William Robert Smith
William Robert Smith was a United States Representative from Texas and a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.Education and career
Born on August 18, 1863, near Tyler in Smith County, Texas, Smith attended the country schools, then graduated from Sam Houston Normal Institute in 1883 and read law in 1885. He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Tyler from 1885 to 1888, then moved in February 1888 to Colorado City, Mitchell County, Texas and continued private practice from 1888 to 1897. He was a Judge of the Texas District Court for the Thirty-Second Judicial District from 1897 to 1903.Congressional service
Smith was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives of the 58th United States Congress and to the six succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1903, to March 3, 1917. He was Chairman of the Committee on Irrigation of Arid Lands in the 62nd through 64th United States Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1916. He moved to El Paso, Texas in October 1916 and returned to the private practice of law.Federal judicial service
Smith was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson on April 11, 1917, to the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, to a new seat authorized by 39 Stat. 938. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 12, 1917, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on August 16, 1924, due to his death in El Paso, Texas. He was interred in Evergreen Cemetery in El Paso.
