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Seba Smith
1792–1868
A sharp early American humorist, he became famous for the comic voice of Major Jack Downing, a plainspoken New England character who poked fun at politics and public life. His writing helped popularize American vernacular humor long before it became a familiar literary style.
2 Audiobooks
Powhatan; A Metrical Romance, in Seven Cantos
by Seba Smith
About the author
Born on September 14, 1792, and dying on July 28, 1868, Seba Smith was an American writer and humorist remembered for bringing everyday American speech into print in a lively, comic way. He is especially known for creating Major Jack Downing, a fictional New England character whose letters and sketches became widely popular after they began appearing in 1830.
Smith’s work stood out because it used a distinctly American voice at a time when much published writing still leaned toward older literary models. The Jack Downing pieces mixed satire, regional speech, and political commentary, helping shape an early tradition of American humorous writing.
He was also married to the writer Elizabeth Oakes Smith, an important author and advocate for women’s rights. Together they were a notable literary couple of the nineteenth century, though Seba Smith remains best remembered for the wit, political satire, and popular appeal of his Downing writings.