O'Brien Smith

Who was O'Brien Smith?

O'Brien Smith was an Irish-American political figure who, in the first decade of the 19th century, served one term in the U.S. Congress, representing South Carolina's 4th congressional district.

A native of Ireland, Smith was in his late twenties when he arrived in South Carolina in the months immediately following the end of the Revolutionary War. He took the oath of allegiance to the Government of the United States on July 31, 1784 and began to participate in his adopted country's political activities, serving as a member of South Carolina House of Representatives from 1791 to 1799 and in the South Carolina Senate in 1803. The following year he was elected as a Republican to the Ninth Congress for the term lasting from.

O'Brien Smith was in his mid-fifties when he died in South Carolina, nearly three decades after arriving in the United States. There is no known historical record indicating the date and place of his birth, although the year is generally estimated to be 1756 and the country of birth is presumed to be Ireland. He was interred in the burial ground of the colonial Chapel of Ease of St. Bartholomew's Parish, Colleton County, near Jacksonboro.