John Speed Smith

---

title: "John Speed Smith" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1792-births", "1854-deaths", "kentucky-state-senators", "members-of-the-kentucky-house-of-representatives", "people-from-kentucky-in-the-war-of-1812", "people-from-jessamine-county,-kentucky", "united-states-army-officers", "democratic-republican-party-united-states-representatives-from-kentucky", "green-clay-family", "united-states-attorneys-for-the-district-of-kentucky", "19th-century-united-states-representatives", "19th-century-members-of-the-kentucky-general-assembly", "speakers-of-the-kentucky-house-of-representatives"] description: "American politician (1792–1854)" topic_path: "people/1790s" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Speed_Smith" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American politician (1792–1854) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	John Speed Smith
image	John Speed Smith.jpg
alt	A man with dark, curly, receding hair wearing a high-collared white shirt and black jacket
office	Kentucky State Senator
term_start	1846
term_end	1850
office2	Kentucky State Representative
term_start2	1845
term_end2	1846
term_start3	1839
term_end3	1842
term_start4	1827
term_end4	1831
term_start5	1819
term_end5	1820
order6	19th
office6	Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives
term_start6	1827
term_end6	1828
state7	Kentucky
district7	7th
term_start7	August 6, 1821
term_end7	March 3, 1823
predecessor7	George Robertson
successor7	Thomas Patrick Moore
birth_date
birth_place	Jessamine County, Kentucky, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Richmond, Kentucky, U.S.
restingplace	Richmond Cemetery
party	Democratic-Republican
otherparty
spouse
children	Green Clay Smith
profession	Lawyer
allegiance	United States
branch
serviceyears	1812–1814
rank	Colonel
battles	War of 1812
::

|honorific-prefix = |name = John Speed Smith |honorific-suffix = |image = John Speed Smith.jpg |alt = A man with dark, curly, receding hair wearing a high-collared white shirt and black jacket |office = Kentucky State Senator |district = |term_start = 1846 |term_end = 1850 |predecessor = |successor = |office2 = Kentucky State Representative |term_start2 = 1845 |term_end2 = 1846 |term_start3 = 1839 |term_end3 = 1842 |term_start4 = 1827 |term_end4 = 1831 |term_start5 = 1819 |term_end5 = 1820 |order6 = 19th |office6 = Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives |term_start6 = 1827 |term_end6 = 1828 |state7 = Kentucky |district7 = 7th |term_start7 = August 6, 1821 |term_end7 = March 3, 1823 |predecessor7 = George Robertson |successor7 = Thomas Patrick Moore |birth_date = |birth_place = Jessamine County, Kentucky, U.S. |death_date = |death_place = Richmond, Kentucky, U.S. |restingplace = Richmond Cemetery |restingplacecoordinates = |birthname = |citizenship = |nationality = |party = Democratic-Republican |otherparty =
|spouse = |relations = |children = Green Clay Smith |residence = |alma_mater = |occupation = |profession = Lawyer |cabinet = |committees = |portfolio = |religion = |signature = |signature_alt = |footnotes = |nickname = |allegiance = United States |branch = |serviceyears = 1812–1814 |rank = Colonel |unit = |commands = |battles = War of 1812 |awards = John Speed Smith (July 1, 1792 – June 6, 1854) was an attorney and politician, a U.S. Representative from Kentucky, and a state representative for several terms, as well as state senator. He served for four years as a US District Attorney. He was the father of Green Clay Smith, who also served as a state representative and US Congressman.

Early life, education and military service

John Speed Smith was born on July 1, 1792, to Mary (née Speed) and William Smith near Nicholasville, Kentucky in Jessamine County. Smith attended a private school in Mercer County. After that, he "read the law" with an established firm. He was admitted to the bar in 1812 and commenced practice in Richmond, Kentucky.

During the War of 1812, Smith enlisted as a private. He was subsequently promoted and commissioned as a major. He served as aide-de-camp, with the rank of colonel, to General William Henry Harrison, later president of the United States.

Marriage and family

In 1815 at the age of 23, Smith married Elizabeth Lewis Clay (1798–1887), then 17, the daughter of Green Clay, considered one of the wealthiest men in Kentucky, and Sally (Lewis) Clay. Their several children included Sally Ann Lewis Smith (1818–1875), named for her maternal grandmother; Curran Cassius Smith, Green Clay Smith, named for his maternal grandfather; Pauline Green Smith, Junius Brutus Smith (never married), Mary Spencer Smith (never married), and John Speed Smith Jr.

Curran Cassius Smith became a doctor. He also managed his father's estate after his mother was widowed, making his home with her and his family. Green Clay Smith followed his father and maternal uncles into law and politics, serving at both the state and federal levels.

Political career

John Speed Smith was elected to the state house of representatives in 1819, serving one term.

Smith was elected as a Republican to the Seventeenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of George Robertson and served from August 6, 1821, to March 3, 1823. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1822.

He was elected again as a member of the state house of representatives in 1827, when he was also elected as speaker of the Kentucky House.

Smith was appointed by President John Quincy Adams to go on a mission to South America. He was appointed as United States district attorney for Kentucky by President Andrew Jackson, serving 1828–1832.

He was elected again to the state house in 1839, 1841, and 1845. He was elected as a member of the state senate, serving 1846–1850.

Smith died in Richmond, Kentucky, June 6, 1854, and was interred in Richmond Cemetery.

References

References

1. "Smith, John Speed". [[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]].
2. Speed, Thomas. (1892). ["Records and Memorials of the Speed Family"]({{Google books).
3. [http://kentuckyonlinearts.wordpress.com/tag/john-speed-smith/ "KOAR's Russian Connection"], Kentucky Online Arts Resource Blog, 15 October 2012
4. [https://archive.org/details/recordsmemorials00inspee Thomas Speed, ''Records and Memorials of the Speed Family''], ''Courier-Journal'' Job Printing Company, 1892, pp. 88-89
5. "26 February 1827".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::