Edward Parmelee Smith

Edward Parmelee Smith
Commissioner of Indian Affairs
In office
1873–1875
PresidentUlysses S. Grant
Preceded byFrancis Amasa Walker
Succeeded byJohn Quincy Smith
Personal details
BornJune 1827
DiedJuly 27, 1876 (age 49)
Political partyRepublican
SpouseHannah Cleveland
Children2


Edward Parmelee Smith (1827–1876) was a Congregational minister in Massachusetts before becoming Field Secretary for the United States Christian Commission during the American Civil War. In official positions with the American Missionary Association (AMA), he was a co-founder of Fisk University and other historically black colleges established in the South for the education of freedmen. Beginning in 1873, he served as commissioner of Indian Affairs under President Ulysses S. Grant. In 1875, he was selected president of Howard University, but died on a trip in Africa in 1876 before taking office.[1]

  1. ^ "Edward Parmelee Smith" Archived 2009-03-22 at the Wayback Machine, Officers of the American Missionary Association, Amistad Research Center, 2006, accessed 3 Mar 2009