Luella Dowd Smith (, Dowd; June 16, 1847 – July 4, 1941) was an American educator and author of prose and verse. She was active in social reform movements of the day. Smith taught school for ten years and was the principal of three high schools and one academy. She was also active in the areas of temperance, Sunday school, prohibition, and equal suffrage. Smith wrote for the National Temperance Society. She was the author of ''Wayside Leaves'', 1879; ''Wind Flowers'', 1887; ''Flowers from Foreign Fields'', 1895; ''The Value of the Church'', 1898; ''Thirteen Temperance Theses and Two Trilogies'', 1901; as well as ''Ways to win'', 1904; ''Daily ideas and ideals'', 1930; and ''Along the way; poems'', 1938.
Early life and education
Jane Luella Dowd was born in
Sheffield, Massachusetts
Sheffield is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,327 at the 2020 census. Sheffield is home to Berkshire School, a private prepa ...
, June 16, 1847. The eldest of the four children, her parents were Almeron and Emily (Curtiss) Dowd. At the age of two, the family removed to
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
, where they remained nine years. Her parents were teachers, and she was educated by them at home and in the schools which they conducted.
On their return to
, when Smith was eleven years old, her education was continued in the
South Egremont Academy, where she afterward taught, in the High and Normal Schools of
Westfield (1866), and in Charles F. Dowd's Seminary, later known as Temple Grove Seminary, of
Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...
. From this last institution she graduated in 1868 with the highest honor.
Career
Smith taught school for several years, beside giving private lessons. She also carried on
Sunday school
A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West.
Su ...
,
temperance
Temperance may refer to:
Moderation
*Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed
*Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion
Culture
*Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
, and
equal suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
work.
On May 18, 1875, she married Henry Hadley Smith, M. D. They lived in Sheffield until 1884, when they went to Europe. After returning to the United States, they settled in
Hudson, New York
Hudson is a city and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. Located on the east side of the Hudson River and 120 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, it was named for the rive ...
, where Dr. Smith practiced medicine.
Smith's literary work dates from her youth. She wrote much, in both prose and verse, and she contributed to many magazines and periodicals. In 1879, she collected some of her productions and published them in a volume entitled ''Wayside Leaves'' (
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
). In 1887, she brought out a second volume, ''Wind Flowers'' (
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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). Her subsequent productions included ''Flowers from Foreign Fields'', 1895; ''The Value of the Church'', 1898; and ''Thirteen Temperance Theses and Two Trilogies'', 1901. In 1938, with her sister,
Alice Mary Dowd
Alice Mary Dowd (pen name, Alice M. Dowd; December 16, 1855 – July 2, 1943) was an American educator and author. She was born in West Virginia in 1855 and began teaching at the age of seventeen. Dowd taught for more than three decades before ret ...
, she co-authored a book of verses, ''Along the Way''.
Death
Jane Luella Dowd Smith died in Hudson, New York, July 4, 1941.
Selected works
* ''Wayside Leaves'', 1879
* ''Wind Flowers'', 1887
* ''Flowers from Foreign Fields'', 1895
* ''The Value of the Church'', 1898
* ''Thirteen Temperance Theses and Two Trilogies'', 1901
* ''Ways to win'', 1904
* ''Daily ideas and ideals'', 1930
* ''Along the way; poems'', 1938
References
Attribution
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Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Luella Dowd
1847 births
1941 deaths
19th-century American writers
19th-century American women writers
20th-century American writers
20th-century American women writers
People from Sheffield, Massachusetts
Educators from Massachusetts
American women educators
Writers from Massachusetts
American suffragists
American temperance activists
Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century