John H. Smithwick

John Smithwick
John Smithwick
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 3rd district
	In office; March 4, 1919 – March 4, 1927
Preceded by	Walter Kehoe
Succeeded by	Tom Yon
Personal details
Born	John Harris Smithwick; July 17, 1872; Orange, Georgia, U.S.
Died	December 2, 1948 (aged 76); Moultrie, Georgia
Resting place	Westview Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Education	Reinhardt Normal College; Cumberland University

John Harris Smithwick (July 17, 1872 – December 2, 1948) was an American lawyer and politician who served four terms as a U.S. Representative from Florida from 1919 to 1927.

Biography

Smithwick was born near Orange, Georgia and attended the public schools. He graduated from Reinhardt Normal College in Waleska, Georgia in 1895 and from Cumberland University's law school in Lebanon, Tennessee in 1897.

Early career

Admitted to the bar in 1898, Smithwick entered private practice in Moultrie, Georgia. He moved to Pensacola, Florida in 1906.^[1]

Congress

Smithwick was elected as a Democrat to the 66th, 67th, 68th, and 69th Congresses, serving from March 4, 1919, to March 3, 1927.^[2] He was among those injured in the January 1922 Knickerbocker Theatre roof collapse.^[3] Smithwick was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1926, losing the primary election to Tallahassee businessman Tom Yon.^[2]

Later career and retirement

He engaged in the real estate business in Washington, D.C., and Fort Myers, Florida before retiring in 1932 and resided in Moultrie, Georgia.

Death and burial

He died on December 2, 1948. He was interred in Westview Cemetery.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "John Harris Smithwick". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
^ ^a ^b "Bioguide Search". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
^ "Partial List of the Dead and Injured In Collapse of Washington Theatre" (PDF). The New York Times. January 29, 1922. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-08-10.