Gov. Frederick Smyth

About

FREDERICK SMYTH, the thirty-eighth governor of New Hampshire, was born in Candia, New Hampshire on March 9, 1819. His early education was attained in the common schools, and later for one term attended the Phillips Academy in Massachusetts. Smyth established a successful career as a businessman, serving as president and treasurer of several banks, as well as becoming involved in the agricultural and railroad industries. Smyth first entered politics as Manchester city clerk, a position he won election to in 1849. He also served as mayor of Manchester from 1852 to 1854 and 1864; was a New Hampshire state legislator from 1857 to 1858; and served as president of the 1860 State Republican Convention. Smyth next secured the Republican gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor by a popular vote in 1865. He was reelected to a second term in 1866. During his tenure, the state’s war deficit was reduced; state statutes were amended; soldiers were mustered out of active military service; the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the federal constitution was endorsed; and the state militia was restructured. After completing his term, Smyth served as a trustee to the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, a post he held until 1878. He also served as an honorary commissioner to the International Expo in Paris. Governor Frederick Smyth passed away on April 22, 1899, and was buried in the Valley Cemetery in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Source

Dimond Library University of New Hampshire (Milne Special Collections and Archives)

New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources

The Political Graveyard

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 3, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.