Margaret Bayard Smith (20 February 1778 – 7 June 1844) was an American author and political commentator in the early Republic of the United States, a time when women generally lived within strict gender roles. Her writings and relationships shaped both politics and society in the capital of early Washington, DC. Her literary reputation is based primarily on a collection of her letters and notebooks written from 1800 to 1841, and published posthumously in 1906 as ''The First Forty Years of Washington Society'', edited by Gaillard Hunt. Smith began writing books in the 1820s: a two-volume novel in 1824 called ''A Winter in Washington, or Memoirs of the Seymour Family,'' and ''What is Gentility?'' (1825). She also wrote several biographical profiles, including one of her close friend

Dolley Madison Dolley Todd Madison (née Payne; May 20, 1768 – July 12, 1849) was the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She was noted for holding Washington social functions in which she invited members of bo ...

for the ''National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans'', published in 1836.''

Early life

Margaret Bayard was born on 20 February 1778 in rural

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, the seventh of eight children born to Colonel

John Bubenheim Bayard John Bubenheim Bayard (11 August 1738 – 7 January 1807) was a merchant, soldier, and statesman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He achieved the rank of colonel while serving with the Continental Army, and was a delegate for Pennsylvania t ...

(1738–1807) and the former Margaret Hodge (1740–1780). At the time of her birth during the Revolutionary War, her father was serving with

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

Valley Forge Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the B ...

. One of her first cousins was Rev.

Charles Hodge Charles Hodge (December 27, 1797 – June 19, 1878) was a Reformed Presbyterian theologian and principal of Princeton Theological Seminary between 1851 and 1878. He was a leading exponent of the Princeton Theology, an orthodox Calvinist theol ...

(1797–1878). Her mother died in 1780, when Margaret was a toddler. Her father remarried to Mary (née Grant) Hodgson (d. 1785), a widow of John Hodgson of South Carolina. She died in 1785. John Bayard married again to Johannah White (d. 1834), sister of General

Anthony Walton White Anthony Walton White (July 7, 1750 – February 10, 1803) was a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War who had previously served as an aide-de-camp to General George Washington. Early life He was born o ...

(1750–1803). Margaret Bayard was educated at a Moravian boarding school in

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

. She later "read widely in the classics, sciences, and literature while living with a married sister in

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. riginal source: ''The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 1, 4 March 1809 to 15 November 1809,'' ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004, pp. 8–10./ref> Their father and stepmother had also settled in New Brunswick; he was elected as mayor in 1790. Her father's twin brother, Dr. James Asheton Bayard (1738–1770), married her mother's sister, Ann Hodge. They had three children together, but both parents died when the children were young. The three orphans were raised by John and Margaret Bayard, and were part of their large household. One was James A. Bayard. He later became a lawyer and politician.

Marriage and family

At age 22, Margaret Bayard married

Samuel Harrison Smith Samuel Harrison Smith (13 March 1808 – 30 July 1844) was a younger brother of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Samuel was a leader in his own right and a successful missionary. Smith is commonly regarded as the first Latt ...

(1772–1845), her second cousin, on 29 September 1800. That year they moved to Washington, DC, the new capital where the government had relocated. Soon after the birth of their first child in 1801, the family bought a farm, Turkey Thicket, three miles from town (land that is now part of

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univ ...

). They renamed the farm Sidney. Together, they were the parents of: * Julia Harrison Smith (b. 1801) * Susan Harrison Smith (b. 1804) * Jonathan Bayard Harrison Smith (1810–1889). He became a lawyer in the capital and married Henrietta Elizabeth Henley in 1842, daughter of Com. John Dandridge Henley. * Anna Maria Harrison Smith (b. 1811)

Career

Samuel Smith was already a well-known editor and publisher who befriended

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

when they both acted as officers of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

, based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania when it served as the temporary capital. After moving to Washington in 1800, Margaret Smith and her husband became quickly part of the political and social elite, a political power couple. Samuel Smith established the first newspaper in Washington City, the '' Daily Intelligencer.'' When Jefferson took office as president, his administration awarded Smith a government contract to print the House of Representatives' ''Journal.'' Margaret Smith's ability to write about her observations made her an ideal partner for her husband. She often wrote for the ''Intelligencer'' and other publications, most often anonymously, but sometimes under her own name. As a woman, her role in the new republic was expected to be exclusively domestic. Margaret Smith used this expectation to her advantage by quickly immersing herself in Washington life: befriending local families and politicians, and strengthening her relationships with previous acquaintances.

Doris Kearns Goodwin Doris Helen Kearns Goodwin (born January 4, 1943) is an American biographer, historian, former sports journalist, and political commentator. She has written biographies of several U.S. presidents, including ''Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream ...

's history of Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet showed how important women were to political life in Washington. Most notably, the Smith couple became frequent guests at the Jefferson White House. Margaret Smith used her nearly unlimited access to political figures and inside knowledge of Washington to become an authority on Washington politics and the shaping of the new republic. She wrote numerous letters to her sisters, and sisters-in-law, which are considered insightful about the political landscape of Washington. Her letters were the first step in establishing herself as a legitimate political thinker. The information in her letters was later published in the ''Richmond Enquirer'' and finally collected in a 1906 memoir under her name, which was edited and published posthumously. It was more a political and social exploration of Washington than a description of her own life.Smith, Margaret Bayard. ''The First Forty Years of Washington Society'', ed. Hunt, Gailliard. New York: Scribner, 1906, page 10 Her skill and enduring legacy is expressed in her writings on presidents Thomas Jefferson and on

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

in the summer of 1809, during the first year of his presidency. She was aware of the state of the nation and understood that the citizenry was in need of reassurance regarding the president's leadership. Her commentary during her summer trip firmly established Jefferson's legacy as president, as well as shaping his image as "the Sage of Monticello." While visiting Montpelier, the Virginia home of James and

, Smith keenly observed Dolley's hospitality and her political performance as the wife of the President. The ease of Dolley's entertaining became her trademark, and Smith wrote about it in great detail. Margaret Bayard Smith reassured the public through her writings that the government was in good hands. She accomplished this at a time when most women were confined to more domestic roles.

Death

Margaret Bayard Smith died on 7 June 1844.

Descendants

Through her son, MB Smith was the grandmother of John Henley Smith (c. 1844–1907), who married Rebecca Young; Samuel Harrison Smith, who married Alive Hall; and Bayard Thornton Smith (b. 1857), who married Eleanor J. Hyde (d. 1929) (the daughter of George Hyde (1819–1890), an early settler elected in 1882 as the

Alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...

of San Francisco).

References

;Notes ;Sources * Mayo, Lida. "Smith, Margaret Bayard", ''Notable American Women.'' Vol. 3, 4th ed.,

The Belknap Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

, 1975 {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Margaret Bayard 1778 births 1844 deaths Bayard family American women writers 19th-century American women writers