William Stephens Smith (8 November 1755-10 June 1816) was a member of the US House of Representatives (F-NY 17) from 4 March 1813 to 3 March 1815, preceding Westel Willoughby Jr..
Biography[]
Smith at the Battle of Trenton
William Stephens Smith was born in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York in 1755, and he served as an aide-de-camp to General John Sullivan during the American Revolutionary War. He was wounded at the Battle of Harlem Heights in 1776 and was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel at the Battle of Trenton; from 1780 to 1781, he served on the staff of the Marquis de Lafayette.
In 1786, Smith married Abigail "Nabby" Adams, the daughter of John Adams and Abigail Adams, while serving on Adams' legation in London, England. They returned to America in 1786, and he served as President of the Society of the Cincinnati from 1796 to 1797. In 1800, President Adams appointed him Surveyor of the Port of New York, and he and his wife settled in the outskirts of New York City, where they built an estate named "Mount Vernon" in honor of George Washington's estate. Smith later befriended Francisco de Miranda, whom he assisted with raising funds, procuring weapons, and hiring mercenaries to take part in a failed attempt to liberate Venezuela from Spanish rule; Smith's own son was captured, but later escaped and returned home. Smith claimed that he had organized the expedition on the orders of President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of State James Madison, and Smith was ultimately found not guilty. He moved to Lebanon, New York in 1807 and went on to serve in the US House of Representatives as a Federalist from 1813 to 1815, and he died in 1816.