Born in London county, Virginia, January 29, 1837. When he was quite young the family moved to Fredericks county, Maryland. He worked on a farm and at intervals attended school until his father sold the place and moved to Middletown, Maryland. Here Mr. Smeltzer pursued a more regular course of study and entered Dickinson college at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, as a sophomore, later was graduated from Union at Schenectady, New York. He then took a course in the law department of the same institution. After spending some time in the office of Governor Lowe of Frederick City, Maryland, he came west. He settled for a short time in Galena, Illinois, and from thence came to Dickinson county, Iowa, about the time of the Spirit Lake massacre. Later he assisted in the organization of a company of mounted men, known as the "Frontier Guards," for the protection of the settlers in northwestern Iowa. About 1858, Mr. Smeltzer moved to Clay county and in the fall of that year he was elected county judge, but soon after resigned. In 1861 he was elected to the legislature from Clay county. Shortly afterward Mr. Smeltzer removed to Fort Dodge, where he made his home the remainder of his life. He practiced law, engaged in the real estate business, and made abstracts of title. He was one of the largest landowners in northwestern Iowa. In 1865, he built a number of business houses in Fort Dodge. He was one of the incorporators of the First National Bank of Fort Dodge, of which for a long time he was its vice-president. November 3, 1868, he was elected a member of the board of supervisors of Webster county for Wahkonsa township. He was a candidate for circuit judge, and subsequently for congress in 1870, but was defeated by Jackson Orr.
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