[1] Smith was educated under private teachers and in Quaker schools and studied law.
[2] Smith moved to Laurens, New York, in 1790, and then to Philadelphia in 1799.
[2] Smith was admitted to the bar in 1762 and practiced in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later in Burlington.
He was commissioned county clerk of Burlington on December 7, 1762.
[2] Smith was chosen as a New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress from July 23, 1774, to June 12, 1776, when he resigned.