William Owen Smith (1848-1929) would become a lawyer, state legislator, and active participant in both the "Bayonet Revolution" which resulted in the Constitution of 1887 under King Kalakaua, and the Committee of Safety, which spearheaded the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani in 1893, and then serve on the executive council of the provisional government. Later, W.O. Smith and his firm wrote the will for Princess Pauahi Bishop which created the Bishop Estate. As a result of this, Princess Pauahi Bishop recommended to Queen Liliuokalani that he write her will, for the Liliuokalani Trust. As a result, they became lifelong friends, and he defended her in court, winning the suite brought against her by Prince Jonah Kuhio.

Smith served in the Hawaiian legislature from 1878-1899. In 1893, he was a member of the Committee of Safety that seized governing powers from Queen Lili'uokalani and ended the Hawaiian monarchy. A member of the executive council of the provisional government, he was appointed attorney general and president of the board of health by Provisional President Sanford B. Dole.

Despite his role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, he was a trusted friend of Queen Lili'uokalani and one of the administrators of her estate upon her death. He was a trustee of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate from 1884-1886 and 1897-1929. He was a trustee of the Lunalilo Estate, the Alexander Young Estate and the children's hospital. He was on the board of the Guardian Trust Company, Bishop Trust Company, Inter-Island Steam Navigation company and Alexander and Baldwin.

He was a lawyer from a family of American missionaries who participated in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He served as attorney general for the entire duration of the provisional Government of Hawaii and the Republic of Hawaii.