George J. Smith
was president common pleas judge for Adams County, March 16, 1829, to March 17, 1834. He was born near Newton, Hamilton County, May 22, 1799. His father came from Powhatan County, Virginia, in 1798, and died in 1800, leaving his mother a widow with nine children of which he was the youngest. He qualified himself as a school teacher and followed that vocation. In April, 1818, he began the study of law under Thomas Corwin, and was admitted to the bar June 20, 1820, began to practice at Lebanon where he always resided.
On April 9, 1822, he was married to Miss Hannah W. Freeman, widow of Thomas Freeman, at one time a member of the Lebanon bar. She died March 25 1866.
In 1825, he was elected to the Legislature from Warren County and re-elected in 1826 and 1827. In 1827, he was defeated for the Legislature by Col. John Biggers, who sat in that body longer than any other person since the organization of the State, twenty-two years, and Smith was defeated by a scratch. In 1829, he was elected presiding judge to succeed Joshua Collett. This honor was unsought and unexpected by him. He served seven years, though Adams and Highland were detached from his circuit after he had served five years. He was always a Whig and was defeated for re-election by one vote. All the senators and representatives from his judicial circuit, irrespective of party, voted for him.
In 1836, he was elected State Senator and re-elected in 1838. In 1837, he was elected Speaker of the Senate. In 1850, he was elected to the Constitutional Convention, and served in that body on the judiciary committee. He was, however, opposed to the Constitution and voted against its adoption. In 1850, his son, James M. Smith, who is now one of the circuit judges in the first circuit and has been since 1884, became his partner in the law practice. In 1858, he was elected a common pleas judge and re-elected in 1863. He retired at the close of his second term in 1869. He died in April, 1878.
From History of Adams County, Ohio from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers - West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900