author
Buckingham Smith
1810–1871
A lawyer, diplomat, and meticulous historian of early Spanish North America, he devoted much of his life to uncovering and publishing rare colonial records. His work helped preserve key sources on Florida, the Southeast, and the Spanish borderlands for later generations.
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About the author
Born on October 31, 1810, on Cumberland Island, Georgia, Buckingham Smith was an American lawyer, diplomat, antiquarian, and author. He studied law at Harvard Law School and later became known less for courtroom work than for his deep interest in the documentary history of Spanish exploration and settlement in North America.
Smith served in public roles that included work in the Florida territorial legislature and diplomatic posts in Mexico and Spain. Those experiences supported his research in archives, where he gathered, translated, and published important Spanish-language materials connected to Florida, the Gulf Coast, and the wider history of the Americas.
He died in New York City on January 5, 1871. Although he is not a household name today, historians still remember him as an early and energetic preserver of records that might otherwise have remained obscure or inaccessible.