SMITH, John Cotton

SMITH, John Cotton, a Representative from Connecticut; born in Sharon, Conn., on February 12, 1765; completed preparatory studies; was graduated from Yale College in 1783; studied law; was admitted to the bar and began practice in Sharon, Conn., in 1787; member of the State house of representatives in 1793, 1796, and 1800, and served as speaker in 1800; elected as a Federalist to the Sixth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Jonathan Brace; reelected to the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Congresses and served from November 17, 1800, until his resignation in August 1806; chairman, Committee on Claims (Seventh through Ninth Congresses); judge of the supreme court of Connecticut in 1809; Lieutenant Governor in 1810; Governor 1813-1818; unsuccessful candidate for Governor on the Federalist ticket in 1817; president of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions; president of the Connecticut Bible Society; retired to his estate near Sharon, Litchfield County, Conn., where he died December 7, 1845; interment in Hillside Cemetery.

View Record in the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

[ Top ]

Connecticut Historical Society

Connecticut State Library

Library of Congress
Manuscript Division

Litchfield Historical Society

Yale University Library

[ Top ]

[ Top ]