Seward Smith was an Iowa politician, lawyer, and associate justice of the Dakota Territory Supreme Court. In 1868 Seward was elected city solicitor of Des Moines, Iowa as a republican.By February of 1879 Smith was still practicing law with his partner (Ripley N. Baylies) in Mitchellville, Iowa. On August 10, 1881 the Republican Party of Des Moines, Iowa nominated Smith as candidate for the state senate. On July 10, 1884 President Chester A. Arthur appointed Smith to the Supreme Court of Dakota Territory on the recommendation of the Aberdeen, South Dakota circuit judge. However Smith quickly became controversial, appointing a woman (Elizbaeht M. Cochrane) clerk of Faulk County district court, an unusual appointment for the time. Smith went on to announce his candidacy for the senate while still serving as a sitting territorial supreme court justice. Critics began openly questioning his sanity while even his proponents admitted to his poor health. In October of 1885 President Grover Cleveland removed Smith from office and appointed Louis K. Church of New York to replace him. Smith's friends quietly admitted him to an Iowa sanitarium where he subsequently died.
