Smith was born in
Fayette County, Pennsylvania.
Early career In 1818, he moved to
Rising Sun, Indiana, where he learned the trade of
tanning. He then moved to
Versailles, Indiana in 1821 and established a tanyard. Smith eventually became a colonel in the state militia, and member of the
Indiana House of Representatives in 1829, 1830, and from 1833 to 1836. He also served in the
state senate from 1836 to 1839.
Congress Smith was elected as a Democratic Representative for
Indiana's 4th congressional district to the
Twenty-Sixth Congress, which lasted from March 4, 1839, until March 3, 1841. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1840 to the
Twenty-seventh Congress, but was elected in
Indiana's 3rd congressional district to the
Twenty-eighth and
Twenty-ninth Congresses (March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1847). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1846. While serving in Congress, Smith voted in favor of the
United States going to war against Mexico. Smith was a delegate to the Indiana constitutional convention in 1850. == Death ==