Daniel Smith | |
|---|---|
.jpg) "A map of the Tennassee state formerly part of North Carolina taken chiefly from surveys by Genl. D. Smith and others," by Mathew Carey (1800) | |
| United States Senator fromTennessee | |
| In office October 6, 1798 – March 3, 1799 | |
| Appointed by | John Sevier |
| Preceded by | Andrew Jackson |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Anderson |
| In office March 4, 1805 – March 31, 1809 | |
| Preceded by | William Cocke |
| Succeeded by | Jenkin Whiteside |
| Secretary of theSouthwest Territory | |
| In office 1790–1796 | |
| Preceded by | (none) |
| Succeeded by | (none) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1748-10-29)October 29, 1748 Stafford County, Virginia, British America. (Present day United States) |
| Died | June 16, 1818(1818-06-16) (aged 69) Hendersonville, Tennessee, United States |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican |
Daniel Smith (October 29, 1748 – June 16, 1818) was asurveyor, anAmerican Revolutionary Warpatriot, and twice aUnited States Senator fromTennessee.
Smith was born October 29, 1748, inStafford County, Virginia, the son of Henry Smith and Sarah Ann Crosby. He attended theCollege of William & Mary inWilliamsburg, Virginia. Becoming a surveyor, he moved toAugusta County, Virginia, serving as deputy surveyor of the county in 1773. He owned slaves.[1] In Washington, Virginia on June 10 of that same year he married Sarah Michie (30 Jan 1755 – 2 Apr 1831). She was daughter of George and Elizabeth (Michie) Michie.
As amilitia officer, he helped defend the Virginia frontier duringDunmore's War and the American Revolution. He becamesheriff of Augusta County in 1780 and was commissioned a colonel in the militia, taking part in the later battles of the Revolutionary War, includingGuilford Courthouse andKings Mountain. On October 5, 1781, Smith was appointed "Assistant Deputy Surveyor" in the Southern Department of the Continental Army underThomas Hutchins.
At the war's end, Smith moved to what is nowSumner County, Tennessee, to claim theland grant for his military service. As county surveyor, he surveyed what became the site of the town ofNashville, Tennessee. He was prominent in local affairs and was appointed a brigadier general in the militia. He was a member of the 1789North Carolina convention which voted to ratify theUnited States Constitution. In 1790,PresidentGeorge Washington named him Secretary (chief deputy) of theSouthwest Territory. Smith was a member of the convention that wrote theTennessee State Constitution of 1796, which came into effect with its statehood on June 1, 1796. The first official map of Tennessee,[2] drawn by Hugh Williamson[3] and published by Mathew Carey in 1793,[4] credited "surveys by Gen'l D. Smith and others" as sources.
Smith was later appointed as United States Senator whenAndrew Jackson resigned from that position (for the first time), serving from October 6, 1798, to March 3, 1799.
In January 1805 he was a signatory to a petition protesting thecourt-martial ofThomas Butler, probably produced at the behest ofAndrew Jackson and sent toThomas Jefferson's government, recorded in official state papers under the title "Disobedience of Orders Justified on the Grounds of Illegality."[5][6] He was later elected to his own Senate term, serving from March 4, 1805, to March 31, 1809, when he resigned and returned to his Sumner County estate,Rock Castle inHendersonville, pursuing his agricultural and business interests until his death there, being interred in an adjacent family plot.
Rock Castle State Historic Site is preserved today as an historical landmark and one of the early examples inMiddle Tennessee of aplantation.
| U.S. Senate | ||
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| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 1) from Tennessee 1798–1799 Served alongside:Joseph Anderson | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 2) from Tennessee 1805–1809 Served alongside:Joseph Anderson | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
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| Class 2 | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
