Mary Smith was the wife of the Rev. Jacob Henry Smith (1820-1897), pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro from 1859 until his death on November 22, 1897.
The Smiths were married in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1857, and came to Greensboro in 1859 with three children. Mary ultimately presided as the matriarch of a large family of nine children, seven of whom lived into adulthood:
- Mary Lynn “Mollie” Smith (1857-1940)
- Henry Louis “Harry” Smith (1859-1951)
- Egbert Watson Smith (1862-1944)
- Charles Alphonso Smith (1864-1924)
- Hay Watson Smith (1868-1940)
- Margaret Virginia Smith (1869-1927)
- Norris Kelly Smith (1875-1882)
Even with all the family activity, she found time to keep a diary. The family believes that she kept a diary all of her adult life, but the Greensboro History Museum Archives holds only the thirty volumes spanning the years 1904 to 1923:
It is thought that earlier volumes may have vanished in an attic fire around 1900.
Mrs. Smith’s diary constitutes a detailed social commentary of Greensboro during the period, from the perspective of a long-time resident, mother and grandmother, and minister’s wife. She was an astute observer of events and trends in the growth and development of Greensboro and she provides interesting comments on downtown development, growth of the city, medical conditions, the Women’s College, as well as the weather and her gardens. Of no surprise is the fact that a large part of the diaries are devoted to people and events relating to First Presbyterian Church. The portions of the diaries relating to the church were not extracted here, because it was felt that anyone interested in the church would need to read through all the diaries.
Mrs. Smith’s family, children and grandchildren, also figure heavily in the diaries, as one would expect. They were a very close family and maintained close contact, both in correspondence and in visits with their Mother, and grandmother, in the course of their travels. Interesting, too, are her descriptions of family visits and of holiday celebrations.
