Representative Jedediah Kilburn Smith

Jedediah Kilburn Smith (November 7, 1770 – December 17, 1828) was a lawyer, state legislator, jurist, and U.S. Representative from New Hampshire during the early national period of the United States. A lifelong resident of Amherst, Hillsborough County, he was active in state and local affairs for more than two decades and played a role in shaping New Hampshire’s legal and political institutions in the early nineteenth century.

Smith was born in Amherst, New Hampshire, on November 7, 1770, in the years just preceding the American Revolution. Little is recorded about his family background or early childhood, but he pursued the customary preparatory studies available in the town at the time, which would have included basic classical and legal foundations suitable for entry into the profession of law. After completing these studies, he read law in the traditional manner under established practitioners rather than attending a formal law school, reflecting the prevailing method of legal education in New England at the close of the eighteenth century.

By 1800 Smith had been admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Amherst. His legal career quickly intersected with public service, and he became a prominent figure in local legal circles. His standing as an attorney in Hillsborough County helped launch his political career, and he soon moved into legislative roles within the state government of New Hampshire, where lawyers were frequently called upon to help draft statutes and shape the state’s legal framework.

Smith entered elective office as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1803. The following year he advanced to the New Hampshire Senate, in which he served from 1804 to 1806 and again in 1809. His service in both chambers of the state legislature placed him at the center of New Hampshire’s political life during a period marked by the consolidation of party politics and the growing influence of the Democratic-Republican Party in New England.

At the national level, Smith was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Tenth Congress, serving as a U.S. Representative from New Hampshire from March 4, 1807, to March 3, 1809. His term in Congress coincided with the administration of President Thomas Jefferson and with contentious debates over trade restrictions and foreign policy in the years leading up to the War of 1812. After leaving the House of Representatives, he sought higher federal office but was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate in 1810, a contest that underscored both his prominence within the party and the competitive nature of early nineteenth-century New Hampshire politics.

Following his congressional service, Smith remained deeply involved in state government. He served as a member of the New Hampshire Executive Council, commonly referred to as a Councilor, from 1810 to 1815, advising the governor and participating in the oversight of state administration. He also continued his legal career on the bench. From 1816 to 1821 he was an associate justice of the court of common pleas, a key trial court in the state’s judicial system. He then served as an associate justice of the court of sessions from 1821 to 1823 and was elevated to chief justice of the court of sessions, serving in that capacity from 1823 to 1825. In these judicial roles he would have presided over a wide range of civil and criminal matters, contributing to the development and application of New Hampshire law.

In addition to his legislative and judicial responsibilities, Smith held important local administrative office. He was appointed postmaster at Amherst on May 19, 1819, a federal position that placed him in charge of the town’s mail service at a time when the postal system was a principal means of communication and commerce. He held this post until March 15, 1826, when his successor was appointed, further demonstrating the trust placed in him by both local citizens and federal authorities.

Jedediah Kilburn Smith spent his entire public and professional life closely tied to his native town. He died in Amherst, New Hampshire, on December 17, 1828. His career, encompassing legislative, judicial, and administrative service at both state and federal levels, reflected the broad civic engagement characteristic of early American public figures and left a record of sustained participation in the political and legal life of New Hampshire.