Asbury Theological Seminary ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange Finding Aids Special Collections 2012 Hannah Whitall Smith ARC1983 -002 - Finding Aid Hannah Whitall Smith Follow this and additional works at: http://place.asburyseminary.edu/findingaids Recommended Citation Smith, Hannah Whitall, "Hannah Whitall Smith ARC1983 -002 - Finding Aid" (2012). Finding Aids. Book 49. http://place.asburyseminary.edu/findingaids/49 This Finding Aid is brought to you for free and open access by the Special Collections at ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Finding Aids by an authorized administrator of ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Asbury Theological Seminary Information Services Special Collections Papers of Hannah Whitall Smith ARC1983 -002 Asbury Theological Seminary Information Services Special Collections Papers of Hannah Whitall Smith ARC1983 -002 Introduction The Hannah Whitall Smith Papers (1847-1960) include personal materials that relate to Hannah Whitall Smith’s career as an evangelist, author, feminist, and temperance reformer. The Papers cover especially her adult years, from 1850 until her death in 1911. Her family has added a few pieces to the collection throughout the years following her death. The papers are composed of correspondence sent to Hannah W. Smith; subject files, including a large section of clippings, pamphlets, books, and broadsides about fanaticisms of her day, which she herself collected; literary productions, including her journal (1849-1880); printed materials; and photographic materials. The Special Collections Department of the B.L. Fisher Library received the Hannah Whitall Smith Papers collection, which contains 4.8 cubic feet of manuscript materials, in 1983 from Barbara M. Halpern of Oxford, England. Sixteen volumes of literary productions and other books also accompany this collection. Content The Hannah Whitall Smith Papers span the years 1847-1960, with the bulk of the materials covering HWS’s adult years, 1850-1911, the year she died. Family members added some pieces to the collection following her death. The collection has 1.2 cubic feet of letters written to HWS during the years 1858-1911. These letters cover many topics, such as temperance, suffrage, speaking engagements, and questions/comments regarding her books and acquaintances. Some of her major correspondents include Susan B. Anthony; Arthur Booth-Clibborn; Margaret Bottome; Edward Clifford; Abby Folwell; Friends Yearly Meeting of Richmond, Indiana; Emelia R. Gurney; Mary E. Harte; Andrew Jukes; Man Moller; Lady Mount Temple; Lady Henry Somerset; Basil Wilberforce; and Frances Willard. Other correspondents with one or two pieces written by them include William James, Mr. and Mrs. George MacDonald, Anna Shipley, Amy Hudson Taylor, Walt Whitman, and Mrs. Oscar Wilde. HWS also possessed some letters written among other people that were passed on to her because of the topic discussed or the persons mentioned within them. This is also true of some letters that are addressed to various family members but remained in her personal papers. A small folder contains copies of letters HWS wrote to her family members or acquaintances. Included is a photocopy of a notebook in which are copies of letters she wrote to her family members telling them of her trip to England in 1874. Originals of these personal letters are still held by her family members; hopefully these will be added to the HWS collection at a future time. The subject files cover such topics as home remedies, women preachers, women’s suffrage, organizations she supported or participated in, and contemporaries. Particularly notable about this series are the excerpts of Bertrand Russell’s diary (1890-1894) and various materials she collected from her involvements in the British, National, and World Women’s Temperance Associations and the Society of Friends. Perhaps the most significant of her collected materials are her files on the “fanaticisms” of her day, with topics arranged alphabetically. They include many news clippings, both from American and British newspapers; pamphlets; books; and broadsides. Over seventy “fanaticisms” are included, those most deeply researched being Abode of Love (J.H. Smith- Pigot), Brotherhood of the New Life (Thomas Lake Harris), Christian Science (Mary Baker Eddy), Dowism (John Alexander Dowie), Koreshans (J.R. Teed), Order of the Golden Dawn (Theodore and Laura Horos), Theosophy, and Tongues (A.A. Boddy, Arthur T. Pierson, J. Wesley Baker, and Mrs. Penn-Lewis). Also mentioned are the Christian Alliance (A.B. Simpson) and Pentecostal Dancers (Seth Rees, Bud Robinson, and E.L. Harvey). This section would be particularly helpful in researching any of the cults which were prominent in the late 1880’s and early 1900’s. Literary productions include her journal (1849-1880), which is a personal and spiritual autobiography written in a confidential style. Also on file is information showing that, in later years, HWS made an attempt to locate all the materials she had written in her early years. The earliest written material in this collection is an autobiography she began in 1847, a few years before her marriage to Robert Pearsall Smith. The HWS collection includes twelve published books, including her annotated Bible. These literary productions are good examples of HWS’s varied writing styles. Family items regarding her sons Logan and Frank, herself, and her friends Lady Mount Temple and Frances Willard are of particular interest in the scrapbook material on file. Also included are literary notices about some of her own books, as well as a book written by her son Logan. This series helps to give insights into her involvements with her friends and children. Some of the items were added to the collection after her death. In the printed materials section are articles written by Frances Willard, books written by family members and about the Smith family, clippings about acquaintances, and several newspapers and periodicals which were prominent papers of her day (“The Apostolic Faith,” “The Life of Faith,” “Cleansing by Water,” “Confidence,” “Fragments of Flame,” “The New Acts,” “Times of Refreshing,” and “Triumphs of Faith”). The photographic series documents well portray the adult life of HWS and Robert Smith. There are photographs from her marriage year (1851) to the year before her death (1910). Included is a scrapbook which particularly documents the couple’s trip in 1875 to Europe for evangelistic meetings, the Broadlands Conference, and some of their acquaintances. There are thirty-five individual photographs portraying HWS, Robert, and their children, as well as some friends, including Frances Willard. Also included are some photographs of specific pieces within the collection (periodicals, broadsides, and literary productions). Of possible further interest to the researcher are the Robert Pearsall Smith Papers (.4 cubic feet) and Ray Strachey Papers (.4 cubic feet), both of which are also located in the Special Collections Department of the B.L. Fisher Library. The Hannah Whitall Smith Papers are available for viewing. Permission must be secured from Archivist Grace Yoder for any research or publication of the materials. Biographical Sketch Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911) a religious author, Bible teacher, feminist, and temperance reformer, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the eldest of five children born to staunch Quakers, John Mickle and Mary Tatum Whitall. She was educated in strict Quaker discipline in the Friends schools of Philadelphia. The deep spiritual piety of her home life undoubtedly contributed to her inquisitive interest from adolescence in religious truth. On June 25, 1851, at the age of nineteen, she was married to Robert Pearsall Smith, the son of John Jay and Rachel Pearsall Smith, birthright Quakers of Philadelphia. Seven children were born to Hannah and Robert; only three lived to adulthood. Robert, like his father, was engaged in a publishing venture. He became a map publisher of some repute. However, the publishing business was not particularly profitable, and Robert eventually joined the Whitall-Tatum firm. Much of what Hannah and Robert were able to do throughout their lives was possible because of the family business, which allowed them to move about with minimal financial concern. In 1865, Robert became the resident manager of the Whitall-Tatum glass factories in Millville, New Jersey. Here, Robert and Hannah became influenced by a group of Methodist employees who introduced them to the Methodist doctrines of entire sanctification and the Spirit-filled life. Following their new spiritual experiences growing in the summer camp meetings where they cooperated with leaders of the deeper-life movements in non-Methodist traditions. In 1873, Robert Smith, whose fame was a lay preacher had crossed the Atlantic, traveled to England, where he conducted a series of religious meetings. Hannah joined him in 1874, and the two became deeply involved in the Higher Life movement, which swept over England and onto the Continent from 1873 to 1875. In a series of revivalistic “holiness” conferences, designed primarily for the aristocracy and upper class of English society, the Smiths became almost immediately the most influential leaders of the Higher Life movement. In Broadlands, Oxford, and Brighton, Hannah’s Bible readings proved especially popular. However, this phase of their