William Moore Smith

(1759-1821)
Philadelphia

William Moore Smith was born on June 1, 1759, the son of Rev. William Smith, the first provost of Philadelphia College. He was educated in Philadelphia and took up the practice of law which he practiced until around 1800 when he was engaged to settle British claims in America. Smith died on March 12, 1821.

Smith's son, William Rudolph Smith, was also a lawyer and poet.

Father of Richard Penn Smith.

The Beginnings of Verse, 1610-1808
Cambridge History of English and American Literature

Republicanism

Poetry

William Moore Smith, Poems on Several Occasions, Written in Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: C. Dilly, 1786)(Philadelphia: Printed and sold by Enoch Story, 1786)

________________, The Flowret: A Collection of Poems (Baltimore: reprinted and sold by E. Story, 3rd ed., 1799) [flyleaf indicates the book is "written by William Smith, Esq. attorney at law, Philadelphia"]

Research Resources

Horace Wemyss Smith Scrapbook
State Library of Pennsylvania

[Archivist note: "The bulk of this scrapbook consists of the 96-page manuscript 'Poems on Several Occasions. Written in Pennsylvania By William Moore Smith' and the 79 page manuscript 'Numbr.3; Poems on Several Occasions / WMS'"]