William Smith (1697–1769) (20)

Election date: 1744 (Elected to the original American Philosophical Society.)

William Smith (8 October 1697–22 November 1769) was a lawyer and judge and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1744. Born in Buckinghamshire, England, he immigrated to New York in 1715 and attended Yale College. He devoted the majority of his professional life to the practice of law. Significant cases in his career included working with APS member James Alexander to defend printer John Peter Zenger against a charge of seditious libel in 1733 and serving as the King’s prosecutor in the 1741 New York slave conspiracy trials. He also filled New York state positions that included the office of recorder in 1736, attorney general in 1751, and Justice of the New York Supreme Court beginning in 1763. He attended the Albany Congress in 1754 where he helped to draft the Albany Plan of the Union. As a Presbyterian and an advocate of education, Smith supported the founding of the College of New Jersey. His personal library exceeded 1,600 volumes, a valuable resource for the apprentice lawyers he trained over the years. One such lawyer was his son William, who was also a member of the APS. (PI, ANB, DNB)



Member(s): William Smith (1697–1769)
20.001
The first commencement of the College of New Jersey, 1748.
Creator(s):
Smith, William, 1697-1769 (Author)
Publication:
[New York], [1872]
Record Source:
PU
References:
Sabin 84555
APS Subjects:
Education
Editions:
1x 1872
Editions Note:
Reprinted from an anonymous 1748 account of the College of New Jersey (a forerunner of Princeton University), attributed to William Smith.
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Member(s): William Smith (1697–1769)
20.002
Mr. Smith’s opinion humbly offered to the General Assembly of the colony of New-York, one [i.e., on] the seventh of June, 1734 : at their request : occasion’d by sundry petitions of the inhabitants of the city of New-York, Westchester County & Queens-County, to the said General Assembly, praying an establishment of courts of justice within the said colony by act of the legislature.
Creator(s):
Smith, William, 1697-1769 (Author)
Publication:
[New York]: Printed and sold by William Bradford in the city of New-York, 1734.
Subjects:
Equity pleading and procedure -- New York (State).
Record Source:
ESTC
References:
Sabin 84556 | Evans 3834
APS Subjects:
Law | Politics
Editions:
2x 1734
Editions Note:
Two editions, both in 1734: one published separately and one published with Joseph Murray's work, Mr. Murray’s opinion relating to the courts of justice in the colony of New-York : delivered to the General Assembly of the said colony, at their request, the 12th of June, 1734 (New York: 1734; Sabin 51530, Evans 3799).
Holding Note: APS does not own this text. Help the APS acquire this item.