1817-1900
James Cosslett Smith served in 1866. Born in Phelps, Ontario County, N.Y., Aug. 14, 1817. Union College graduate, 1835. Admitted to practice, 1842. Appointed to state supreme court, 1862, elected 1863, reelected 1867. Appointed to General Term, Fourth Department, serving 1877-1879, 1881-1882. Appointed presiding justice General Term, Fifth Department, 1883. LL.D. from Union, Hamilton and Hobart Colleges. Died, Sep. 26, 1900 in Canandaigua. See 66 Alb LJ 346 (1904-1905). His portrait is at the Appellate Division, Fourth Department.
This biography appears in The Judges of the New York Court of Appeals: A Biographical History, ed. Hon. Albert M. Rosenblatt (New York: Fordham University Press, 2007). It has not been updated since publication.