Congressman, politician, b. Baltimore, Md. He moved to Milwaukee with his parents in 1844. He had limited public schooling and eventually became a millwright, inventor, and builder. He served in the Milwaukee Common Council under various party labels (1868-1872, 1880- 1882, 1884-1887, 1898-1912, 1914-1916). An independent Greenbacker in the 1870's, he served in the state assembly (1878) as a Social Democrat (at this time not an organized party but merely a pro-labor ticket). As a Democrat, his association with the Knights of Labor brought him the office of city comptroller (1882-1884). He served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1887-1889) as a member of the People's party, his election being partly a result of working-class reaction to the suppression of local 8-hour day agitation. During the 1890's he joined local labor leaders like Robert Schilling (q.v.) in the Populist party. In 1896 his candidacy for mayor of Milwaukee on the Populist ticket only served to ensure a Republican victory, and upon the appearance of the Social Democratic party in the 1898 mayoralty race Smith and Schilling led the Populists into fusion with the Democrats behind David S. Rose (q.v.), in return for concessions in the Democratic platform. Milwaukee Sentinel, Sept. 17, 1916; Biog. Dir. Amer. Cong. (1928); B. Still, Milwaukee (Madison, 1948); Milwaukee Co. Hist. Soc., Historical Messenger (Mar. 1958).

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Henry Smith Papers for details.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]