William Smith (18 June 1728 – 6 December 1793) was a lawyer, historian, speaker, loyalist, and eventually the loyalist Chief Justice of the Province of New York from 1780 to 1782 and Chief Justice of the Province of Quebec from 1786, later Lower Canada, from 1791 until his death. Early life Born in New York City on June 18, 1728, he was the son of Judge William Smith. His brother, Joshua Hett Smith was notable as the supposed "dupe" of Benedict Arnold and Major John André when they collaborated during the American Revolution. Smith graduated from Yale University in 1745, studied law with William Livingston, and was admitted to the bar in 1750. Family His brother, Doctor Thomas Smith, was the owner of the "treason house" in West Haverstraw, Rockland County, New York that was being occupied by his other brother, Joshua Hett Smith, at the time that Benedict Arnold and Major John André planned their conspiracies. Career During the American Revolution, he was referred to as "the weathercock" because his contemporaries were not able to understand which side he was on. Basically, though, he was neither friend to Revolutionary nor Loyalist and was one of the main reasons that the loyalists themselves declared that they did never trust the family of Smith. In 1752, along with William Livingston and John Morin Scott he founded a weekly journal, the Independent Reflector. He and his brother Joshua Hett Smith escaped prosecution and probable execution by the Commission for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies in the State of New York in 1778 for the crime of treason due to the memory of their father's influence upon the Justice system: the elder William Smith had, despite the efforts of friends and relatives, refused appointment to the Office of Chief Justice of the Province of New York in 1760, which his son William then accepted. In 1776, he moved to Albany to avoid the contentious politics but in 1778 declared his allegiance for the loyalist cause and joined the British in New York City. Smith was escorted across the lines by Aaron Burr and became an important adviser and confidant of the military and civilian officials including both Governor William Tryon and General Sir Henry Clinton. In 1780, he was appointed Chief Judge of New York but by this time the office only related to the small part of the Province that was still in