{{Short description|American politician (1792–1854)}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = John Speed Smith | honorific_suffix = | image = John Speed Smith.jpg | alt = A man with dark, curly, receding hair wearing a high-collared white shirt and black jacket | office = Kentucky State Senator | district = | term_start = 1846 | term_end = 1850 | predecessor = | successor = | office2 = Kentucky State Representative | term_start2 = 1845 | term_end2 = 1846 | term_start3 = 1839 | term_end3 = 1842 | term_start4 = 1827 | term_end4 = 1831 | term_start5 = 1819 | term_end5 = 1820 | order6 = 19th | office6 = Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives | term_start6 = 1827 | term_end6 = 1828 | state7 = Kentucky | district7 = 7th | term_start7 = August 6, 1821 | term_end7 = March 3, 1823 | predecessor7 = George Robertson | successor7 = Thomas P. Moore | birth_date = {{birth date|1792|07|01}} | birth_place = Jessamine County, Kentucky, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1854|06|06|1792|07|01}} | death_place = Richmond, Kentucky, U.S. | resting_place = Richmond Cemetery | resting_place_coordinates = | birth_name = | citizenship = | party = Democratic-Republican | other_party = <!--For additional political affiliations--> | spouse = {{marriage|Elizabeth Lewis Clay|1815}} | relations = | children = Green Clay Smith | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = Lawyer | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | signature = | signature_alt = | footnotes = | nickname = | allegiance = {{flag|United States|1814}} | branch = {{army|United States|1814}} | service_years = 1812–1814 | rank = Colonel | unit = | commands = | battles = War of 1812 | awards = }} <!-- This article was automatically created by User:polbot from http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000575. The prose may be stilted, and there may be grammatical and Wikification errors. Please improve in any way you see fit. -->'''John Speed Smith''' (July 1, 1792 – June 6, 1854) was an attorney and politician, a U.S. Representative from Kentucky, and a state representative for several terms, as well as state senator. He served for four years as a US District Attorney. He was the father of Green Clay Smith, who also served as a state representative and US Congressman.
==Early life, education and military service== John Speed Smith was born on July 1, 1792,<ref name="bio">{{Cite web |url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/S000575 |title=Smith, John Speed |work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |access-date=2022-06-05}}</ref> to Mary (née Speed) and William Smith<ref name="speed">{{cite book|last=Speed|first=Thomas|title=Records and Memorials of the Speed Family|year=1892|url={{Google books|yk_UDwAAQBAJ|page=88|plainurl=yes}}|page=88}}</ref> near Nicholasville, Kentucky in Jessamine County. Smith attended a private school in Mercer County. After that, he "read the law" with an established firm. He was admitted to the bar in 1812 and commenced practice in Richmond, Kentucky.<ref name="bio"/>
During the War of 1812, Smith enlisted as a private. He was subsequently promoted and commissioned as a major. He served as aide-de-camp, with the rank of colonel, to General William Henry Harrison, later president of the United States.<ref name="bio"/>
==Marriage and family== In 1815 at the age of 23, Smith married Elizabeth Lewis Clay (1798–1887), then 17, the daughter of Green Clay, considered one of the wealthiest men in Kentucky, and Sally (Lewis) Clay.<ref name="eliza">[http://kentuckyonlinearts.wordpress.com/tag/john-speed-smith/ "KOAR's Russian Connection"], Kentucky Online Arts Resource Blog, 15 October 2012</ref> Their several children included Sally Ann Lewis Smith (1818–1875),<ref name="eliza"/> named for her maternal grandmother; Curran Cassius Smith, Green Clay Smith, named for his maternal grandfather; Pauline Green Smith, Junius Brutus Smith (never married), Mary Spencer Smith (never married), and John Speed Smith Jr.<ref name="records">[https://archive.org/details/recordsmemorials00inspee <!-- quote=wife of John Speed Smith, KY. --> Thomas Speed, ''Records and Memorials of the Speed Family''], ''Courier-Journal'' Job Printing Company, 1892, pp. 88-89</ref>
Curran Cassius Smith became a doctor. He also managed his father's estate after his mother was widowed, making his home with her and his family. Green Clay Smith followed his father and maternal uncles into law and politics, serving at both the state and federal levels.<ref name="records"/>
==Political career== John Speed Smith was elected to the state house of representatives in 1819, serving one term.<ref name="bio"/>
Smith was elected as a Republican to the Seventeenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of George Robertson and served from August 6, 1821, to March 3, 1823. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1822.<ref name="bio"/>
He was elected again as a member of the state house of representatives in 1827, when he was also elected as speaker of the Kentucky House.<ref name="bio"/>
Smith was appointed by President John Quincy Adams to go on a mission to South America.<ref name="speed"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.masshist.org/publications/jqadiaries/index.php/document/jqadiaries-v50-1827-02-26-p032 |title=26 February 1827 |website=John Quincy Adams Digital Diary |access-date=2022-06-05}}</ref> He was appointed as United States district attorney for Kentucky by President Andrew Jackson, serving 1828–1832.<ref name="bio"/><ref name="speed"/>
He was elected again to the state house in 1839, 1841, and 1845. He was elected as a member of the state senate, serving 1846–1850.<ref name="bio"/>
Smith died in Richmond, Kentucky, June 6, 1854, and was interred in Richmond Cemetery.<ref name="bio"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{CongBio|S000575}} *{{cite book |last=Allen |first=William B. |title=A History of Kentucky: Embracing Gleanings, Reminiscences, Antiquities, Natural Curiosities, Statistics, and Biographical Sketches of Pioneers, Soldiers, Jurists, Lawyers, Statesmen, Divines, Mechanics, Farmers, Merchants, and Other Leading Men, of All Occupations and Pursuits |publisher=Bradley & Gilbert |year=1872 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_s_wTAAAAYAAJ |accessdate=2008-11-10 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_s_wTAAAAYAAJ/page/n265 264]–265}}
==External links== {{Portal|Biography}} *{{Find a Grave|7932790}}
{{S-start}} {{S-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Kentucky | district=7 | before=Samuel McKee | after=Thomas Patrick Moore | years=1821-1823}} {{s-end}} {{USCongRep-start|congresses= 17th United States Congress |state=Kentucky}} {{USCongRep/KY/17}} {{USCongRep-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, John Speed}} Category:1792 births Category:1854 deaths Category:Kentucky state senators Category:Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Category:People from Kentucky in the War of 1812 Category:People from Jessamine County, Kentucky Category:United States Army officers Category:Democratic-Republican Party United States representatives from Kentucky Category:Green Clay family Category:United States attorneys for the District of Kentucky Category:19th-century United States representatives Category:19th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly Category:Speakers of the Kentucky House of Representatives