James Smith (Pennsylvania politician)

James Smith
Born	September 17, 1719 Ulster, Ireland
Died	July 26, 1806 (aged 87) York, Pennsylvania
Resting place	First Presbyterian Churchyard, York
Known for	signer of the United States Declaration of Independence
Signature

James L. Smith (September 17, 1719 – July 11, 1806), was an American lawyer and a signer to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Pennsylvania.

He was born in the province of Ulster, Ireland; his family immigrated to Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1729. Smith attended the Philadelphia Academy. He studied law at the office of his brother George and was admitted to the bar in Pennsylvania, initially practicing near Shippensburg, and later near York. He became captain of the militia there. He was appointed to the provincial convention in Philadelphia in 1775, to the state constitutional convention in 1776, and was elected to the Continental Congress. He was reelected to Congress in 1785 but declined to attend because of his advanced age.

Smith died on July 11, 1806 and is buried in York, Pennsylvania, First Presbyterian Churchyard. The University of Delaware has a dorm on its North Campus bearing his name.

References

• Lawyers and Leaders: The Role of Lawyers in the Development of York County, Pennsylvania, 2005, ISBN 978-0-9766629-0-7,York County Bar Association by Georg R. Sheets

External links

• http://www.libraryireland.com/biography/JamesSmith.php
• Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856
• United States Congress. "James Smith (id: S000558)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.