Martin L. Smyser

Martin Luther Smyser (April 3, 1851 – May 6, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served two non-consecutive terms as a U.S. Representative from Ohio.

Biography
Born on a farm in Plain Township, Wayne County, Ohio, Smyser attended the common schools and was graduated from Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio, in 1870. He studied law at Wooster under Lyman R. Critchfield. He was admitted to the bar in 1872 and practiced in Wooster. In 1873 he entered into partnership with Addison S. McClure.

Smyser was elected prosecuting attorney of Wayne County in 1872 and served one term. He served as delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1884 and 1888.

Smyser was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-first Congress (March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1890 to the Fifty-second Congress. He resumed the practice of law in Wooster. In 1898, he was appointed to the Fifth Circuit Court by Governor Bushnell upon the death of Judge Julius C. Pomerene. Smyser ran for re-election to a full six-year term later that year, but was defeated in the general election by Democratic nominee Richard M. Voorhees.

Smyser was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-ninth Congress (March 4, 1905 – March 3, 1907). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1906 to the Sixtieth Congress. He continued the practice of law in Wooster, Ohio, until his death in that city May 6, 1908. He was interred in Wooster Cemetery.