Q:Facts: - profession: store owner , banker - death place: rochester , new york - successor: charles j. hill - party: whig - death date: 12 september 1879 - predecessor: samuel g. andrews - office: 8th mayor of rochester , new york - term end: 1842 - term start: 1840 - birth date: december 1792 - name: elijah f. smith - birth place: groton , connecticut - religion: baptist Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of elijah f. smith .
A:
elijah f. smith -lrb- december 1792 -- september 12 , 1879 -rrb- was the 8th mayor of rochester , new york .smith came to rochester from groton , connecticut in 1826 when he opened a store , smith & perkins , on main street .he became involved in city affairs and served as an alderman before 1840 when he was elected mayor .he was the first mayor of rochester to be elected by the people of the city , following an 1840 new york state law requiring that all mayors be publicly elected .in march 1841 , smith was reelected to a second term .his time in office saw the annexation to the city of the mount hope cemetery area , but other improvements where prevented by the ongoing national depression .after his term as mayor , smith held other offices in the city .he served as a trustee for the university of rochester until his death in 1880 .he is buried in mount hope cemetery .