SMITH, Jeremiah, jurist, born in Peterborough, New Hampshire, 29 November, 1759; died in Dover, New Hampshire, 21 September, 1842. He enlisted in the patriot army about 1775, and was wounded at the battle of Bennington, Vermont He then renewed his studies, was graduated at Rutgers in 1780, studied law, and was admitted to the bar of Dover, New Hampshire, early attaining to eminence as a lawyer and a scholar. He served in congress in 1791-'7, having been chosen as a Federalist, and ably supported the measures of Washington. He was United States district attorney in 1798-1800, a judge of the United States circuit court of New Hampshire in 1801-'2, and then became chief justice, but resigned in 1809 to become governor, in which office he served one term. He then returned to practice, and was again chief justice in 1813-'16, but afterward occupied no public office. He was president of the Exeter bank for thirty-nine years, trustee and treasurer of Phillips Andover academy, and a member of the State historical society, His extraordinary mental endowments were unimpaired by age, and were retained until his death. For many years he was the patron and close friend of Daniel Webster. Harvard gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1807. He published a sketch of Judge Caleb Ellis (Haverhill, 1816). See his "Life" by John H. Morison (Boston, 1845).