James Stevenson Smart

James Stevenson Smart (June 14, 1842 – September 17, 1903) was a U.S. representative from New York and a member of the Republican Party who served one term in Congress during a significant period in American history. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 14, 1842, and in 1849 moved with his parents to Coila, a hamlet in the town of Cambridge in Washington County, New York. Growing up in this rural community, he became closely identified with the civic and political life of Washington County, whose interests he would later represent at the national level.

Smart received his early education at Cambridge Academy in Cambridge, New York. He subsequently attended Union College in Schenectady, New York, before transferring to Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania (now Washington & Jefferson College). He graduated from Jefferson College in 1863. During his college years he became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, an affiliation that reflected his engagement with the social and intellectual networks of his time and connected him with a broader circle of professional and political associates.

With the Civil War underway, Smart entered the Union Army in January 1864. He was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the 16th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment and later promoted to captain and commander of Company K in that regiment. The 16th New York Heavy Artillery saw active service in Virginia and North Carolina, and Smart participated in several engagements, including the Second Battle of Fort Fisher. He remained in the service until after the close of the war and received his discharge in August 1865, returning to New York as a veteran of the Union cause.

After the war, Smart embarked on a career in journalism and publishing. He became a newspaper writer and editor and ultimately the publisher of the Washington County Post, a local paper that played an important role in shaping public opinion in the region. Through his work in the press, he gained prominence in Washington County and developed a reputation as an articulate advocate for Republican principles and local interests, which helped pave the way for his entry into elective politics.

Smart was elected as a Republican to the Forty-third Congress, representing New York in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1873, to March 3, 1875. As a member of the Republican Party representing New York, he contributed to the legislative process during his single term in office, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents during the Reconstruction era. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1874, but his service in Congress marked the peak of his formal legislative career at the federal level.

Following his term in Congress, Smart remained active in Republican politics in New York. For many years he served on the central committee of the New York Republican State Committee, helping to shape party strategy and policy in the state. He was also a delegate to several Republican National Conventions, participating in the selection of presidential nominees and in the broader deliberations of the national party. In 1883 he was appointed federal Collector of Internal Revenue for New York’s northern district, a significant patronage position in the federal revenue system. He served in that office until 1885, when he was succeeded by Samuel Tilden, Jr., the nephew of Democratic leader Samuel J. Tilden.

In his later years, Smart continued to reside in Cambridge, New York, where he remained a respected figure in local civic and political circles. He died in Cambridge on September 17, 1903. James Stevenson Smart was interred in Woodland Cemetery in Cambridge, in Section G, Lot 50, closing a life that spanned from the antebellum era through the Civil War and Reconstruction and into the early twentieth century, and that combined military service, journalism, and public office at both state and national levels.