Daniel Smith

1748–1818

Named a charter trustee in Blount College’s 1794 Charter, Daniel Smith was appointed secretary of the Territory South of the River Ohio by General Washington in 1790. Previously, he had been one of the five trustees for the establishment of Davidson County and a charter trustee of Davidson Academy. Smith served as secretary of the territory until Tennessee became a state in 1796. He was a delegate from Sumner County to the convention that organized the state and chaired the committee that drafted Tennessee’s constitution and bill of rights. He prepared the first map of Tennessee. He served the unexpired term of Andrew Jackson in the US Senate (1798–99) and was elected to a full term in 1805. He resigned from the Senate in 1809 because of poor health. He returned to his home in Sumner County and completed a two-story house, later known as Rock Castle. The house became a state-owned historic site in 1969.

Citation Information

The following information is provided for citations.

  • Title Daniel Smith
  • Coverage 1748–1818
  • Author
  • Keywords Daniel Smith
  • Website Name Volopedia
  • Publisher University of Tennessee Libraries
  • URL
  • Access Date July 10, 2025
  • Original Published Date
  • Date of Last Update October 16, 2018