William Smith (Maryland)

William Smith (April 12, 1728 – March 27, 1814) was an American politician and representative of the fourth congressional district of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives.

Smith was born in Donegal Township of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He moved to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1761, and was appointed a member of the committee of correspondence in 1774, and a member of the committee of observation in 1775. Smith was also one of a committee appointed by the Continental Congress to constitute a naval board in 1777.

Mrs. James Smith and Grandson, a 1776 portrait by Charles Willson Peale of Smith's mother Mary and his son Campbell.^[1]

Smith was chosen as a Maryland delegate to the Continental Congress in 1777. He subsequently pursued a career as a merchant, and then was elected to the 1st United States Congress, from March 4, 1789, until March 3, 1791. Smith was the First Auditor of the United States Treasury from July 16, 1791 to November 27, 1791. He returned to local politics to be elected to the Maryland Senate in 1801. Smith died in Baltimore and was interred in the Old Westminster Graveyard.

Smith's daughter Mary was married to Gen. Otho Holland Williams, founder of Williamsport, Maryland. Williams served in the Revolutionary War as Deputy Adjutant General to both Gens. Horatio Gates and Nathanael Greene.

References

• United States Congress. "William Smith (id: S000624)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. 

Further reading

• Information about Smith's residency in Baltimore on land now included in Herring Run Park: Wood, Pamela (16 May 2015). "Archaeological dig uncovers Herring Run Park's past". Baltim. Sun. The property was first settled in 1695, but Smith was its most famous resident.