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Part of the American
History & Genealogy Project |
Sophia Smith 1796 ~ 1870
Sophia Smith
Sophia Smith, educationist, was born in
Hatfield, Massachusetts, August 27, 1796, daughter of Joseph and
Lois (White) Smith, granddaughter of Lieutenant Samuel and Mary
(Morton) Smith, and of Lieutenant Elihu White; niece of Oliver
Smith, philanthropist, and first cousin once removed of Benjamin
Smith Lyman, geologist.
Her early education was extremely meagre.
She attended school in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1810, for three
months, and in 1814 was for a short time a pupil in the Hopkin's
Academy, Hadley, Massachusetts. She was an extensive writer, and
in 1861 inherited a large fortune ($450,000) from her brother,
Austin Smith.
In later years she conceived the idea of
building a college for women, defined the object and general
plan of the institution, appointed the trustees and selected
Northampton, Massachusetts, as its site. The college, which
bears her name, and which was the first institution for the
higher education of women in New England, was opened in
September, 1875, with L. Clark Seelye as president.
Miss Smith bequeathed for the founding
of the college, $365,000 and also $75,000 for the endowment of
Smith Academy, at Hatfield, Massachusetts, where she died, June
12, 1870.
Women of
America
Source: The Part Taken by Women in
American History, By Mrs. John A. Logan, Published by The Perry-Nalle
Publishing Company, Wilmington, Delaware, 1912.
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