Erminnie A. Smith, ''née'' Erminnie Adelle Platt (April 26, 1836– June 9, 1886) was a

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

ethnologist Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology) ...

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

and

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

who worked at the Smithsonian Institution's

Bureau of American Ethnology The Bureau of American Ethnology (or BAE, originally, Bureau of Ethnology) was established in 1879 by an act of Congress for the purpose of transferring archives, records and materials relating to the Indians of North America from the Interior D ...

. She has been called the "first woman field ethnographer" and was the first female member elected to the

New York Academy of Sciences The New York Academy of Sciences (originally the Lyceum of Natural History) was founded in January 1817 as the Lyceum of Natural History. It is the fourth oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization wit ...

on November 5, 1877. Erminnie Smith published multiple works on the

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

and culture of the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

people. She was active in cataloging their legends and employed

John Napoleon Brinton Hewitt John Napoleon Brinton Hewitt (December 16, 1859 – October 14, 1937) was a linguist and ethnographer who specialized in Iroquoian and other Native American languages. Hewitt was born on the Tuscarora Indian Reservation near Lewiston, New York. ...

to assist in this work. Her work on the Iroquois, along with that of

Alice Fletcher Alice Cunningham Fletcher (March 15, 1838 in HavanaApril 6, 1923 in Washington, D.C.) was an American ethnologist, anthropologist, and social scientist who studied and documented American Indian culture. Early life and education Not much is ...

on the

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

and other tribes, and

Matilda Coxe Stevenson Matilda Coxe Stevenson (''née'' Evans) (May 12, 1849 – June 24, 1915), who also wrote under the name Tilly E. Stevenson, was an American Ethnology, ethnologist, geologist, explorer, and activist. She was a supporter of women in science, helpi ...

on the

Zuni people The Zuni ( zun, A:shiwi; formerly spelled ''Zuñi'') are Native American Pueblo peoples native to the Zuni River valley. The Zuni are a Federally recognized tribe and most live in the Pueblo of Zuni on the Zuni River, a tributary of the Lit ...

, challenged views of women's position in both indigenous North American and Victorian societies. Smith's accounts showed that Iroquois women held rights to property and other social freedoms that American and European women lacked, and that they were honored and respected for their involvement and contributions to culture, economics and ritual practice.

Early Life and Education

Erminnie Adelle Platt was born April 26, 1836 (sometimes given as 1839), in

Marcellus, New York Marcellus is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. The population was 6,210 at the 2010 census. The town was probably named after Marcus Claudius Marcellus, a Roman general, by a clerk interested in the Classics. The Marcellus Fo ...

, to Joseph and Ermina Dodge Platt. She graduated in 1853 from the Troy Female Seminary (later known as the Emma Willard School) in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

. She married Simeon H. Smith in 1855 of Chicago. Smith spent four years in Germany while her sons attended school. During that time, she completed a degree in geology at the School of Mines, Freiburg, Saxony. Smith accumulated a private collection of geological specimens, one of the largest for its time in the United States. After her death this collection was inherited by her sons.

Career

In 1876, Smith founded the Aesthetic Society of Jersey City, a

women's club The woman's club movement was a social movement that took place throughout the United States that established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While women's organizations had always been a par ...

which grew to over 500 members. They met to discuss topics in science, literature and art, first at her home at 203 Pacific Avenue and later at the Lafayette

Reformed Church Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark. Smith served as president of the women's club from 1879 to 1886, and often lectured at their monthly receptions. She is frequently referred to in ''Echoes of the Aesthetic Society of Jersey City'', a collection of poems and essays from meetings of the society. Following her death, the society established an award in her honor and published a small souvenir collection with some of her poems and essays as well as memorial tributes, ''In memoriam Mrs. Erminnie A. Smith''. In addition to the Aesthetic Society of Jersey City, Smith was a member of the women's club

Sorosis Sorosis Club rules in 1869 Sorosis was the first professional women's club in the United States. It was established in March 1868 in New York City. History The club was organized in New York City with 12 members in March 1868, by Jane Cunningham ...

. By 1880, when she was recruited by the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, Smith was an expert on the

Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...

in the United States and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, which included the Cayuga,

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida Na ...

Onondaga Onondaga may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Onondaga people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois League * Onondaga (village), Onondaga settlement and traditional Iroquois capita ...

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

and

Tuscarora people The Tuscarora (in Tuscarora ''Skarù:ręˀ'', "hemp gatherers" or "Shirt-Wearing People") are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government of the Iroquoian family, with members today in New York, USA, and Ontario, Canada. They c ...

. As part of her work for the Smithsonian, she published reports on Iroquois language and customs including ''Myths of the Iroquois'' (1883). Smith transcribed and classified over 15,000 words in Iroquois dialects. She was adopted into the

Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following: First nations and Native American people and culture * Tuscarora people **''Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960) * Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people * ...

tribe in Canada and named Ka-tei-tei-sta-kwast (beautiful flower). The Iroquois-English dictionary she prepared was published following her death. Smith was a member of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

and served as secretary of its geology and geography section in 1885. Smith became the first woman elected to the

, on November 5, 1877. She was also a member of The Women's Anthropological Society of America, to which she presented "Reminiscences of Life among the Iroquois Indians in the Province of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

" and of the Historical Society of New York. Smith's other memberships included the London Scientific Society and the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia. Erminnie Smith died at home in Jersey City, New Jersey on June 9, 1886. Following a service at the Lafayette Reformed Church, she was buried in New York Bay Cemetery.

Works

* '' Myths of the Iroquois'', 1883.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Erminnie A. 1836 births 1886 deaths American anthropologists American folklorists American women folklorists American women anthropologists Place of birth missing 19th-century American women scientists Emma Willard School alumni

Early Life and Education

Career

Works

See also

References