![]() ![]() Archival records indicate that he guided Sophia Smith to face up to the responsibilities inherent in her wealth, beginning on the spring day in 1861 when she came to him in distress asking for his advice. She underwent several operations to correct the problem, but these were all unsuccessful.ĭeeply religious, Sophia turned to her pastor, John Morton Greene, who is regarded by many as the father of the idea of founding Smith College. Even the use of an ear trumpet did not counter the growing isolation that her hearing loss engendered in the years to follow. She never married and rarely ventured far from home, especially after she lost her hearing at age 40. He argued at town meetings against the extravagance of public education and was said to pay board to his sisters to manage the household – and then charged them a shilling for a ride in the family carriage. In Hatfield, Austin Smith was reputed to be a miser devoid of community spirit. ![]() After his death, his son Austin shrewdly invested his inheritance in the New York stock market and often traveled there to watch the Smith assets grow. ![]() Sophia’s father Joseph was both prosperous and frugal. After this she was a pupil for a time in what was later known as the Hopkins Academy in Hadley. Besides the schools in Hatfield, she attended a school in Hartford, Connecticut for twelve weeks when she was fourteen years old. While many girls of her era were given a meager formal education, Sophia appears to have had more educational advantages than most and demonstrated a keen thirst for knowledge. ![]() Sophia lived with her sister Harriet and brother Austin at the family homestead, which still stands at 22 Main Street in Hatfield. Of the seven Smith offspring, three died young and only Joseph Jr. Born on Augin Hatfield, Massachusetts, Sophia Smith was the fourth of seven children – and the first daughter – of prosperous farmers Joseph Smith and Lois White Smith. ![]()
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