Thomas Smith (politician)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Smith was the governor of colonial South Carolina
from 1693 to 1694, a planter
, a merchant and a surgeon. He arrived in Charles Town
in 1684 with his first wife Barbara Atkins and his sons Thomas and George. He was a Cacique
by 1690 and was made Landgrave
by the Lords Proprietors on 13 May 1691.
He died in 1694 and is buried at Medway Plantation
. A stone slab marks his grave with the inscription: "Here Lieth Ye Body of the Right Honble Thomas Smith Esq. one of Ye Landgraves of Carolina who Departed This Life Ye16th of November, 1694. Governor of the Province of Carolina in Ye 46 year of his age."
Governor Archdale described Thomas Smith as "a wise sober and moderate welliving man." The Proprietors, writing to Governor Archdale on 10 January 1695, stated: We forward copies of letters written by Colonel Smith not long before his death, that you may enjoy with us his satisfactory account of the growing condition of the province and of the peace and union to which he had brought it. He appears to us to have been a man not only of great parts, integrity and honesty but of a generous temper and a nobleness of spirit as to the public good as is scarcely to be met withal in this age.
His brick townhouse with a wharf on Cooper River
was on the corner of East Bay and Longitude Lane.
Smith was the grandfather of Rev. Josiah Smith
, a prominent minister of colonial South Carolina.
Province of South Carolina
The South Carolina Colony, or Province of South Carolina, was originally part of the Province of Carolina, which was chartered in 1663. The colony later became the U.S. state of South Carolina....
from 1693 to 1694, a planter
Plantation (settlement or colony)
Plantation was an early method of colonization in which settlers were "planted" abroad in order to establish a permanent or semi-permanent colonial base. Such plantations were also frequently intended to promote Western culture and Christianity among nearby indigenous peoples, as can be seen in the...
, a merchant and a surgeon. He arrived in Charles Town
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
in 1684 with his first wife Barbara Atkins and his sons Thomas and George. He was a Cacique
Cacique
Cacique is a title derived from the Taíno word for the pre-Columbian chiefs or leaders of tribes in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles...
by 1690 and was made Landgrave
Landgrave
Landgrave was a title used in the Holy Roman Empire and later on by its former territories. The title refers to a count who had feudal duty directly to the Holy Roman Emperor...
by the Lords Proprietors on 13 May 1691.
He died in 1694 and is buried at Medway Plantation
Medway (Mount Holly, South Carolina)
Medway or the Medway Plantation is a plantation in Berkeley County, South Carolina. It is about east of U.S. Route 52 from the unincorporated community of Mount Holly, which is directly north of Goose Creek, South Carolina. Medway is the oldest recorded house extant in South Carolina...
. A stone slab marks his grave with the inscription: "Here Lieth Ye Body of the Right Honble Thomas Smith Esq. one of Ye Landgraves of Carolina who Departed This Life Ye16th of November, 1694. Governor of the Province of Carolina in Ye 46 year of his age."
Governor Archdale described Thomas Smith as "a wise sober and moderate welliving man." The Proprietors, writing to Governor Archdale on 10 January 1695, stated: We forward copies of letters written by Colonel Smith not long before his death, that you may enjoy with us his satisfactory account of the growing condition of the province and of the peace and union to which he had brought it. He appears to us to have been a man not only of great parts, integrity and honesty but of a generous temper and a nobleness of spirit as to the public good as is scarcely to be met withal in this age.
His brick townhouse with a wharf on Cooper River
Cooper River (South Carolina)
The Cooper River is a mainly tidal river in the U.S. state of South Carolina. These cities are located along the river, Mt. Pleasant, Charleston, North Charleston, Goose Creek and Hanahan. Short and wide, it is joined first by the blackwater East Branch, then farther downstream, the tidal Wando River...
was on the corner of East Bay and Longitude Lane.
Smith was the grandfather of Rev. Josiah Smith
Josiah Smith (clergyman)
Josiah Smith was a clergyman in colonial South Carolina who championed the causes of the evangelical style of the Great Awakening and later American independence....
, a prominent minister of colonial South Carolina.