Benjamin Smith (North Carolina politician)

Benjamin Smith (January 10, 1756 – January 26, 1826) was the 16th governor of North Carolina from 1810 to 1811.

Benjamin Smith
16th Governor of North Carolina
In office December 1, 1810 – December 11, 1811
Preceded by	David Stone
Succeeded by	William Hawkins
Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina and Tennessee
In office December 16, 1808 – November 29, 1811
Preceded by	John Hall
Succeeded by	Robert Williams
1st Adjutant General of North Carolina
In office 1806–1807
Appointed by	Nathaniel Alexander
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Edward Pasteur
Member of the North Carolina House of Commons
In office 1789–1792 1804–1805
Member of the North Carolina Senate
In office 1792–1800
Personal details
Born	(1756-01-10)January 10, 1756 Charles Town, South Carolina
Died	January 26, 1826(1826-01-26) (aged 70) Smithville, North Carolina, US
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Spouse	Sarah Dry
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	Continental Army
Rank	Colonel
Battles	American Revolutionary War Battle of Long Island Battle of Beaufort

Early life

Smith was born in Charles Town, South Carolina into a socially prominent family, later moving to Brunswick County, North Carolina. His parents were Thomas Smith and Sarah Moore Smith.^[1] During the American Revolutionary War, Smith served an aide-de-camp to General George Washington and rose to the rank of colonel in the Continental Army.

Political career

In 1784, Smith was elected to the Continental Congress, although it is unclear whether he actually served. He was active in the North Carolina Constitutional Conventions of 1788 and 1789, and served a number of terms in the North Carolina General Assembly, in 1783 (Senate), 1789–1792 (House of Commons), 1792–1800 (Senate), 1801 (House of Commons) 1804–1805 (House of Commons) and 1806–1810 (Senate). From 1795 to 1799, Smith was the Speaker of the North Carolina Senate,^[2] and in 1798 he was the Federalist nominee for the U.S. Senate, losing to Jesse Franklin.^[3] During his political career, Smith also sat on the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and donated 20,000 acres (81 km²) of land for the university's endowment; he chaired the trustees during his term as governor. As of 1789, he owned 221 slaves.^[4]

In 1810, aligned with the Democratic-Republican Party (he had earlier had Federalist leanings), Smith was elected governor by the North Carolina General Assembly. He served only a single one-year term, and emphasized reform of the state's criminal code and penitentiary system. Although Smith did seek re-election to the governor's seat in 1811, he polled behind William Hawkins on the first ballot and withdrew himself from consideration. He later returned to the North Carolina Senate in 1816.

Death

Smith died in Smithville, North Carolina in 1826 and is buried at the St. Philip's Church near Wilmington.

Honors

Smithville (present day Southport), North Carolina, was named after him.