Frederick Smith (lawyer)

Frederick Smith (March 1, 1773 October 6, 1830) was a Pennsylvania lawyer. He was state Attorney General (18238) and a justice of the state's Supreme Court (182830).

Frederick Smith
11th Attorney General of Pennsylvania
In office
December 18, 1823  February 5, 1828
GovernorJohn Andrew Shulze
Preceded byThomas Elder
Succeeded byCalvin Blythe
Personal details
BornMarch 1, 1773
Germantown, Philadelphia, US
DiedOctober 6, 1830 (aged 57)
Reading, Pennsylvania, US
SpouseCatharine Leaf[1]
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania
ProfessionAttorney, Judge

Biography and career

Smith was born in the Germantown area of Philadelphia. After graduating in 1792[2] from the University of Pennsylvania, he worked and studied in the office of Jared Ingersoll, a signer of the U. S. Constitution who was then the newly appointed state Attorney General. In 1794, Smith moved to Reading, and practiced law in Berks, Lehigh, Northampton, and Schuylkill counties.

In 1809 he was part of the team defending, unsuccessfully, the controversial Susanna Cox.[3]

In 1823, Governor Shulze offered Smith the position of Secretary of the Commonwealth, which he declined, but then offered Smith the position of state Attorney General, which he accepted. He served until 1828, when he resigned upon being appointed to the state Supreme Court, where he served until his death in 1830.

References

Further reading

  • Samuel Hazard (ed.), The Register of Pennsylvania, volume VI, July 1830January 1831, p. 265 Obituary
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