Twenty new diaries belonging to Mrs. Mary Kelly Watson Smith (c. 1831-1924) are now available in conjunction with Greensboro History Museum. Mrs. Smith was married to Reverend Jacob Henry Smith (1820-1897), the pastor of Greensboro’s First Presbyterian Church for over forty years. The couple were married in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1857 before moving to Greensboro two years later. Mrs. Smith eventually had nine children, seven of whom lived into adulthood. The Smith family were active secessionists and supported the Confederacy during the Civil War. Her diaries reflect the experience and perspective of a matriarch at the time, recording Mrs. Smith’s involvement in church services, rotary clubs, and memorials for both O. Henry and Confederate soldiers.

These diaries record the last decade of Mary Smith’s life, from 1911 to her falling ill in 1923. They detail the sinking of the Titanic, Greensboro’s “building boom,” and the entirety of the first world war. Mary Smith includes various newspaper clippings (both national and local) alongside clippings from sermon books and hymnals.

Mary Smith’s diaries provide an essential insight into Greensboro’s political, social, and religious spheres during a period of great upheaval. Anyone interested in Greensboro, the First Presbyterian Church, or the beginning of the 20th century is sure to find these diaries interesting. You can read the new diaries on our website here. When you’re done with that, read more about Mary Kelly Watson Smith on the Greensboro History Museum’s website and view other materials from the museum here.

Ten new diaries belonging to Mrs. Mary Kelly Watson Smith (c. 1831-1924) have been added to our site, thanks to our partners at Greensboro History Museum. Mary Smith was married to Reverend Jacob Henry Smith (1820-1897), who was the pastor of Greensboro’s First Presbyterian Church for over forty years. Rev. Smith was a popular preacher who greatly expanded the church’s membership during his tenure. The Smiths moved from Charlottesville to Greensboro, where they settled permanently and raised a large family of seven children. Possibly due to an attic fire in 1900, only the diaries from the latter years of her life survive, and they reflect the perspective of an experienced matriarch and active member of the greater Greensboro community.

The newly uploaded diaries, which cover the years 1904-1911, are concerned mainly with church events, local news, and the social landscape of Greensboro in the early twentieth century. She also delves into her personal and family life, as well as national politics and major figures of the era. The Smiths were active secessionists and Confederate supporters who enslaved people before Emancipation. Mary Smith repeatedly refers to “The Lost Cause” of the Confederacy with reverent nostalgia, and in 1911 describes a visit from Jim Henry, who was formerly enslaved by the Smith family.

These diaries are a valuable resource for anyone interested in early twentieth-century Greensboro, the First Presbyterian Church, or Southern history. Read more about Mary Kelly Watson Smith on the Greensboro History Museum website and view other materials from the Museum here.