Samuel Axley Smith as an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 3rd congressional district of Tennessee. He was born in Monroe County, Tennessee on June 26, 1822. He received a limited education, taught school, and studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1845, and he commenced practice in Cleveland, Tennessee. From 1848 to 1850, he was a district attorney general, and he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1848. He was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-third, Thirty-fourth, and Thirty-fifth Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1858 to the Thirty-sixth Congress. He served from March 4, 1853 to March 3, 1859. He was appointed by President Buchanan to be Commissioner of the General Land Office, serving from January 18 to February 12, 1860, when he resigned. On November 16, 1861, he was appointed by the governor of Tennessee to be an agent to collect arms for the Confederate Army. He died at Ladd Springs, Tennessee in Polk County on November 25, 1823. He was interred in Amos Ladd's Burial Ground.
This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
