A Guide to the Ashbel Smith Papers

Biographical Note

A native of Hartford, Connecticut, Ashbel Smith was born on August 13, 1805. His formal education included bachelors and masters degrees from Yale University, as well as an M.D. from the same university in 1828. Smith continued his education in Paris before settling down to establish a practice in Salisbury, North Carolina. By 1836 he moved to Texas and quickly became a close acquaintance of Sam Houston, earning the post of Surgeon General with the Republic of Texas army.

Houston also employed Smith as an aide in Texas' relations with England, France, Mexico, and other foreign powers. In the 1840s Smith worked to have Texas recognized by Mexico as an independent nation, a position that proved unpopular with Texans seeking annexation with the United States. Nonetheless, after Texas finally joined the United States he served three terms in the Texas state legislature. He fought in the Mexican War of 1846 and was a Confederate officer during the Civil War, suffering a wound to his arm at Shiloh.

Smith never abandoned his vocation as a doctor and was instrumental in treating those afflicted by yellow fever in Galveston in 1839 and went on to write a respected work on the epidemic. He helped to found the Texas Medical Association and served as the organization's president in the early 1880s. Smith also fought for public education in Texas and late in life worked to establish the University of Texas, which was founded in 1883. He served on the University of Texas Board of Regents and worked to attract top instructors from around the United States. Ashbel Smith died January 21, 1886.

Source:

Elizabeth Silverthrone. "Smith, Ashbel." Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed October 30, 2012. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fsm04

Scope and Contents

Papers include correspondence, letter books, speeches, publications, official records, clippings, and photographs documenting Smith's long career in medicine, diplomacy, business, and public and higher education.

Related Material

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Ashbel Smith Papers, 1823-1926, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin

Detailed Description of the Papers