He was born on a farm in Hanover, New Hampshire, and worked his way through Dartmouth College.
Arriving in the city with few contacts and resources, he gained notice through active involvement in the 1828 presidential campaign and as choir-master of the First Presbyterian Church.
[2][3] Smith held positions as clerk of Brooklyn's Board of Trustees and then on the Corporation Counsel.
He was also involved in other civic duties, serving for thirty years as a member of the Board of Education, and as a founder of both Green-Wood Cemetery (his final resting place) and Brooklyn City Hospital.
You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.This article about a member of the New York State Senate is a stub.