History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/4/Robert Smyth
ROBERT SMYTH, one of the pioneers of Linn County, was born in Ireland, February 26, 1814. He came to America in 1834 and located in Linn County, Iowa, in 1840. Here he became an extensive dealer in real estate and afterwards engaged in banking. He was a member of the Sixth Territorial Legislature in 1843-4 and of the State Legislature in 1846-8. Mr. Smyth was again a member in 1868, serving four years in the Senate. In 1884 he served in the House of the Twentieth General Assembly forty years after he first became an Iowa lawmaker. Colonel Smyth was one of the paymasters of the United States army for several years, disbursing more than $10,000,000 during his term. He died at Mount Vernon April 3, 1898.