Hezekiah Bradley Smith
| Hezekiah Bradley Smith | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 2nd district |
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In office March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1881 |
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| Preceded by | John H. Pugh |
| Succeeded by | J. Hart Brewer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 24, 1816 Windsor County, Vermont |
| Died | November 3, 1887 (aged 71) Burlington County, New Jersey |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Eveline Verona English Agnes Mitilda Gilkerson |
| Profession | Inventor, Politician |
Hezekiah Bradley Smith (July 24, 1816 – November 3, 1887), was an American inventor and a Democratic Party politician who represented New Jersey's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1879 to 1881.
Smith was born in Bridgewater, Vermont, on July 24, 1816. After completing an eighth grade education, he was trained as a cabinet maker and set up shop in a former tannery building. Smith left the Woodstock District in 1846, taking with him Eveline Verona English, whom he married in a civil ceremony in May 1846, in their Boston hotel room. Smith and his wife moved first to Manchester, New Hampshire, where Smith made a living carving wooden patterns while learning the machine business. In July 1846, their first child, Ella, was born. In the spring of 1847 in Manchester there was a scarlet fever epidemic known as 'ship fever', and Eveline took the child Ella and returned to Woodstock. They would never again live together as husband and wife.
Smith moved on to Lebanon, New Hampshire, where he began to manufacture items to other people's specifications, including such items as the Howe sewing machine. Smith took the first sewing machine ever to be found in Woodstock and gave it to Eveline, herself a renowned tailor, ensuring her own independence. Smith later moved on from Lebanon to Boston, Massachusetts, where he began manufacturing woodworking machinery of his own design. He subsequently moved his business to Lowell, Massachusetts. However, he continued to visit his wife in Woodstock, fathering three sons with her: Elton (born in 1848), Eugene V. (born 1851) and Edward A. (born 1853).
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