US Congressman, Physician. He was a United States Representative from the State of New Jersey. He was born in Trenton, New Jersey, sometime in 1740 but the actual date and month of his birth is currently unknown to historians. He was educated locally and later attended and graduated from the prestigious Princeton College later Princeton University, in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1755. Following his education, he worked as a teacher at Princeton College, later Princeton University, in Princeton, New Jersey, from 1755 to 1758. He then studied medicine and commenced his practice of medicine in his native Trenton, New Jersey, shortly thereafter. He was then elected as a distinguished member of the American Philosophical Society in 1768, and later served as the Fifth President of the Medical Society of the State of New Jersey from 1771 to 1772. He also served with the rank of Colonel in the Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Militia under the command of Colonel Abraham Hunt (1741-1821), in 1776 and again in 1777. He then became interested in politics and was elected and served as an Associate Justice of the New Jersey State Supreme Court in 1777. He then decided to run for a seat in the United States Congress and was elected to succeed the outgoing United States Representative Lambert Cadwalader (1742-1823), on March 4, 1795. A Member of the Federalist Party, he then served New Jersey as an At-Large Delegate (Fourth Congress), in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1795, to March 3, 1797. Following his term in the United States Congress, he was succeeded in office by the incoming United States Representative Thomas Sinnickson (1744-1817), on March 4, 1797. After leaving the United States Congress, he was personally chosen and appointed by then President of the United States George Washington (1732-1799), to be a Commissioner to treat with the Seneca Indians in 1797. He then finished out his almost thirty-year service as an Associate Justice of the New Jersey State Supreme Court in 1804, and became the first President of the Trenton Banking Company in Trenton, New Jersey, from 1805 to 1807. He continued in politics, law, and business pursuits, until his death. He passed away suddenly in Trenton, New Jersey, on August 29, 1807, at about the age of 66 or 67, although other sources list his age as 70 or 72. Following his death, he was buried in the First Presbyterian Churchyard in Trenton, New Jersey. On his passing, one of his newspaper obituaries of the time said of him, "The eminent character of the deceased merits the tribute of applause from the pen of the American historian. From the earliest period of the Revolutionary War he was highly distinguished for his patriotic services in the cause of his country, in which, uniting Armness with moderation, he combined the spirit of the soldier with the talents of the statesman-He commanded a regiment in the year 1776, during which gloomy period his conduct was marked with the most exemplary fortitude and perseverance. About this period being called to the arduous, responsible, and highly perilous duty of one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of this State, he for the space of 18 years discharged the important duties of this high office with the greatest dignity and fidelity, during which time he was also elected by the suffrages of the people of New Jersey, at a general state election, to the honorable station of a member of the house of representatives of the United States, where his high character for political wisdom and tried integrity were known and duly appreciated by all his co-patriots, and particularly by the illustrious Washington and Adams, with whom be enjoyed the intimacy of particular friendship. Possessing the vantages of a well-cultivated and classical education, he united in himself in a very eminent degree the characters of a Christian, a scholar, and a gentleman; and while the more shining traits of his public character will long endear him to the memory of the patriot the amiable virtues of his private life are indelibly engraved in the hearts of those with whom he was united by the most interesting ties of affinity and friendship. He was married to Mary Smith (1732-1801), with whom she had three sons, John Pennington Smith (1765-1797), Edward Smith (1766-1791), and Charles Smith (1768-1800). His wife Mary passed away in Trenton, New Jersey, on May 7, 1801, and she is buried with her husband in the First Presbyterian Churchyard in Trenton, New Jersey.