Albert Smith White
American judge
title: "Albert Smith White" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1803-births", "1864-deaths", "1836-united-states-presidential-electors", "19th-century-american-lawyers", "19th-century-american-business-executives-in-rail-transportation", "indiana-lawyers", "indiana-republicans", "indiana-whigs", "judges-of-the-united-states-district-court-for-the-district-of-indiana", "members-of-the-indiana-house-of-representatives", "new-york-(state)-lawyers", "people-from-lafayette,-indiana", "people-from-orange-county,-new-york", "people-of-indiana-in-the-american-civil-war", "republican-party-united-states-representatives-from-indiana", "union-college-(new-york)-alumni", "united-states-federal-judges-appointed-by-abraham-lincoln", "united-states-senators-from-indiana", "whig-party-united-states-senators", "whig-party-united-states-representatives", "woodhull-family", "19th-century-united-states-senators", "19th-century-united-states-representatives", "19th-century-members-of-the-indiana-general-assembly"] description: "American judge" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Smith_White" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American judge ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Albert S. White |
| image | Albert Smith White.jpg |
| caption | Portrait, |
| office | Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Indiana |
| term_start | January 18, 1864 |
| term_end | September 4, 1864 |
| appointer | Abraham Lincoln |
| predecessor | Caleb Blood Smith |
| successor | David McDonald |
| state1 | Indiana |
| district1 | 8th |
| term_start1 | March 4, 1861 |
| term_end1 | March 3, 1863 |
| predecessor1 | James Wilson |
| successor1 | Godlove Stein Orth |
| jr/sr2 | United States Senator |
| state2 | Indiana |
| term_start2 | March 4, 1839 |
| term_end2 | March 3, 1845 |
| predecessor2 | John Tipton |
| successor2 | Jesse D. Bright |
| state3 | Indiana |
| district3 | 7th |
| term_start3 | March 4, 1837 |
| term_end3 | March 3, 1839 |
| predecessor3 | Edward A. Hannegan |
| successor3 | Tilghman Howard |
| birth_name | Albert Smith White |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Blooming Grove, New York, US |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Stockwell, Indiana, US |
| resting_place | Greenbush Cemetery |
| Lafayette, Indiana, US | |
| party | Whig (until 1854) |
| Republican (from 1854) | |
| education | Union College |
| read law | |
| website | |
| :: |
| honorific-prefix = | name = Albert S. White | honorific-suffix = | image = Albert Smith White.jpg | alt = | caption = Portrait, | office = Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Indiana | term_start = January 18, 1864 | term_end = September 4, 1864 | nominator = | appointer = Abraham Lincoln | predecessor = Caleb Blood Smith | successor = David McDonald | state1 = Indiana | district1 = 8th | term_start1 = March 4, 1861 | term_end1 = March 3, 1863 | predecessor1 = James Wilson | successor1 = Godlove Stein Orth | jr/sr2 = United States Senator | state2 = Indiana | term_start2 = March 4, 1839 | term_end2 = March 3, 1845 | predecessor2 = John Tipton | successor2 = Jesse D. Bright | state3 = Indiana | district3 = 7th | term_start3 = March 4, 1837 | term_end3 = March 3, 1839 | predecessor3 = Edward A. Hannegan | successor3 = Tilghman Howard | pronunciation = | birth_name = Albert Smith White | birth_date = | birth_place = Blooming Grove, New York, US | death_date = | death_place = Stockwell, Indiana, US | death_cause = | resting_place = Greenbush Cemetery Lafayette, Indiana, US | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | nationality = | party = Whig (until 1854) Republican (from 1854) | otherparty = | height = | spouse = | partner = | relations = | children = | parents = | mother = | father = | relatives = | residence = | education = Union College read law | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | footnotes = Albert Smith White (October 24, 1803 – September 4, 1864) was a 19th Century American lawyer, politician, and jurist who served as a United States senator from Indiana, a United States representative from Indiana and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Indiana.
Education and career
Born on October 24, 1803, in Blooming Grove, New York, White graduated from Union College in 1822 and read law in 1825. He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in New York from 1825 and 1829. He continued private practice in Lafayette, Indiana, from 1829 to 1836. He was an assistant clerk for the Indiana House of Representatives from 1830 to 1831. He was a candidate for the United States House of Representatives from Indiana in 1832. He was clerk of the Indiana House of Representatives from 1832 to 1835. He was a Presidential Elector on the Whig ticket in 1836.
Congressional service
White was elected as a Whig from Indiana's 7th congressional district to the United States House of Representatives of the 25th United States Congress, serving from March 4, 1837, to March 3, 1839. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1838. He was elected as a Whig to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1839, to March 3, 1845. He declined to be a candidate for reelection. He was chairman of the United States Senate Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses in the 27th United States Congress and chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in the 27th and 28th United States Congresses.
Later career
Following his departure from the Senate, White resumed private practice in Stockwell, Indiana, from 1845 to 1861, also serving as president of several railroads during that time period, including the Indianapolis and La Fayette Railroad and the Wabash and Western Railway.
Subsequent congressional service
White was elected as a Republican from Indiana's 8th congressional district to the United States House of Representatives of the 37th United States Congress, serving from March 4, 1861, to March 3, 1863. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1862. He was appointed by President Lincoln as one of three commissioners to adjust the claims of citizens of Minnesota and the Dakota Territory against the United States Government for Indian depredations, relating to a Sioux Indian Massacre occurring in 1862.
Federal judicial service
White was nominated by President Abraham Lincoln on January 14, 1864, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Indiana vacated by Judge Caleb Blood Smith. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 18, 1864, and received his commission the same day.
Death and burial
He died on September 4, 1864, seven and a half months after his appointment. He was interred in Greenbush Cemetery in Lafayette.
References
Sources
|state=Indiana |district=7 |before=Edward A. Hannegan |after=Tilghman Howard |years=1837–1839 |state=Indiana |district=8 |before=James Wilson |after=Godlove Stein Orth |years=1861–1863 |state=Indiana |class=1 |before=John Tipton |after=Jesse D. Bright |alongside=Oliver H. Smith and Edward A. Hannegan |years=1839–1845
References
- "White, Albert Smith".
- {{CongBio. W000351
- Towne Memorial Fund. (1864–1871). "Albert Smith White". New England Historic Genealogical Society.
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