George_Baldwin_Smith
George Baldwin Smith
American lawyer and politician (1823–1879)
George Baldwin Smith (May 22, 1823 – September 18, 1879) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician. He was the 4th Attorney General of Wisconsin, and the 3rd and 16th mayor of Madison, Wisconsin.[1][2]
George B. Smith | |
|---|---|
| 4th Attorney General of Wisconsin | |
| In office January 2, 1854 – January 7, 1856 | |
| Governor | William A. Barstow |
| Preceded by | Experience Estabrook |
| Succeeded by | William Rudolph Smith |
| 3rd and 16th Mayor of Madison, Wisconsin | |
| In office April 1, 1878 – April 7, 1879 | |
| Preceded by | Harlow S. Orton |
| Succeeded by | John R. Baltzell |
| In office April 5, 1858 – April 1, 1861 | |
| Preceded by | Augustus A. Bird |
| Succeeded by | Levi Baker Vilas |
| Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Dane 5th district | |
| In office January 13, 1869 – January 12, 1870 | |
| Preceded by | Levi Baker Vilas |
| Succeeded by | Alden Sprague Sanborn |
| In office January 13, 1864 – January 11, 1865 | |
| Preceded by | George Hyer |
| Succeeded by | James Ross |
| Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Dane 6th district | |
| In office January 12, 1859 – January 11, 1860 | |
| Preceded by | Alexander A. McDonell |
| Succeeded by | Cassius Fairchild |
| Personal details | |
| Born | George Baldwin Smith (1823-05-22)May 22, 1823 Parma Corners, New York |
| Died | September 18, 1879(1879-09-18) (aged 56) Dane County, Wisconsin |
| Resting place | Forest Hill Cemetery Madison, Wisconsin |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Eugenia Weed Smith |
| Children |
|
| Parents |
|
| Profession | lawyer, politician |
Smith was admitted to the federal bar in to Southport, Wisconsin Territory, (present-day Kenosha, Wisconsin) in 1843. In 1845, he moved to the territorial capital of Madison, where he was appointed district attorney for Dane County in January 1846. He served in this role until 1852. He was elected to represent Dane County at the 1846 Wisconsin Constitutional Convention.[3]
Smith was elected Attorney General of Wisconsin in 1853, serving from 1854 to 1856; he declined a re-nomination in 1855. After leaving office, his name was drawn into the scandal involving the fraudulent re-election of William A. Barstow in 1855.[1][3]
He then served as mayor of Madison from 1858 to 1861. He represented the city in the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1859, 1864, and 1869. The Democratic Party selected him as their candidate to run for his district's congressional seat in 1864 and 1872, but he failed to win both times. Smith was also the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Senate in 1869, losing to Matthew H. Carpenter.[3]
In 1876 he helped to supervise the canvass of electoral votes in Louisiana in the heavily-disputed 1876 presidential election. He was re-elected as mayor of Madison in April 1878, and served until just a few months before his death, in Madison, in 1879.[4][3]
Smith was born in Parma Corners, New York to Reuben Smith and Betsy Page Smith; his mother died ten weeks after his birth.[5] His family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1825,[5] then to Medina, Ohio, in 1827. Smith studied law with attorneys in Medina and Cleveland before moving with his father to Wisconsin in 1843.[5][3][6]
Smith married Eugenia Weed in 1844. They had five children, two of whom survived to adulthood:[5] James and Anna.[3]
Wisconsin Attorney General (1853)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 8, 1853 | |||||
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith | 31,705 | 57.03% | +1.36% | |
| Whig | Orsamus Cole | 23,676 | 42.59% | +4.60% | |
| Free Soil | Vernon Tichenor | 215 | 0.39% | -5.93% | |
| Plurality | 8,029 | 14.44% | -3.23% | ||
| Total votes | 55,596 | 100.0% | +2.88% | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||
Madison Mayor (1858)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, March 1, 1858 | |||||
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith | 978 | 61.98% | ||
| Republican | Neely Gray | 600 | 38.02% | ||
| Plurality | 378 | 23.95% | |||
| Total votes | 1,578 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
Wisconsin Assembly Dane 6th District (1858)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 2, 1858 | |||||
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith | 663 | 57.30% | +9.42% | |
| Republican | Hiram C. Bull | 494 | 42.70% | ||
| Plurality | 169 | 14.61% | +10.37% | ||
| Total votes | 1,157 | 100.0% | +16.63% | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | Swing | 18.84% | |||
Madison Mayor (1859, 1860)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, March 7, 1859 | |||||
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith (incumbent) | 961 | 70.77% | +8.79% | |
| Republican | Frank A. Haskell | 397 | 29.23% | ||
| Plurality | 564 | 41.53% | +17.58% | ||
| Total votes | 1,358 | 100.0% | -13.94% | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, April 3, 1860 | |||||
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith (incumbent) | 724 | 50.21% | -20.56% | |
| Republican | David Atwood | 718 | 49.79% | ||
| Plurality | 6 | 0.42% | -41.12% | ||
| Total votes | 1,442 | 100.0% | -6.19% | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||
Wisconsin Assembly Dane 5th District (1863)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 3, 1863 | |||||
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith | 841 | 53.77% | -6.91% | |
| Republican | Joseph Hobbins | 723 | 46.23% | ||
| Plurality | 118 | 7.54% | -13.82% | ||
| Total votes | 1,564 | 100.0% | +4.41% | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||
U.S. House of Representatives (1864)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 8, 1864 | |||||
| National Union | Ithamar Sloan (incumbent) | 15,148 | 60.31% | +5.88% | |
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith | 9,969 | 39.69% | ||
| Plurality | 5,179 | 20.62% | +11.76% | ||
| Total votes | 25,117 | 100.0% | +4.30% | ||
| National Union hold | |||||
Wisconsin Assembly Dane 5th District (1868)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 3, 1868 | |||||
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith | 1,198 | 53.79% | ||
| Republican | David Atwood | 1,029 | 46.21% | ||
| Plurality | 169 | 7.59% | |||
| Total votes | 2,227 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
U.S. House of Representatives (1872)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 5, 1872 | |||||
| Republican | Gerry Whiting Hazelton (incumbent) | 13,408 | 53.22% | -1.29% | |
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith | 11,784 | 46.78% | ||
| Plurality | 1,624 | 6.45% | -2.58% | ||
| Total votes | 25,192 | 100.0% | +19.76% | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
Madison Mayor (1878)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, April 2, 1878 | |||||
| Democratic | George Baldwin Smith | 1,499 | 100.0% | ||
| Total votes | 1,499 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
- "A Loss to Wisconsin: Death of Gen. George B. Smith, a leading lawyer and Democratic politician" New York Times, September 22, 1879, at 2. Reprinting article from the Milwaukee Sentinel, September 19, 1879.
- "Smith, George Baldwin", Dictionary of Wisconsin History
- Gen. David Atwood, Speech to the Wisconsin Historical Society, November 10, 1879. Reprinted Report and Collections on the State Historical Society of Wisconsin for the years 1877, 1878 and 1879 vol. VIII. Madison, Wisconsin:David Atwood, 1879, p. 111–120.
- "Gen. George B. Smith". Waukesha Daily Freeman. September 25, 1879. p. 2. Retrieved May 29, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- "George B. Smith". Green Bay Advocate. September 25, 1879. p. 7. Retrieved May 28, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- Letters of George B. Smith, Wisconsin Historical Society
- "The Official Canvass". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. December 10, 1853. p. 2. Retrieved May 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "The City Election". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. March 2, 1858. p. 3. Retrieved May 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Dane County Complete - Official". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. November 10, 1858. p. 2. Retrieved May 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "The City Election Yesterday". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. March 8, 1859. p. 3. Retrieved May 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Six Majority for G. B. Smith!". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. April 4, 1860. p. 1. Retrieved May 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Dane County Official". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. November 12, 1863. p. 1. Retrieved May 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Wisconsin U.S. House Election Results" (PDF). Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 5, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- "Democrats Again Carry Madison". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. November 4, 1868. p. 1. Retrieved May 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Gen. George B. Smith Elected Mayor, Without Opposition". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. April 3, 1878. p. 1. Retrieved May 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
| Wisconsin State Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alexander A. McDonell |
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Dane 6th district 1859 – 1860 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Dane 5th district 1864 – 1865 |
Succeeded by James Ross |
| Preceded by | Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Dane 5th district 1869 – 1870 |
Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Attorney General of Wisconsin 1852 – 1854 |
Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Mayor of Madison, Wisconsin 1858 – 1861 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Mayor of Madison, Wisconsin 1878 – 1879 |
Succeeded by |