Mary (Richardson) Whitmore Smith (1902)
RICHARDSON, SMITH, STEELE, WHITMORE
Posted By: Pat Hochstetler
Date: 10/19/2009 at 08:10:45
The Winterset Madisonian
Winterset, Iowa
Wednesday, July 17, 1902Page 5
County and City
Mrs. E. D. Smith died at her home the 15th inst. She was the mother of Mrs. J. P. Steele. The particulars of her life or last sickness have not been furnished to us.
_________________________The Winterset Madisonian
Winterset, Iowa
Wednesday, July 31, 1902
Page 1Obituary
Mrs. Mary W. Smith died Tuesday noon July 15th, 1902 at her home on Court Avenue, Winterset, Iowa. She had been a great sufferer for years and during the last year of her life it was intense, but so patient and uncomplaining that only her close attendants realized her sufferings. The deceased was born in Fletcher, Vermont, Dec. 23, 1828 and was one of a family of eight children born to William H. and Mary (Strait) Richardson; she was given the maternal name, Mary.
Her ancestors were sturdy New England people, from whom she inherited qualities of heart and mind that enabled her to bear life’s joys and sorrows, calmly and serenely to its close. The Richardson family removed from Vermont to the west in 1838, traveling overland and remaining one year in White Pigeon, Michigan, thence to Kankakee county, Illinois, where they established a home, which is still occupied by a Richardson of the third generation.
She received her early education at the Sisters’ Convent in Chicago, and was married in that city October 23, 1853 to Achley H. Whitmore, who died December 20, 1863 and was interred in Groveland cemetery, Chicago. To them was born one child, Clara L., now the wife of J. P. Steele, Winterset, Iowa. After the husband’s death she remained four years in Chicago, having spent almost a quarter of a century in the city and was always interested in its history. She was married October 1868 to E. D. Smith, and removed to DeSoto, Iowa to reside.
Mrs. Smith removed to Winterset about 1874, where she spent the remainder of her life. She united with the Presbyterian church in 1870 and her daily life and conversation showed that she lived and practiced, as she understood them, the precepts of the blessed Savior.
Mrs. Smith’s life was a remarkable one in many respects, having experienced pioneer life in Illinois, where necessities were luxuries, she fully appreciated modern civilization and its comforts. A strong trait in her character was the lively and intelligent interest she had in the world’s events, especially with reference to the achievements of great men and women. Within three days of her death, suffering intensely and fully realizing that her days were nearly numbered, she wanted the news of the day read to her saying, “I do not want to lose my interest in life while I am here.” She had traveled extensively through the United States and Canada and was greatly interested in educational work.
She was an unselfish woman, with a loyal heart, and for those she loved there was no sacrifice she would not make. The suffering and distressed always received her sympathy, expressed in the tenderest way. She was a woman of few words, every thought expressed seemed to have been weighed and considered in all its bearings and then expressed in the simplest and most chaste language, the writer never knew her to make a reckless or unguarded statement.
The funeral services were at her home conducted by Rev. Henry Wallace, a friend whom she greatly admired, and on July 16th while the sun was sinking beneath the horizon her body was laid to rest in the Winterset cemetery, there to await the Resurrection Morn. Then closed a pure and beautiful life, that is an example for all, and a source of comfort and inspiration for her children and those of kindred ties.
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Madison Obituaries maintained by Linda Griffith Smith.
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