Original Brady CDV of Caleb B. Smith Abraham Lincolns First Secretary

Caleb B. Smith (1808-64) was President Abraham Lincoln's first secretary of the interior. He was born in Boston but at a young age moved with his parents to Cincinnati. After studying law in Ohio, as a young man he left the state for Indiana, where he was admitted to the bar, practiced law, and became active in politics. He was elected to five terms in the Indiana House of Representatives (1833-42), followed by four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1843-49). A member of the Whig and later the Republican Party, Smith played a major role in securing the support of the Indiana delegation for Lincoln at the 1860 Republican convention in Chicago and helped to win the state for Lincoln in the November general election. Smith's appointment to the cabinet reflected the role that Indiana and he personally had played in electing Lincoln. Smith headed the Department of Interior until December 1862, when he resigned and was appointed by Lincoln to a federal judgeship. The image is from an album of mostly Civil War-era portraits by the famous American photographer Matthew Brady (circa 1823-96)