William Jay Smith (Tennessee politician)

William Jay Smith (September 24, 1823 – November 29, 1913) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee's 8th congressional district.

Biography
Smith was born in Birmingham, England on September 24, 1823, and immigrated to the United States and settled in Orange County, New York. He attended the common schools, and after he had learned the printing trade, he moved to Tennessee in 1846.

Career
During the Mexican-American War, in 1847, Smith served in a regiment from Tennessee. He moved to Hardeman County, Tennessee, and engaged in horticulture.

In the American Civil War, Smith served as a Brevet Brigadier General in the Union Army from 1861 to 1865. He was a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1865. He was a member of the State house of representatives from 1865 to 1867. He also served in the State senate from 1867 to 1869, and again from 1885 to 1887. He was a surveyor of the port of Memphis, Tennessee from 1871 to 1883.

Elected as a Republican to the Forty-first Congress, Smith served from March 4, 1869 to March 3, 1871. An unsuccessful candidate for reelection, he engaged in the real estate and banking businesses. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1876.

Death
Smith died in Memphis, on November 29, 1913 (age 90 years, 66 days). He is interred at Elmwood Cemetery, in Memphis.