Andrew J. Smith, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Andrew J. Smith
Smith, Andrew J. - Of Cassoplis, was born near Chillicothe, Ohio, September 2, 1818. In 1826 he removed with his parents to Bush county, Indiana, and in 1835 to Porter county, Indiana, where Valparaiso is now situated. His mother died when he was nine months old, and his father being poor he had very limited educational advantages. At the age of twenty-one he was elected constable of Valparaiso for one year. In December, 1840, he removed to Cass county, Michigan, where he has since resided. Became clerk in a store in 1849, and in 1851 he was placed an charge of a branch store by his employers, where he remained until the fall of 1855. From 1856 he has devoted himself entirely to law, being admitted to the bar in 1857. In 1858 he was elected Prosecuting Attorney ior Cass county, in which capacity he served twelve years; member of School Board twelve years, member of village council for four years, eighteen years a trustee of the Presbyterian Church, of which he has been a member since 1845. He was elected Attorney General of the State in 1874, and while holding that office, though favoring a prohibitory law, he defended the constitutionality of the liquor tax law before the Supreme Cnurt with great ability. He was elected Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit in 1878 to fill a vacancy. He was re-elected to the same office in 1881 without opposition.
Source: Howell, Charles B. 1884. Michigan Nisi Prius Cases Decided by the State and Federal Courts in Michigan: To which are Added Brief Biographical Sketches of the Judges of Michigan, Past and Present. Detroit, Michigan: Richmond, Backus & Company. 384 p.
Page(s) in Source: 329
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Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook