Preceded by Portus Baxter Name Worthington Smith Profession Politician Party Republican Party | Spouse(s) Catherine M. Walworth Alma mater University of Vermont Political party Republican Role American Politician | |
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Born April 23, 1823
St. Albans, Vermont, U.S. ( 1823-04-23 ) Children F. Walworth Smith and W. Tracy Smith Died January 2, 1894, St. Albans | ||
Succeeded by George Whitman Hendee | ||
Worthington Curtis Smith (April 23, 1823 – January 2, 1894) was an American politician and railroad president. He served as a U.S. Representative from Vermont, and was the son of John Smith, of Vermont, a U.S. Representative from Vermont.
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Early life
Smith was born in St. Albans, Franklin County, Vermont to John Smith and Maria Curtis Smith. He pursued classical studies and graduated from the University of Vermont in 1843. Smith studied law with his father but did not practice.
Career
Smith was involved in the iron trade, and from 1845 until 1860 he engaged in the manufacture of railroad supplies in the iron foundries located in Plattsburgh and St. Albans. During the Civil War, Smith assisted in raising the 1st Vermont Infantry Regiment.
Smith served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1863. He was a member of the Vermont State Senate in 1864 and 1865, and was unanimously elected President pro tempore in 1865. He was the president of the Vermont National Bank from 1864 until 1870.
Smith was elected as a Republican candidate to the Fortieth, Forty-first, and Forty-second Congresses, serving from March 4, 1867 until March 3, 1873. In Congress he served as chairman of the Committees of Banking and Currency, Manufactures and Weights and Measures.
Smith served as president of the St. Albans Foundry Company. He was director, and later president, of the Vermont and Canada Railroad, and vice-president of the Central Vermont Railway. From 1868 until 1892 he was a member of the corporation of the University of Vermont.
Personal life
Smith married Katherine M. Walworth on January 12, 1850. They had five children together, including F. Walworth Smith, member of the Colorado State Senate, and W. Tracy Smith, vice-president and treasurer of the St. Albans Foundry Company.
Worthington C. Smith was the brother of Governor J. Gregory Smith and uncle of Governor Edward Curtis Smith.
Smith's daughter Katherine Maria Smith (1851-1935) was the wife of businessman William Walker Scranton (1844-1916). Their son Worthington Scranton (1876-1955) was the father of William Scranton, who served as Governor of Pennsylvania. The genealogical line for William Scranton runs from John Smith (great-great-grandfather) to Worthington C. Smith (great-grandfather) to Katherine Maria Smith Scranton (grandmother) to Worthington Scranton (father) to William Scranton.
Death
Smith died in St. Albans, Vermont on January 2, 1894. He is interred in Greenwood Cemetery in St. Albans.