Judith Winsor Smith Papers 1796-1945; bulk: 1860-1925 Guide to the Collection

Table of Contents Collection Summary Biographical Sketches Collection Description Related Materials Acquisition Information Organization of the Collection Detailed Description of the Collection Preferred Citation Access Terms Materials Removed

Collection Summary

Biographical Sketches

Judith Winsor (McLauthlin) Smith was born in Marshfield, Mass., on November 26, 1821. Her parents, Lewis McLauthlin and Polly (Hathaway) McLauthlin, were descendents of Mayflower passengers. In 1842, Judith married Silvanus Smith, a shipbuilder in East Boston. His parents, Zilpah (Drew) Smith and Jonathan Smith, were also Mayflower descendants. During the early years of their marriage, Judith and Silvanus lived in Duxbury, Mass., and later they moved to Jamaica Plain. Together they had six children: Sidney (b. 1846), Frances (1849-1916), Zilpha (1852-1926), Mary (1855-1908), Erasmus (b. 1858), and Jennie (b. 1865).

During her lifetime, Judith Winsor Smith was involved in numerous social and political organizations and causes. She was an abolitionist, a member of the Standing Committee of Theodore Parker's 28th Congregational Society, a founder and the first president of the Home Club of East Boston (the second women's club in Massachusetts), and an officer in state and national women's suffrage associations. Smith remained active in the suffrage movement until the nineteenth amendment was passed in 1920.

At least two of the Smith's children, Zilpha and Frances, were also involved with social causes. Zilpha Drew Smith, social worker and educator, was involved in many aspects of social welfare in Boston from 1872-1918. She served as the head registrar and general secretary of the Associated Charities, a city-wide network of charity organizations, from its founding in 1879 to 1903. She was also active in the National Conference of Charities and Correction. In 1888, Smith, along with Charles W. Birtwell, formed the Monday Evening Club, a discussion group for social workers. In 1904, Smith became the assistant director of the Boston School for Social Workers (later the Simmons College School of Social Work).

Frances Smith was also a social worker and devoted much of her life to charitable organizations. She was the district secretary of the North Station District of the Associated Charities of Boston, a member of the Co-operative Society of Visitors, and editor of the first Directory of Boston Charitable and Beneficent Organizations.

Jennie Smith married a man with the last name of Merrick, and it is likely that the papers were handed down through this part of the family.

Collection Description

The Judith Winsor Smith papers consist of 8 boxes and 4 volumes that span the years 1796-1945, with the bulk between 1860 and 1925. Materials in the collection include the personal papers of Smith, a social reformer and pioneer in the women's suffrage movement, as well as personal papers of her daughter Zilpha Drew Smith and other Smith family members.

The majority of the collection consists of Judith Winsor Smith's personal papers, including family correspondence, 1843-1921; diaries, 1860-1908; and miscellaneous writings, including notes on several speeches delivered between 1882 and 1921. The correspondence and diaries are primarily of a personal nature, although occasional letters and diary entries mention her involvement with the suffrage and anti-slavery movements. The collection also contains meeting minutes and other materials related to the Home Club of East Boston, an organization devoted to local social reform, 1879-1925. Smith founded the Club and served as its first president, 1875-1885.

The collection also includes materials related to Judith Winsor Smith's daughter Zilpha Drew Smith, including personal correspondence, 1895-1925, and letters sent to her family while she was traveling in Europe in 1895. Zilpha's diary, kept in 1926, includes brief, scattered entries noting daily activities and social engagements.

Other Smith family papers include personal correspondence between various other members of the Smith family, including Judith's husband Silvanus Smith, 1836; Judith's mother-in-law Zilpah (Drew) Smith, 1811-1837; and Judith's mother Polly (Hathaway) McLauthlin, 1860. The collection also includes Zilpah (Drew) Smith's memoranda books, 1812-1820, noting household expenses and wages paid to household workers; a diary kept by an anonymous Smith family woman describing travels in Europe, 1889; and an account book kept by Judith Winsor Smith's father-in-law Jonathan Smith, 1848-1855.

Biographical and genealogical materials include a photocopy of an undated Smith family history book. The book includes information about Silvanus and Judith Smith and their children, as well as copies of Smith family photographs and letters. Other biographical materials include newspaper clippings related to Judith's suffrage activities, 1900-1927, and memorials and obituaries written after her death in 1921. Also included are memorials and news clippings commemorating the life of Judith's daughters, Zilpha Drew Smith and Frances Smith. Genealogical materials include notes on Merrick family genealogy and Judith and Silvanus's family tree, 1924.

Most of the photographs of Judith Winsor Smith and members of the Smith family have been removed from the collection and are stored separately in the Massachusetts Historical Society Photo Archives, Photo. Coll. 161.

Related Materials

The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) holds the following collections related to the Judith Winsor Smith papers:

Judith Winsor Smith family photographs, ca. 1860-1921. Photo. Coll. 161. Finding aid available at: http://www.masshist.org/findingaids/doc.cfm?fa=fap031.

Acquisition Information

The Judith Winsor Smith papers were donated to the Massachusetts Historical Society by Jane Bartels, March 1987.

Additional correspondence between Judith Winsor Smith and Silvanus Smith, 18 Feb. 1844-1853 (located in Series I.A.), acquired by purchase, June 2010.

Organization of the Collection

The collection is organized into the following series:

Detailed Description of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Judith Winsor Smith papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.

Photographs Removed from the Collection

Photographs from this collection have been removed to the Judith Winsor Smith family photographs, ca. 1860-1921. Photo. Coll. 161.