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congress in 1799, and, after sis years in the state senate, was raised ti> the supreme bench of Connec- ticut, where, from 1806 till 1819, he formulated decisions, many of which are still quoted, lit' was one of the leaders of the famous Hartford convention in 1814, to which his own great char- acter helped to give weight, and the pure patriot- ism of whose purpose he strenuously defended in company with William Prescott. Stephen Long- fellow, Chauncey Goodrich, James Hillhouse, and Roger Minot Sherman. " Judge Smith," says Goodrich (Peter Parley), in his " Recollections of a Lifetime," "was regarded by Connecticut as one of the intellectual giants of tiis time." Gideon H. Hollister, in his "History of Connecticut," de- scribes him as " one whom the God of nations chartered to be great by the divine prerogative of genius." His brother Nathan, senator,!), in Wood- bury. Conn., 8 Jan., 1769 ; d. in Washington, D. C., 6 Dee., 1835, also studied law with Judge Reeve, of Litchfield, and, moving to New Haven, became one of the most distinguished advocates in New England. He was a member of the leg- islature for many years, and took ah active part in dis- solving the connec- tion between church and state in Con- necticut and in moulding the new state constitution that was adopted in 1818. As an ear- nest member and councillor of the Episcopal church, he advocated suc- cessfully her claims to an equal rec-

ognition with all

other religious bodies, and was one of the founders and ^corporators of Washington (now Trinity) college. He was for several years U. S. district attorney, and in 1S25 the opponent of Oliver Wolcott for the governor- ship, but was defeated. In May. 1832, he was elected senator to succeed Samuel A. Foote. He at once took an active part in the debates of the senate, and at his death, which took place sudden- ly, was even more conspicuous for his private vir- tues than for his public services. It was said that at his funeral in the senate chamoer every promi- nent public man of the day, including President Jackson and his cabinet, was present. Truman, senator, a nephew of Nathaniel and Nathan Smith, b. in Woodbury. Conn., 27 Nov., 1791 ; d. in Stam- ford, Conn., 3 May, 1884. was graduated at Yale in 1815, studied law. and was a member of the legis- lature in 1831-'4, of congress in 1839-'49, and U. S. senator from Connecticut in 1849-'54, when he suddenly resigned from weariness of public life. He was remarkable for his wide, though silent, in- fluence in national politics, having taken a de- cisive part in the nomination of Gen. Zachary Taylor for president in 1848. He conducted that presidential campaign as chairman of the Whig national committee, and was offered a post in President Taylor's cabinet, which he declined. He was, in conjunction with Daniel Webster, the foremost opponent of the "spoils system" in con- ress. He strenuously combated the views of Stephen A. Douglas in the passage of the Kansas- Nebraska bill. After resigning from the senate, Mr. Smith practised law in Xew York until he was appointed by President Lincoln in 1862 judge of the court of arbitration, and afterward of the court of claims. He was also legal adviser to the government in many question- arising out of the civil war. He wrote one book, " An Examination of the Question of Anaesthesia" (Boston, 1859), published as "An Inquiry into the Origin of Mod- ern Ansesthesia" (Hartford, 1867), and published many separate speeches. Mr. Smith was a man of giant frame, and lived to be nearly ninety-three years old.—Perry, senator, of the same ancestry, b. in Woodbury, Conn., 12 May, 1783; d. in New Milford, Conn., 8 June, 1852, studied law. and made his residence in New Milford, where he lived during the remainder of his days. Becoming well known in his profession, he was chosen a member of the legislature in 1822-'4, and again in 1835-'6, and in the mean time was judge of the probate court. In 1837 he was elected U. S. senator from Connecticut, serving till 1843. He resigned the practice of his profession on going to Washington, and never resumed it. He published a "Speech on Bank Depositaries" (1838). Of Nathan's grand- sons, the Rev. CORNELIUS BISHOP SMITH, D. D., had been rector of St. James church, New York city, since 1869, and his younger brother, the Rev. ALEXANDER MACKAY-SMITH (q. v.), was first arch-deacon of the diocese of New York.

SMITH, Oliver, philanthropist, b. in Hatfield, Mass., in January, 1766 ; d. there, 22 Dee., 1845. He engaged in farming at an early age, and ac- quired large wealth by stock-raising. He was a magistrate for forty years, twice a representative to the legislature, and in 1820 a member of the State constitutional convention. He amassed a large fortune, which he bequeathed to establish the "Smith Charities," a unique system of be- nevolence, now holding $1,000,000, the interest of which is expended in marriage-portions to poor and worthy young couples. His niece, Sophia, founder of Smith college, b. in Hatfield, Mass., 27 Aug., 1796; d. there, 12 June, 1870, received few early advantages, and led a life of retirement in her 'native village until, at the age of sixty-five, she inherited a large fortune from her brother Austin. She then determined to found a college for the higher education of women, and passed the remainder of her life in perfecting plans for its organization. By the terms of her will the insti- tution was established at Northampton, Mass., and endowed with $387.468. It was opened in the autumn of 1875, and its charter was the first that was ever issued by the state of Massachusetts to an institution for the education of women. Miss Smith also bequeathed $75,000 to the town of Hatfield for the endowment of a school prepara- tory to Smith college.

SMITH, Oliver Hampton, senator, b. on Smith's island, near Trenton. N. J., 23 Oct.. 17114 ; d. in Indianapolis, Ind.. 1! March. 185!). He received scanty early education, emigrated to Indiana in 1817, "and was licensed to practise law in 1820. He was a member of the legislature in 1822. prosecuting attorney for the 3d judicial district of Indiana in 1824, and served in congress in 1827-'9, having been chosen as a Jackson Democrat. He then resumed the practice of his profession, in which he took high rank, was chosen U. S. senator as a Whig in 1836. served one term, and was chairman of the committee on public lands. He was defeated in the next senatorial canvass, settled in Indianapolis, largely engaged in railroad enterprises, and was the chief constructor of the Indianapolis and Bellefontaine road. He published