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Senate Years of Service: 1837-1843 Party: Whig
SMITH, Oliver Hampton, a Representative and a Senator from Indiana; born on Smiths Island, near Trenton,
N.J., October 23, 1794; attended the common schools; moved west, eventually settling in
Lawrenceburg, Ind., in 1818; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1820 and commenced practice in
Connersville, Ind.; member, State house of representatives 1822-1824; prosecuting attorney for the
third judicial district 1824-1825; elected to the Twentieth Congress (March 4, 1827-March 3, 1829);
unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1828; elected as a Whig to the United States Senate and
served from March 4, 1837, to March 3, 1843; chairman, Committee on Engrossed Bills
(Twenty-sixth Congress), Committee on Public Lands (Twenty-seventh Congress); unsuccessful
candidate for reelection; moved to Indianapolis, Ind., and resumed the practice of law; declined to be
a candidate for governor of Indiana in 1845; engaged in the railroad business in Indianapolis; died in
Indianapolis, Ind., March 19, 1859; interment in Crown Hill Cemetery.
BibliographyAmerican National Biography; Dictionary of American Biography; Smith, Oliver H. Early Indiana Trials and
Sketches. Reminiscences by Hon. O.H. Smith. Cincinnati: Moore, Wilstach, Keys & Col.
1858; Smith, Oliver H. The Other Side of Facts For The People, in Relation to a
"Protective Tariff," "By an Indianan." Indianapolis: Indiana State Journal, 1843.
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