Israel Smith

Israel Smith (April 4, 1759 – December 2, 1810) was an American lawyer and politician. He held a wide variety of positions in the state of Vermont, including as a member of the United States House of Representatives, a member of the United States Senate, the fourth governor of Vermont. Early life Smith was born in Suffield in the Colony of Connecticut, where he spent his childhood. He studied at Yale University and graduated in 1781. He studied law with his brother Noah Smith, and was admitted to the bar. He began his law practice in Rupert, Vermont. He married Abiah Douglass (1767-1836), and they had two children, William (1785-1822) and Horace (1787-1790). After Israel Smith's death Abiah married Colonel William C. Harrington, who became an attorney in Burlington, Vermont. Career Smith began his political career in 1785 when he served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives. He served in the Vermont House again from 1788 to 1791. During this period, he was active in solving Vermont's boundary disputes with other states and served as a delegate to the Vermont Constitutional Convention, at which Vermont ratified the American Constitution. By 1790 Smith had moved to Rutland, Vermont.