Smith, William J
soldier, agriculturist, state senator, congressman, was born Sept. 24, 1823, in Birmingham, England. He devoted himself to agricultural pursuits; and during the rebellion was persecuted and arrested on account of his devotion to the union cause. He enlisted in the volunteer army as a private, and rose to the rank of brevet brigadier-general. H e He was a member of the convention to reorganize the state government in Tennessee; was subsequently elected to the state legislature; and in 1867 was elected to the state senate. In 1868 he was elected a representative from Tennessee to the forty-first congress.