JOHN

COTTON

SMITH

TH

HE last governor of the old régime was John Cotton Smith. It has been said that he exhibited many of the striking traits of the founders of this republic.

He was born in Sharon on February 12, 1765, and was the son of a clergyman of considerable power. His mother was the daughter of Rev. William Worthington of Saybrook. Governor Smith inherited the blood of those famous Massachusetts divines -John Cotton and Richard Mather.

The home where John Cotton was reared was a typical New England household where the law of God was uppermost.

His early education was conducted by his talented mother; then he prepared for Yale College under the direction of the Reverend Brinsmade of Washington. Entering college in 1779 at the age of fourteen, he was graduated with h or in 1783. Immediately after leaving Yale, Smith entered the office of John Canfield, an attorney at Sharon, and commenced the study of the law. In 1787

he was admitted to the bar of Litchfield County. When the young man commenced to practice he found himself in the midst of the best legal talent of the state, as the Litchfield County Bar was then famous for its brilliant array of able lawyers.

Success attended his efforts for advancement, and in 1793 he was elected a representative from his native town. He also served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1796 to 1800. In October, 1799, Smith was chosen clerk, and during both sessions of the following year he occupied the speaker's chair.

During his term of service Smith was a strong supporter of the old Federal party, and through the stormy period from then to 1818 he steadfastly opposed the increasing demand for a new constitution.

Elected as a member of Congress in the fall of 1800 he represented his district in the House of Representatives until 1806. While in Congress he was widely known as an accomplished scholar and a man of sound judgment. He was often called upon to preside when such statesmen as Pinckney, John Randolph, Otis, Lee, and Griswold were at the height of their fame. Smith resigned his seat in Congress in order "that he might the better administer to the comfort of an aged father." Returning to Sharon he took charge of the ancestral farm, at the same time engaging in literary pursuits, which his early training and hereditary tastes made very congenial. His townsmen soon returned him to the Legislature where he was made speaker of the House, representing the town in