George B. Smith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 4th Attorney General of Wisconsin | |
| In office January 2, 1854 – January 7, 1856 | |
| Governor | William A. Barstow |
| Preceded by | Experience Estabrook |
| Succeeded by | William Rudolph Smith |
| 3rd and 16th Mayor of Madison, Wisconsin | |
| In office April 1, 1878 – April 7, 1879 | |
| Preceded by | Harlow S. Orton |
| Succeeded by | John R. Baltzell |
| In office April 5, 1858 – April 1, 1861 | |
| Preceded by | Augustus A. Bird |
| Succeeded by | Levi Baker Vilas |
| Member of theWisconsin State Assembly from theDane 5th district | |
| In office January 13, 1869 – January 12, 1870 | |
| Preceded by | Levi Baker Vilas |
| Succeeded by | Alden Sprague Sanborn |
| In office January 13, 1864 – January 11, 1865 | |
| Preceded by | George Hyer |
| Succeeded by | James Ross |
| Member of theWisconsin State Assembly from theDane 6th district | |
| In office January 12, 1859 – January 11, 1860 | |
| Preceded by | Alexander A. McDonell |
| Succeeded by | Cassius Fairchild |
| Personal details | |
| Born | George Baldwin Smith (1823-05-22)May 22, 1823 Parma Corners, New York, U.S. |
| Died | September 18, 1879(1879-09-18) (aged 56) Dane County, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Resting place | Forest Hill Cemetery Madison, Wisconsin |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Eugenia Weed Smith |
| Children |
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| Parents |
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| Profession | lawyer, politician |
George Baldwin Smith (May 22, 1823 – September 18, 1879) was an American lawyer andDemocratic politician. He was the 4thAttorney General of Wisconsin, and the3rd and 16th mayor ofMadison, Wisconsin.[1][2]
Smith was admitted to the federal bar in to Southport,Wisconsin Territory, (present-dayKenosha, Wisconsin) in 1843. In 1845, he moved to the territorial capital ofMadison, where he was appointeddistrict attorney forDane County in January 1846. He served in this role until 1852. He was elected to represent Dane County at the 1846 Wisconsin Constitutional Convention.[3]
Smith was elected Attorney General of Wisconsin in 1853, serving from 1854 to 1856; he declined a re-nomination in 1855. After leaving office, his name was drawn into the scandal involving the fraudulent re-election ofWilliam A. Barstow in 1855.[1][3]
He then served asmayor of Madison from 1858 to 1861. He represented the city in theWisconsin State Assembly in 1859, 1864, and 1869. TheDemocratic Party selected him as their candidate to run for his district'scongressional seat in 1864 and 1872, but he failed to win both times. Smith was also the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Senate in 1869, losing toMatthew H. Carpenter.[3]
In 1876 he helped to supervise the canvass of electoral votes inLouisiana in the heavily-disputed1876 presidential election. He was re-elected as mayor of Madison in April 1878, and served until just a few months before his death, in Madison, in 1879.[4][3]
Smith was born inParma Corners,New York to Reuben Smith and Betsy Page Smith; his mother died ten weeks after his birth.[5] His family moved toCleveland, Ohio, in 1825,[5] then toMedina, Ohio, in 1827. Smith studied law with attorneys in Medina and Cleveland before moving with his father to Wisconsin in 1843.[5][3][6]
Smith married Eugenia Weed in 1844. They had five children, two of whom survived to adulthood:[5] James and Anna.[3]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 8, 1853 | |||||
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith | 31,705 | 57.03% | +1.36% | |
| Whig | Orsamus Cole | 23,676 | 42.59% | +4.60% | |
| Free Soil | Vernon Tichenor | 215 | 0.39% | −5.93% | |
| Plurality | 8,029 | 14.44% | -3.23% | ||
| Total votes | 55,596 | 100.0% | +2.88% | ||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, March 1, 1858 | |||||
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith | 978 | 61.98% | ||
| Republican | Neely Gray | 600 | 38.02% | ||
| Plurality | 378 | 23.95% | |||
| Total votes | 1,578 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 2, 1858 | |||||
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith | 663 | 57.30% | +9.42% | |
| Republican | Hiram C. Bull | 494 | 42.70% | ||
| Plurality | 169 | 14.61% | +10.37% | ||
| Total votes | 1,157 | 100.0% | +16.63% | ||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | Swing | 18.84% | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, March 7, 1859 | |||||
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith (incumbent) | 961 | 70.77% | +8.79% | |
| Republican | Frank A. Haskell | 397 | 29.23% | ||
| Plurality | 564 | 41.53% | +17.58% | ||
| Total votes | 1,358 | 100.0% | -13.94% | ||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, April 3, 1860 | |||||
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith (incumbent) | 724 | 50.21% | −20.56% | |
| Republican | David Atwood | 718 | 49.79% | ||
| Plurality | 6 | 0.42% | -41.12% | ||
| Total votes | 1,442 | 100.0% | -6.19% | ||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 3, 1863 | |||||
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith | 841 | 53.77% | −6.91% | |
| Republican | Joseph Hobbins | 723 | 46.23% | ||
| Plurality | 118 | 7.54% | -13.82% | ||
| Total votes | 1,564 | 100.0% | +4.41% | ||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 8, 1864 | |||||
| National Union | Ithamar Sloan (incumbent) | 15,148 | 60.31% | +5.88% | |
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith | 9,969 | 39.69% | ||
| Plurality | 5,179 | 20.62% | +11.76% | ||
| Total votes | 25,117 | 100.0% | +4.30% | ||
| National Unionhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 3, 1868 | |||||
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith | 1,198 | 53.79% | ||
| Republican | David Atwood | 1,029 | 46.21% | ||
| Plurality | 169 | 7.59% | |||
| Total votes | 2,227 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 5, 1872 | |||||
| Republican | Gerry Whiting Hazelton (incumbent) | 13,408 | 53.22% | −1.29% | |
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith | 11,784 | 46.78% | ||
| Plurality | 1,624 | 6.45% | -2.58% | ||
| Total votes | 25,192 | 100.0% | +19.76% | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, April 2, 1878 | |||||
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith | 1,499 | 100.0% | ||
| Total votes | 1,499 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Wisconsin State Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alexander A. McDonell | Member of theWisconsin State Assembly from theDane 6th district 1859 – 1860 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theWisconsin State Assembly from theDane 5th district 1864 – 1865 | Succeeded by James Ross |
| Preceded by | Member of theWisconsin State Assembly from theDane 5th district 1869 – 1870 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Attorney General of Wisconsin 1852 – 1854 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Mayor ofMadison, Wisconsin 1858 – 1861 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Mayor ofMadison, Wisconsin 1878 – 1879 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
