Meriwether Smith was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 planter from Essex County, Virginia

Essex County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,989 people, 3,995 households, and 2,740 families residing in the county. The population density was 39 people per square mile . There were 4,926 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile...

.

Smith was first elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses

House of Burgesses

The House of Burgesses was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. The House was established by the Virginia Company, who created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America...

 in 1770. He was a vocal opponent of the 1765 Stamp Act, and a representative in the revolutionary conventions

Virginia Conventions

The Virginia Conventions were a series of five political meetings in the Colony of Virginia during the American Revolution. Because the House of Burgesses had been dissolved in 1774 by Royal Governor Lord Dunmore, the conventions served as a revolutionary provisional government until the...

 that replaced the burgesses in 1775 and 1776. He was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

 in 1778, 1779, and 1780, although he did not serve the 1779 term. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates

Virginia House of Delegates

The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...

 from 1776 to 1778 and again in 1781. In 1788 he was a member of the Virginia convention

Virginia Ratifying Convention

The Virginia Ratifying Convention was a convention of 168 delegates from Virginia who met in 1788 to ratify or reject the United States Constitution, which had been drafted at the Philadelphia Convention the previous year.The Convention met and deliberated from June 2 through June 27 in Richmond...

 that ratified the U.S. Constitution

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

; an Anti-Federalist, he voted against ratification.

Smith was married twice, first to Alice Lee in 1760 and after her death to Elizabeth Daingerfield in 1769. His son by Alice was George William Smith

George William Smith (politician)

George William Smith was Acting Governor of Virginia, briefly between the terms of John Tyler, Sr. and James Monroe in January 1811 and the 17th Governor of Virginia from April to December of the same year when Monroe resigned to become United States Secretary of State...

who was Governor of Virginia from part of 1811. Meriwether died in Essex County, and was buried in a family plot on his plantation, "Bathurst."

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