Born on November 29, 1759, in Peterborough, Province of New Hampshire, British America,[1] Smith was fifth of seven sons born to William Smith, an immigrant from Ireland and Elizabeth (Morison) Smith.[2]: 1–2 Smith's siblings also included three sisters.[2]: 2 William Smith was a successful farmer who served in local offices including justice of the peace and was a member of New Hampshire's Provincial Congress in 1774.[2]: 2 Jeremiah Smith received instruction from his father and several private tutors.[2]: 12–17 [3] He attended Phillips Exeter Academy[4] in Exeter, New Hampshire for his preliminary education.
In 1786, Smith was elected Peterborough's town clerk, and in 1787 he was elected as the town's surveyor of highways.[2]: 33 In addition, Smith served terms as town agent and a member of Peterborough's board of selectmen.[2]: 35 He was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1788 to 1791.[1] As a House member, Smith voted against the impeachment of Woodbury Langdon, a judge of the state superior court.[2]: 38 The legislature voted in favor, and appointed Langdon to conduct the impeachment, despite the fact that he had voted no.[2]: 38 Langdon resigned before the trial took place, and the legislature took no further action.[2]: 41
Smith was a member of the New Hampshire constitutional convention in 1791 and 1792.[3] Though he was not the convention's official clerk, most of its records are in his handwriting.[2]: 42 As a delegate, he fought unsuccessfully to remove a clause from the state constitution which required that members of the state legislature adhere to Protestant Christianity.[2]: 42
Following his departure from Congress, Smith moved to Exeter, New Hampshire,[3] and served as the United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire from 1797 to 1800.[1] He was Judge of the Rockingham County, New Hampshire Probate Court from 1800 to 1801.[1]
Smith died on September 21, 1842, in Dover.[1] He was interred in Winter Street (also called Old) Cemetery in Exeter.[3]
Family
In March 1797, Smith married Eliza Ross of Bladensburg, Maryland, whom he met at the Philadelphia boarding house they were staying at while he was attending a session of Congress and she was attending to her sick mother.[2]: 102, 115 Their children included Ariana (1797–1829), William (1799–1830), and Jeremiah (1802–1808).[2]: 241, 243, 285, 290, 478
In 1831, Smith married Elizabeth Hale (1800–1882), a daughter of William Hale.[2]: 385 They were the parents of a son, Jeremiah Smith (1837–1921).[2]: 444 In addition, they raised the daughter of William Smith and several nieces and nephews, as well as orphans they took into their home.[2]: 431