Background
William Ephraim Smith was born on March 14, 1829, in Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia, United States. He was the son of Samuel and Susan Horton Smith. Little is known about his early life.
William Ephraim Smith was born on March 14, 1829, in Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia, United States. He was the son of Samuel and Susan Horton Smith. Little is known about his early life.
William studied law.
William Ephraim Smith was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1848, and began a practice in Albany, Georgia. He was also a planter.
He was the ordinary of Dougherty County in 1853 and solicitor general of the Southwest Circuit from 1858 to 1868. During the Civil War, he enlisted as a first lieutenant in the 1st Georgia Volunteer Infantry.
Promoted to captain in 1862, he lost a leg in the battle of King's School House in June of that year. He saw no further military duty in the war. From 1863 until the end of the war, he represented the Second District of Georgia in the Confederate House.
He served on the Ordnance and Ordnance Stores and the Territories and Public Lands Committees. When the war ended, he returned to his Albany law practice.
He served as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives from 1875 to 1881 and in the state Senate from 1886 to 1888. He again practiced law until his death.
Smith was a Whig and a unionist until the American Civil War started. He then became a member of the Democratic party. He was generally a Davis administration opponent.
Smith married Caroline Williams on August 7, 1860, and, after her death, her sister, Mary Williams, in 1872.
Captain
Senator