He completed the majority of his education at common schools in addition to supplemental courses at Franklin College.
[1] He joined the Democratic Party and was elected to the Indiana Senate, where he became the President Pro Tempore.
It started when Governor Isaac P. Gray announced that he wanted to be elected to the United States Senate by the Indiana General Assembly.
The Democratic controlled State Senate refused to seat the newly elected Lieutenant Governor Robert S. Robertson (Republican) ignoring a decision of the Supreme Court of Indiana.
At that point the President pro tempore of the State Senate, Alonzo Smith, who was already acting Lieutenant Governor since 8 November 1886 when he replaced Mahlon Dickerson Manson who had retired, was permanently assigned to this office.