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J. Lawrence Smith (New York politician)

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John Lawrence Smith
District attorney of Suffolk County, New York
In office
1856–1858
County judge of Suffolk County, New York
In office
1858–1866
Personal details
Born(1816-09-20)September 20, 1816
Nissequogue, New York, U.S.
DiedMarch 17, 1889(1889-03-17) (aged 72)
New York City, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseSarah Nicoll Clinch
Children6, including James Clinch Smith and Bessie Springs Smith White
EducationYale College
Princeton College
OccupationLawyer, politician, judge

John Lawrence Smith (September 20, 1816 – March 17, 1889) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge from New York.

Early life and education

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Smith was born on September 20, 1816, in Nissequogue, New York, the son of Richard Smith and Eliza Willett Nicoll.[1] His maternal great-grandfather was General Nathaniel Woodhull, and his maternal great-grandmother was the sister of Declaration of Independence signer William Floyd.[2]

Smith attended the Clinton Academy in East Hampton. He then went to Yale College, where his classmates included Samuel J. Tilden, William M. Evarts, Edwards Pierrepont, Morrison Waite, William W. Eaton, and Benjamin D. Silliman. In 1833, he transferred to Princeton College, graduating in 1837. He then studied law in the office of John L. Lawrence in New York City. He was admitted to the bar in 1840 and initially practiced law in New York City. In 1844, he moved to Smithtown.[3]

Political career

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In 1846, Smith was elected to the New York State Assembly as one of the two representatives of Suffolk County.[4] He served in the Assembly in 1847. He was the Democratic candidate for Speaker that year but lost to Whig William C. Hasbrouck.[5] In 1856, he was elected district attorney of Suffolk County.[6] In 1858, he became county judge. In 1862, he was re-elected county judge and surrogate as a Democrat even while the county went Republican.[7] After his term as judge expired, he returned to his law practice. In the last few years of his life, he was mostly retired from law.[8]

Personal life

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Smith was a prominent member of the Episcopal Church in Long Island and served as the first junior warden of the Caroline Church in Setauket. His wife, Sarah Nicoll Clinch, was the niece of Alexander T. Stewart, who adopted her as his daughter and bequeathed her a large fortune. Smith's last public appearance was during the Stewart will contest, where he provided uncomplimentary testimony regarding Henry Hilton's management of Stewart's fortune. He was the largest landowner in the county and possibly its wealthiest, with an estate estimated at a million dollars at the time of his death.[3]

Smith and Sarah had six children: Cornelia (who married lawyer Prescott Hall Butler and resided at By-the-Harbor), Louise Nicoll (who married lawyer Frank Sayre Osborne), Kate Annette (who married Episcopal Reverend Joseph Bloomfield Wetherill), Bessie Springs (who married architect Stanford White and was the mother of architect Lawrence Grant White), Ella Batavia (who married Devereux Emmet),[9] and James Clinch. James was a lawyer and member of Mrs. Astor's 400, who married musician Bertha Ludington Barnes of Chicago.[10] James Clinch Smith witnessed his brother-in-law Stanford White's murder and died on the Titanic.[11] One of Smith's great-grandchildren was lawyer and assemblyman Prescott B. Huntington.[12]

Smith died of pneumonia at his residence in New York City on March 17, 1889.[13] He was buried in the Episcopal Church in St. James.[14]

References

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  1. ^ Harris, Bradley (11 October 2013). "News Of Long Ago - Judge John Lawrence Smith Part I". Smithtown Matters. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  2. ^ "Smithtown". History of Suffolk County, New York. New York, N.Y.: W. W. Munsell & Co. 1882. pp. 32–37 – via HathiTrust.
  3. ^ a b "A Useful Life Closed". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Vol. 49, no. 76. Brooklyn, N.Y. 18 March 1889. p. 6 – via Brooklyn Public Library Historical Newspapers.
  4. ^ "Suffolk County, Clerk's Office". The Corrector. Vol. XXV, no. 55. Sag Harbor, N.Y. 21 November 1846. p. 3 – via NYS Historic Newspapers.
  5. ^ "Affairs in Albany". The New York Herald. Vol. XIII, no. 6. New York, N.Y. 7 January 1847. p. 4 – via Chronicling America.
  6. ^ "Statement in Relation to County Superintendent of Poor, District Attorney, Justice of Sessions, and Coroners". The Corrector. Vol. XXXV, no. 51. Sag Harbor, N.Y. 19 November 1856. p. 2 – via NYS Historic Newspapers.
  7. ^ Portrait and Biographical Record of Suffolk County, (Long Island) New York. Chapman Publishing Co. 1896. pp. 317–318 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "Death of J. Lawrence Smith". The Sag-Harbor Express. Vol. XXX, no. 35. Sag Harbor, N.Y. 21 March 1889. p. 2 – via NYS Historic Newspapers.
  9. ^ Harris, Bradley (14 October 2013). "News Of Long Ago - "Judge John Lawrence Smith's Daughters Tie The Matrimonial Knot"". Smithtown Matters. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  10. ^ Harris, Bardley (15 October 2013). "News Of Long Ago - "James Clinch Smith Inherits the Homestead Of Judge John Lawrence Smith..."". Smithtown Matters. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  11. ^ Harris, Bradley (16 October 2013). "News Of Long Ago - "James Clinch Smith, Lost On The Titanic"". Smithtown Matters. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  12. ^ Harris, Bradley (18 October 2013). "News of Long Ago - "The Great Grandsons Of Judge J. Lawrence Smith Become Leaders In The Smithtown Community"". Smithtown Matters. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  13. ^ "Ex Judge J. Lawrence Smith". The Corrector. Vol. 67, no. 43. Sag Harbor, N.Y. 23 March 1889. p. 2 – via NYS Historic Newspapers.
  14. ^ "Smithtown-Judge J. Lawrence Smith". The Long-Islander. Vol. LII, no. 34. Huntington, N.Y. 23 March 1889. p. 3 – via NYS Historic Newspapers.
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