James Smith (Pennsylvania politician), Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

James Smith (Pennsylvania politician)

signer to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Pennsylvania

Date of Birth: 17-Sep-1719

Place of Birth: Ulster, United Kingdom

Date of Death: 11-Jul-1806

Profession: writer, politician

Nationality: Ireland, United States

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

James Smith (September 17, 1719 – July 11, 1806), was an Irish/American lawyer and a signer to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Pennsylvania. He was born in Ireland; his family immigrated to Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1729.
Smith attended the Philadelphia Academy.
He studied law at the office of his brother George and was admitted to the bar in Pennsylvania, initially practicing near Shippensburg, and later near York.
He became captain of the militia there.
He was appointed to the provincial convention in Philadelphia in 1775, to the state constitutional convention in 1776, and was elected to the Continental Congress.
He was reelected to Congress in 1785 but declined to attend because of his advanced age. The surname Smith is probably anglicized from the Irish surname McGowanSmith died on July 11, 1806 and is buried in York, Pennsylvania, First Presbyterian Churchyard.
The University of Delaware has a dorm on its North Campus bearing his name.