Smith, Caleb B. (Caleb Blood), 1808-1864
Variant namesBiographical notes:
Lawyer, statesman, jurist, and U.S. representative from Indiana.
From the description of Papers of Caleb B. Smith, 1841-1862 (bulk 1849). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 71066453
Lawyer, politician, and judge. Smith came to Indiana in 1834. He served in the Indiana House of Representatives, the United States House of Representatives, as Secretary of the Interior under Lincoln, and U.S. Court Judge for Indiana.
From the description of Papers, 1849-1862. (Indiana Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 27858236
Representative from Indiana.
From the description of Autograph signature clipped from a hotel register : [n.p., n.d.]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270664562
Indiana lawyer, state legislator and U.S. Representative who served as President Lincoln's Secretary of Interior, 1861-1862.
From the description of Letter, [1861]. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library). WorldCat record id: 54901201
Caleb Blood Smith, lawyer, congressman, and Secretary of the Interior. Smith was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives, and was reelected in 1834, 1835, and 1836. He represented Indiana in the Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, and Thirtieth Congress serving on the Committee of Foreign Affairs, and chairing the Committee on Territories. Known for his staunch opposition to the Mexican War, he refused another nomination and left Congress in 1849. He practiced law in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was president of Cincinnati & Chicago Railroad. In 1859, he moved to Indianapolis where he became one of the most active Republicans, campaigning for Lincoln during the presidential elections. When President Lincoln formed his cabinet, he appointed Smith Secretary of the Interior. In December 1862, he resigned the position, and was then appointed U.S. Judge for the Indiana District. He died in office in 1864.
His son Walton John Smith served as Chief Clerk of the Department of the Interior, and then Clerk of the U.S. District Court in Indianapolis. In 1866, he was with the U.S. Legation in Lima, Peru.
Charles William Spooner was son of William L. Spooner (1818-1889), Cincinnati lawyer, judge, and civic leader who had studied law in Caleb Blood Smith's office. In 1863-1865, Charles William Spooner served as acting Ensign aboard the U.S.S. Reindeer No. 35, which was part of the Mississippi Squadron. After the war, he studied at Cincinnati College and was partner in his father's law firm. In 1870-1873, he traveled in Germany, Scandinavia, France and Switzerland, with the purpose of studying the foreign languages. He then lived in New York.
From the description of Papers of Caleb Blood Smith and Charles William Spooner, 1820-1916 (1861-1875). (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 228737955
Biographical Note
From the guide to the Caleb B. Smith Papers, 1841-1862, (bulk 1849), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)
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Subjects:
- Abolitionists
- Cabinet officers
- Cabinet officers' spouses
- Elections
- Elections
- French language
- German language
- Indians of North America
- Judges
- Lawyers
- Legislators
- Loyalty oaths
- Meteorology
- Morgan's Ohio Raid, 1863
- Natural history
- Travelers' writings, American
- Elections
Occupations:
- Jurists
- Lawyers
- Representatives, U.S. Congress
- Statesmen
Places:
- Camp Sullivan (Indianapolis, Ind.) (as recorded)
- Germany (as recorded)
- Europe (as recorded)
- Scandinavia (as recorded)
- Indiana (as recorded)
- United States (as recorded)
- United States (as recorded)
- Ohio (as recorded)
- France (as recorded)
- United States (as recorded)
- United States (as recorded)
- Indiana (as recorded)
- Indiana (as recorded)
- IN, US
- OH, US
- DC, US
- OH, US
- IL, US
- MA, US
