Richard Smith (Continental Congress)

Richard Smith (March 22, 1735 – September 17, 1803) was a lawyer and politician who served in the Continental Congress and signed the Continental Association.^[1]

Personal life and education

Richard Smith was born in Burlington, Province of New Jersey, to Richard Smith, a member of the West Jersey Assembly, and Abigail Raper Smith.^[1] Smith was educated under private teachers and in Quaker schools and studied law.^[2]

Smith moved to Laurens, New York, in 1790, and then to Philadelphia in 1799. He died September 17, 1803, near Natchez, Mississippi, and was interred in Natchez Cemetery.^[2]

Career

Smith was admitted to the bar in 1762 and practiced in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later in Burlington. He was commissioned county clerk of Burlington on December 7, 1762.^[2]

Smith was chosen as a New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress from July 23, 1774, to June 12, 1776, when he resigned. He was a member of the New Jersey Legislative Council (now the New Jersey Senate) in 1776 and was elected treasurer of New Jersey, serving 1776 until he resigned on February 15, 1777.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b Gummere, Amelia Mott (1922). The journal and essays of John Woolman. New York: The Macmillan Company. pp. 526, 527
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d United States Congress. "Richard Smith (id: S000603)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.