Nathaniel Alexander Smith

Full Name: Nathaniel Alexander "Nat" Smith
Date of birth: November 25, 1789
Date of death: 1864

Terms of Service top

Chamber District Dates of Service Legislatures Party City/County Note Counties in District
H 15 Nov 5, 1855 - Nov 2, 1857 6th (1) (2)     Woodlawn / Harrison   Harrison

(1) Included "[a]mong 1855 legislators that this writer has positively identified as Know Nothings." The party was active in Texas at the state level between 1855 and 1857. "An Analysis of the Texas Know Nothings," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, Number 3, January 1967, pp. 414, 416-417, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
(2) In 1855, Know-Nothing "contenders for the Texas House of Representatives, Nathan Smith, A.D. Burress, and William A. Tarleton, were all victorious by wide margins over their Democratic opponents," p. 168. A Southern Community in Crisis: Harrison County, Texas, 1850-1880, 1983.

Terms of Service top

House District 15
Nov 5, 1855 - Nov 2, 1857
Legislatures: 6th (1) (2)  
Home City/County: Woodlawn / Harrison
Counties in district: Harrison

(1) Included "[a]mong 1855 legislators that this writer has positively identified as Know Nothings." The party was active in Texas at the state level between 1855 and 1857. "An Analysis of the Texas Know Nothings," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, Number 3, January 1967, pp. 414, 416-417, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
(2) In 1855, Know-Nothing "contenders for the Texas House of Representatives, Nathan Smith, A.D. Burress, and William A. Tarleton, were all victorious by wide margins over their Democratic opponents," p. 168. A Southern Community in Crisis: Harrison County, Texas, 1850-1880, 1983.

Biographical Information top

Biographical Sketches

  • SMITH, NATHANIEL ALEXANDER (1789-ca. 1864). Born 11/25/1789 in Amherst, Virginia. Served in Alabama House of Representatives in the late 1820s and again from 1840-1844. "Leading member of the Texas Know Nothings . . . died around 1864 in Woodlawn, Harrison County, Texas." Handbook of Texas Online.

Other Resources

  • Relatives: Nathan A. Smith - father; Gideon Smith - son. "From Slave Days to the Present: A Fannin County Story," 2/28/2009. North Texas e-News.
  • Included in "Table II, Constitutional Unionists (Identified from newspapers) with Biographical Data," list of leaders of the Texas Constitutional Union Party in 1860. The party was formed in January of 1860. "The Constitutional Union Party in Texas," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 82, Number 3, January 1979, pp. 238, 256-262, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries). Table II, Constitutional Unionists
  • Nathan Smith, pp. 162, 164, 168, 173. A Southern Community in Crisis: Harrison County, Texas, 1850-1880, 1983.

Committee Information top

6th R.S. - 1855
Constitutional Amendments, Select  
County and County Boundaries  
Privileges and Elections  
State Affairs  

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