Smith, Asa Dodge

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College (1730), Andover Theological Seminary (1834)

Presbyterian

American

Minister, President of Dartmouth College

Married Sarah Ann Adams; the two had seven children.

Asa Dodge Smith, Dartmouth class of 1830, was the seventh president of Dartmouth College (1863-1877). He came to the post after a long career as a minister at the 14th Street Presbyterian Church in New York City. Under his tenure, the college saw a major expansion in financial resources, enrollment, and academic breadth. In 1866, Asa Dodge Smith received a letter from William Leete Stone (Jr.), a historian who wanted to donate a manuscript he had used in his research on Sir William Johnson to the college. The manuscript was a letter written by the college’s “First Indian student,” presumably to Sir William Johnson. It is not clear which student Stone was referring to, nor has the manuscript been identified. It is unclear whether Smith had any special interest in Dartmouth history; Stone’s letter seems to have been unsolicited.

Find a Grave. “Rev Asa Dodge Smith.” http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=63776878 Accessed 2/14. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. “Smith, Asa Dodge.” Volume IX. New York: James T. White & Company, 1899. Accessed via GoogleBooks. P. 89.