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Smith Mead Weed

{{short description|American politician}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Smith Mead Weed

|image = Smith Mead Weed (New York State Assemblyman).jpg

|alt =

|caption = Weed in 1899's Notable New Yorkers of 1896-1899

|office1 = Member of the New York State Assembly from Clinton County

|term_start1 = January 1, 1873

|term_end1 = December 31, 1874

|predecessor1 = Edmund Kingsland 2nd

|successor1 = Shepard P. Bowen

|term_start2 = January 1, 1871

|term_end2 = December 31, 1871

|predecessor2 = Daniel G. Dodge

|successor2 = Edmund Kingsland 2nd

|term_start3 = January 1, 1865

|term_end3 = December 31, 1867

|predecessor3 = George Hallock

|successor3 = William F. Cook

|birth_date = {{Birth date |1833|07|26}}

|birth_place = Bellmont, New York, U.S.

|death_date = {{Death date and age|1920|06|07|1833|07|26}}

|death_place = Valcour Island, Plattsburgh, New York, U.S.

|resting_place = Riverside Cemetery,
Plattsburgh, New York, U.S.

|alma_mater = Harvard Law School

|party = Democratic

|occupation = Attorney

|spouse = Catherine L. Standish (m. 1859-1885, her death)

|children = 5

|signature = Signature of Smith Mead Weed (1833–1920).png

}}

Smith Mead Weed (July 26, 1833 – June 7, 1920) was a Democratic lawyer and businessman from Plattsburgh, New York, who served as a member of the New York State Assembly from 1865 to 1867, in 1871, and again in 1873 and 1874.

A native of Bellmont, New York, Weed was an 1857 graduate of Harvard Law School. After attaining admission to the bar, he settled in the village of Plattsburgh, where he practiced law and became involved in businesses including lumber, mines, and railroads. He served in the New York State Assembly in 1865, 1866, 1867, 1871, 1873 and 1874. In 1871, Weed's opposition to the Tammany Hall Democratic organization caused a pro-Tammany Assembly member to assault him; the member resigned rather than face expulsion.

Weed attended several Democratic National Conventions as a delegate and was a supporter of Samuel J. Tilden for president in 1876 and 1880. During the controversy that followed the disputed 1876 election, Weed was accused of attempting to bribe election officials in contested states in order to procure their support for Tilden.

Weed was a candidate for U.S. Senate three times; when Republicans held state legislative majorities in 1887 and 1905, Weed was nominated by Democrats as an honor, and lost to the Republican nominees. When Democrats held a legislative majority in 1891, Weed expected to be the nominee and win election to the Senate, but deferred to incumbent Governor David B. Hill, who went on to win the seat.

Weed died on Valcour Island on June 7, 1920, and was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Plattsburgh.

Early life

Smith M. Weed was born in Bellmont, New York, on July 26, 1833, the son of Roswell Alcott Weed and Sarah A. Mead.{{sfn|Life Sketches|page=322}} He was educated in Franklin County, New York, studied law with Judge George Mather Beckwith, and attended Harvard Law School, from which he graduated in 1857.{{sfn|Life Sketches|page=322}} He was admitted to the bar and practiced in the village of Plattsburgh.{{sfn|Life Sketches|page=322}} In addition, he became active in local politics and government, including several terms as village president. Weed was also active in numerous business ventures, including lumber, mining, and railroads.{{sfn|Life Sketches|page=323}}

Political career

Weed was a member of the New York State Assembly from Clinton County in 1865, 1866, 1867, 1871, 1873 and 1874 (the 88th, 89th, and 90th legislatures, and 94th, 96th and 97th legislatures).{{sfn|Life Sketches|page=322}} In 1867, he was a delegate to the state constitutional convention.{{sfn|Life Sketches|page=322}} In 1871, Weed's opposition to the Tammany Hall Democratic organization led to an assault on Weed by James Irving, a pro-Tammany member of the Assembly; Irving chose to resign in order to prevent being expelled.{{sfn|Life Sketches|pages=323-324}}

A supporter of Samuel J. Tilden, Weed was a delegate to the 1876 Democratic National Convention.{{sfn|"The St. Louis Convention"|page=1}} In the dispute that followed the 1876 election, Weed was accused of attempting to bribe election officials in the disputed states to award their electoral votes to Tilden.{{sfn|"Political Notes"|page=2}} Weed was also a delegate to the 1880 convention{{sfn|"The Bourbons Begin Work"|page=1}} and the one in 1884.{{sfn|"The Unit Rule"|page=2}}

He was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in the January 1887 election.{{sfn|Electing the Senate|page=89}} Republicans controlled the state legislature, and he lost to Republican Frank Hiscock.{{sfn|Electing the Senate|page=89}} In 1890, Weed was a prominent organizer and financial supporter of his party's effort to take control of the state legislature.{{sfn|"Hill and Weed"|page=4}} With a narrow minority in the State Senate but a small majority in the Assembly, the Democrats were positioned to elect on a joint ballot one of their own to the US Senate in 1891 as the successor to William M. Evarts.{{sfn|"Hill and Weed"|page=4}} Weed expected to be his party's candidate, but agreed to withdraw if Governor David B. Hill desired the nomination.{{sfn|"Hill and Weed"|page=4}} Hill decided to run; Weed withdrew as a candidate, and Hill won the Senate seat.{{sfn|"Smith M. Weed Tricked"|page=1}} Weed was the Democratic US Senate nominee again in 1905; Republicans controlled the legislature, and reelected Chauncey Depew.{{sfn|Electing the Senate|page=89}}

Death and burial

He died on Valcour Island on June 7, 1920{{sfn|"Smith M. Weed Dies in Plattsburg"|page=10}} and was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Plattsburgh.{{sfn|"Riverside Cemetery"}}

Family

In 1859, Weed married Catherine L. Standish (1836-1885), a descendant of Myles Standish.{{sfn|"Smith M. Weed Dies in Plattsburg"|page=10}} They were the parents of five children - Roswell Alcott, George Standish, Margaret Celeste, Caroline, Katherine Miller, and Standish Kellogg.{{sfn|The Standishes of America|page=50}}

Legacy

Plattsburgh's Smith Weed Bridge is named for Weed, as are the city's Weed Street and Weed Street Extension.{{sfn|"Lost in History"}} Weed's former home at the corner of Sailly Avenue and City Hall Place still stands.{{sfn|"Lost in History"}} It is privately owned, and is the location of a local law firm's offices.{{sfn|"Lost in History"}}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}

{{s-par|us-ny-hs}}

{{succession box | title = New York State Assembly
Clinton County | before = George Hallock | years = 1865–1867 | after = William F. Cook }}

{{succession box | title = New York State Assembly
Clinton County | before = Daniel G. Dodge | years = 1871 | after = Edmund Kingsland 2nd }}

{{succession box | title = New York State Assembly
Clinton County | before = Edmund Kingsland 2nd | years = 1873–1874 | after = Shepard P. Bowen }}

{{s-end}}

Sources

=Books=

  • {{cite book |last1=McElroy |first1=William H. |last2=McBride |first2=Alex. |date=1873 |title=Life Sketches of Executive Officers and Members of the Legislature of the State of New York |url=https://archive.org/details/lifesketchesgov02unkngoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/lifesketchesgov02unkngoog/page/n341 322] |location=Albany, NY |publisher=Weed, Parsons and Company |ref={{sfnRef|Life Sketches}}}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Schiller |first1=Wendy J. |last2=Stewart |first2=Charles III |date=2015 |title=Electing the Senate: Indirect Democracy before the Seventeenth Amendment |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MEp-BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA89 |location=Princeton, NJ |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-16317-8 |ref={{sfnRef|Electing the Senate}}}}
  • {{cite book |last=Standish |first=Myles, M.D. |date=1895 |title=The Standishes of America |url=https://archive.org/details/standishesofamer00stanuoft/page/50 |location=Boston, MA |publisher=Samuel Usher |ref={{sfnRef|The Standishes of America}}}}

=Newspapers=

  • {{cite news |date=July 14, 1876 |title=The St. Louis Convention: The First Day |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95785147/st-louis-convention/ |work=Burlington Weekly Free Press |location=Burlington, VT |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"The St. Louis Convention"}}}}
  • {{cite news |date=November 15, 1876 |title=Political Notes: Smith M. Weed |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95785792/political-notes/ |work=Burlington Weekly Free Press |location=Burlington, VT |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"Political Notes"}}}}
  • {{cite news |date=June 23, 1880 |title=The Bourbons Begin Work |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95786320/bourbons-work/ |work=The New York Times |location=New York, NY |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"The Bourbons Begin Work"}}}}
  • {{cite news |date=July 8, 1884 |title=The Unit Rule |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95786768/unit-rule/ |work=Chicago Tribune |location=Chicago, IL |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"The Unit Rule"}}}}
  • {{cite news |date=January 10, 1891 |title=Hill and Weed and the United States Senatorship |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030313/1891-01-10/ed-1/?q=new+york+herald&sp=4&st=text&r=0.319,0.852,0.22,0.281,0 |work=New York Herald |location=New York, NY |via=Library of Congress |ref={{sfnRef|"Hill and Weed"}}}}
  • {{cite news |date=April 9, 1891 |title=Smith M. Weed Tricked: How He Was Swindled Out of the Senatorship; The Story of Gov. Hill's Sly Game |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1891/04/09/archives/smith-m-weed-tricked-how-he-was-swindled-out-of-the-senatorship-the.html |work=The New York Times |location=New York, NY |ref={{sfnRef|"Smith M. Weed Tricked"}}}}
  • {{cite news | work= The New York Times | url= http://nyti.ms/2bTyymm | title= Smith M. Weed Dies in Plattsburg | date= June 8, 1920 |ref={{sfnRef|"Smith M. Weed Dies in Plattsburg"}}}}
  • {{cite news |last=Ovalle |first=Nathan |date=December 14, 2014 |title=Lost in History: Smith Weed's legacy fading with time |url=https://www.pressrepublican.com/news/local_news/lost-in-history-smith-weed-s-legacy-fading-with-time/article_407a4e90-b524-5b93-9bc1-6ed12dbc6c18.html |work=Press-Republican |location=Plattsburgh, NY |ref={{sfnRef|"Lost in History"}}}}

=Internet=

  • {{cite web |url=http://www.nnytombstoneproject.net/clinton/plattsburgh/riverside_l_z.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328123653/http://www.nnytombstoneproject.net/clinton/plattsburgh/riverside_l_z.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=March 28, 2019 |title=Riverside Cemetery, Plattsburgh, Clinton County, New York |date=2005 |website=Northern New York Tombstone Project |publisher=Joyce M. Ranieri |ref={{sfnRef|"Riverside Cemetery"}}}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weed, Smith Mead}}

Category:1833 births

Category:1920 deaths

Category:Harvard Law School alumni

Category:New York (state) lawyers

Category:Businesspeople from New York (state)

Category:Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly

Category:Politicians from Plattsburgh, New York

Category:19th-century American lawyers

Category:19th-century members of the New York State Legislature