "Unhappily, " Rush says, "his conduct in all his relations and situations was opposed to his talents and profession. His person was slovenly and his manners awkward and often offensive in company he early contracted a love for strong drink and became toward the close of his life an habitual drunkard. . His temper was irritable and when angry he swore in the most extravagant manner. He seldom paid a debt without being sued or without a quarrel, he was extremely avaricious. On his death bed he never spoke upon any subject connected with religion nor was there a Bible or Prayer Book ever seen in his room. He descended to his grave without being lamented by a human creature. From the absence of all his children not a drop of kindred blood attended his funeral".
Rush himself admits that Smith possessed "genius, taste, and learning. "
On June 3, he married William Moore's daughter, Rebecca. They had five children.