Miller, Smith

30 May 1804–21 Mar. 1872

Smith Miller, congressman, was born near Charlotte in Mecklenburg County. In 1813 he moved with his parents to Pakota in Gibson County, Ind. After receiving only limited schooling, he engaged primarily in farming.

Active in politics, Miller won a seat in the Indiana State House of Representatives, where he served in 1835–39 and again in 1846. He was a member of the Indiana Senate in 1841–44 and 1847–50 and a delegate to the Indiana state constitutional convention of 1850. Miller moved into national politics with his election as a Democrat to the Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Congresses (4 Mar. 1853–3 Mar. 1857). In 1860 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Charleston, S.C. After serving in Congress, Miller returned to his farm in Pakota. He died nearby and was buried in the Robb Cemetery.