William Hugh Smith, governor of Alabama, was born in Fayette county, Ga., April 9, 1826; son of Jeptha Vinen and Nancy (Dickson) Smith; grandson of William and Mary (Powell) Smith, and of David, general of Georgia state militia and captain in the war of the Revolution, and Anne (Smith) Dickson; great-grandson of Nicholas and Polly (Burke) Smith; John and Peggy (McDonald) Powell; William and Elizabeth Dickson, and Charles and Elizabeth (Hendricks) Smith, and of English and Scotch descent. He removed to Randolph county, Ala., at an early age; acquired a common school education; was admitted to the bar, and began the practice of law. He was married Jan. 29, 1852, to Lucy, daughter of John and Mary (Bailey) Wortham of Randolph county. He was a Democratic member of the state legislature for two terms prior to the civil war. He was opposed to slavery and to the secession of the Confederate States, as were his seven brothers and their father, who was, however, a large slave holder. He was a Douglas and Johnson elector in 1860; circuit judge of Alabama, 1866–68, and Republican governor from July 13, 1868, until the fall of 1870, when he was succeeded by R. B. Lindsay, Democrat. In 1872 he was returned to the bench of the circuit court. He was appointed by President Garfield, attorney for the northern and middle districts of Alabama, serving, 1881–85, after which he devoted himself to law practice in Birmingham, Ala., where he died, Jan. 1, 1899.

The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans 1904

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