John Smith, U.S. Senator

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Smith_%28Ohio_Senator%29

John Smith, a Senator from Ohio; born in either Virginia or Ohio around 1735; prepared for the ministry, and was pastor in various Baptist congregations in Virginia and Ohio by 1790; member of the Northwest Territorial legislature 1799-1803; upon the admission of Ohio as a State into the Union was elected as a Democratic Republican to the United States Senate and served from April 1, 1803, to April 25, 1808, when he resigned; died in St. Francisville, Louisiana, July 30, 1824.

http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000567

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Smith was a merchant, preacher and politician, and a man of great wealth, having at an early period entered about 16,000 acres of land in the eastern port of Ohio, for sale, of which Gen. Loury was the agent. Smith was suspected of being an accomplice in the celebrated Aaron Burr conspiracy, for which he was tried. Though acquitted, it proved his financial and political ruin in Ohio, which State he soon left, and moved to Louisiana.

Smith arrived in Columbia in the spring of 1791 from the Redstone area of Western Pennsylvania which was for many pioneers from the east a place of new beginnings or a place of departure before moving farther west. Pioneers had their flat boats and keel boats built there. When Smith arrived in Western Pennsylvania is not known nor is there any information about his early years except that he was born and educated in Virginia. However, how much schooling he had is uncertain since one who knew him has written that Smith’s intellect made up for his lack of education. When he became a Baptist is also unknown. Since Baptists were ill-treated in Virginia, it may have been reason enough for his departure. It’s also possible that he became acquainted with the many Baptists in the Redstone area. Smith’s only military service appears in an account when he joined Colonel William Crawford’s group heading for Sandusky to fight the Indians in 1782. Smith, however, had a minor mishap at the beginning and turned back. Unfortunately for Crawford, he met with serious defeat, was captured, tortured and burned at a stake. After AnthonyWayne defeated the Indians at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, the Indians essentially left the area, and pioneers felt safer to move out from the protection of the stations and small settlements and buy larger or more desirable tracts of land. Smith took early advantage of this opportunity and started buying land. With Evan Barnes and Samuel Heighway, he purchased 30-40,000 acres in Warren County from John Cleves Symmes for whom he served as agent for some sales. Sometimes Smith accepted grain and livestock in payment and then sold them down the Mississippi for profit. By 1796 he was the second highest taxpayer after Benjamin Stites in Columbia Township. Smith was a family man. He had a wife, ElizabethMason Hickman, and five known children: Ambrose, Lewis, John, James and Ann. Indians killed Elizabeth’s first husband, Lewis Hickman, and left her at a very young age (13 or 15) with a small daughter, Mary. Elizabeth’s brother,William Mason, came west and settled a little farther north. Mason, Ohio is named for him. Smith had previously served as a member of the first Territorial Assembly (1798) and had pushed for statehood. He supported Jefferson for president in 1800. As a delegate at the state convention, he had participated in drafting the Ohio Constitution and had campaigned for the state capitol to be in Cincinnati but failed to convince enough others outside the local area. When Ohio became a state in the spring of 1803, Smith was elected one of the first two U. S. senators and Thomas Worthington who later became governor the other. Because of Smith’s familiarity with Louisiana andWest Florida through his trade contacts and as a U. S. Army supply contractor, President Jefferson consulted with him and asked him to sound out the people inWest Florida about their position toward joining the union and whether they would support union in case of war. Smith reported back that he had found the desired support. As Smith became drawn into the Burr conspiracy, Jefferson distanced himself from the senator. He wanted no connection with anyone associated with Burr. The turning point in Smith’s political career came as a result of a visit from Aaron Burr who, as Vice President during Jefferson’s first term, presided over the Senate. His duel with Alexander Hamilton had left him politically ruined, and he headed west with grandiose plans. Burr stopped in Cincinnati on two occasions on his way to New Orleans inMay 1805 and September 1806

He engaged Fielding Loury, a single young surveyor, to lay out the town of Staunton near Troy in the Dayton area. The town was named for Staunton Academy where Fielding had attended school in Virginia. Some of the deeds are signed by Loury “agent for John Smith.”

Smith, in the south when he learned of his indictment for treason, turned himself in and traveled to the US Circuit Court in Richmond, Virginia. The case against Burr and Smith’s association with him was based mostly on rumor and circumstantial evidence. Without solid evidence to convict, the Burr case was thrown out and charges against Smith were dropped. Evidence discovered later found in archives in England and Spain might have been enough to convict Burr. As for Smith, he had to deal with a Senate resolution calling for his expulsion from the Senate. He needed time for his defense and hired Francis Scott Key and Robert Goodloe Harper as his attorneys. The vote, mostly on party lines, failed by one vote to expel. Although Smith had some very loyal supporters, there weren’t enough for an overwhelming show of support which Smith had hoped for. Continuing to profess his innocence, Smith chose to resign but he did it on his own timetable and sent his resignation to the Governor or Ohio instead of the Senate.

One of the few bright spots for Smith must have been Ann’s marriage to Fielding Loury and their daughters. Loury remained loyal to Smith through all his difficulties. They had much in common. When Fielding served in the Ohio House of Representatives Smith offered some insights on public service and his views on politics. John Smith died July 21, 1824 and was buried on the Bradford plantation. Nothing marks the spot. The house is now a bed and breakfast.