Smith, Jonathan Bayard, 1742-1812

<ul><b>RACES</b>
<li>12/31/1777 PA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1776 PA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
</ul>

SMITH, Jonathan Bayard, a Delegate from Pennsylvania; born in Philadelphia, Pa., February 21, 1742; received an English education, and was graduated from Princeton College in 1760; secretary of the Philadelphia Committee of Safety 1775-1777; Member of the Continental Congress in 1777 and 1778; prothonotary of the court of common pleas in 1777 and 1778; appointed justice of the court of common pleas in 1778; one of the founders in 1779 of the University of the State of Pennsylvania and a member of its board of trustees until its consolidation in 1791 with the College of Philadelphia into the University of Pennsylvania, serving as a trustee of the latter institution until his death; also a trustee of Princeton College from 1779 until 1808; served on the board of aldermen of Philadelphia 1792-1794; auditor general of Pennsylvania in 1794; died in Philadelphia, Pa., June 16, 1812; interment in the graveyard of the Second Presbyterian Church.

<p>Jonathan Bayard Smith (February 21, 1742 – June 16, 1812) was a merchant and a Founding Father of the United States from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He served as a delegate for Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress in 1777 and 1778, where he signed the Articles of Confederation.</p>

<p>Smith was born on February 21, 1742 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Mary Harrison and Samuel Smith. His father was a successful mercantile businessman in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, who had moved to Philadelphia. Smith graduated from Princeton in 1760 and joined his father in business. He was elected to the revived American Philosophical Society in 1768. His first marriage was to Susannah Bayard of Maryland. Together, they had one son, Samuel Harrison Smith who founded the National Intelligencer newspaper.</p>

<p>Smith became a member of the local Committee of Safety, and in 1775 was made its secretary. He was elected a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1777, serving from April 4 of that year until November 1778. While in Congress, Smith endorsed the Articles of Confederation for Pennsylvania. He resigned from the Continental Congress to assist in the defense of Philadelphia in 1778. Having advocated taking up arms (a sometimes unpopular stance in largely Quaker Pennsylvania) he also joined the militia, becoming a lieutenant colonel of John Bayard's regiment and serving in the Brandywine campaign.</p>