J. Lawrence Smith (New York politician) explained

John Lawrence Smith
Birth Date:September 20, 1816
Birth Place:Nissequogue, New York, U.S.
Death Place:New York City, U.S.
Occupation:Lawyer, politician, judge
Education:Yale College
Princeton College
Spouse:Sarah Nicoll Clinch
Children:6, including James Clinch Smith and Bessie Springs Smith White
Office:District attorney of Suffolk County, New York
Term Start:1856
Term End:1858
Office2:County judge of Suffolk County, New York
Term Start2:1858
Term End2:1866
Party:Democratic

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

Early Life and Education

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

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

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.

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]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Harris. Bradley. 11 October 2013. News Of Long Ago - Judge John Lawrence Smith Part I. 2021-09-16. Smithtown Matters. en.
  2. Book: History of Suffolk County, New York. W. W. Munsell & Co.. 1882. New York, N.Y.. 32–37. Smithtown. HathiTrust.
  3. News: 18 March 1889. A Useful Life Closed. 49. 6. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 76. Brooklyn, N.Y.. Brooklyn Public Library Historical Newspapers.
  4. News: 21 November 1846. Suffolk County, Clerk's Office. XXV. 3. The Corrector. 55. Sag Harbor, N.Y.. NYS Historic Newspapers.
  5. News: 7 January 1847. Affairs in Albany. XIII. 4. The New York Herald. 6. New York, N.Y.. Chronicling America.
  6. News: 19 November 1856. Statement in Relation to County Superintendent of Poor, District Attorney, Justice of Sessions, and Coroners. XXXV. 2. The Corrector. 51. Sag Harbor, N.Y.. NYS Historic Newspapers.
  7. Book: Portrait and Biographical Record of Suffolk County, (Long Island) New York. Chapman Publishing Co.. 1896. 317–318. Google Books.
  8. News: 21 March 1889. Death of J. Lawrence Smith. XXX. 2. The Sag-Harbor Express. 35. Sag Harbor, N.Y.. NYS Historic Newspapers.
  9. Web site: Harris. Bradley. 14 October 2013. News Of Long Ago - "Judge John Lawrence Smith's Daughters Tie The Matrimonial Knot". 2021-09-16. Smithtown Matters. en.
  10. Web site: Harris. Bardley. 15 October 2013. News Of Long Ago - "James Clinch Smith Inherits the Homestead Of Judge John Lawrence Smith...". 2021-09-16. Smithtown Matters. en.
  11. Web site: Harris. Bradley. 16 October 2013. News Of Long Ago - "James Clinch Smith, Lost On The Titanic". 2021-09-16. Smithtown Matters. en.
  12. Web site: Harris. Bradley. 18 October 2013. News of Long Ago - "The Great Grandsons Of Judge J. Lawrence Smith Become Leaders In The Smithtown Community". 2021-09-16. Smithtown Matters. en.
  13. News: 23 March 1889. Ex Judge J. Lawrence Smith. 67. 2. The Corrector. 43. Sag Harbor, N.Y.. NYS Historic Newspapers.
  14. News: 23 March 1889. Smithtown-Judge J. Lawrence Smith. LII. 3. The Long-Islander. 34. Huntington, N.Y.. NYS Historic Newspapers.