Bixby Smith, Sarah, 1871-1935

Sarah Hathaway Bixby Smith was born in San Justo Ranch near San Juan Bautista, CA, Aug. 1871; BS, Wellesley College; a writer, her works include, My sagebrush garden (1924), Adobe days (1925, 1926, and 1931), Pasear (1926), Poems for americanization classes (1929), and Wind upon my face (1930); was married to Paul Jordon Smith; member Claremont School Board and Trustee at Scripps College; died Sept. 13, 1935 in Long Beach, CA.

Biography

Sarah Hathaway Bixby Smith was born to Lewellyn Bixby and Mary Hathaway Bixby in August 1871, in San Justo Ranch near San Juan Bautista, California. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College in 1894 and was an advocate for women's independence and higher education. She was married twice, first to Arthur Maxson Smith in 1896, and then in 1916 to Paul Jordan Smith, whom she later divorced. From both marriages combined she had five children: Maxson, Bradford, Rodger, Janet, and Lewellyn. Her works include: A Little Girl of Old California (ca.1920), My Sage-brush Garden (1924), Adobe Days (1925), Pasear; a second book of California verse (1926), Wind Upon my Face (1930), Milestones in Los Angeles: being a brief narrative of Los Angeles through five decades (ca. 1933) and The Bending Tree (1933). She was the vice president of the America Association of University Women, as well as the president of the Friday Morning Club. She was also a trustee of Scripps College and a member of the Claremont School Board. In the early 1930s she was a delegate to the Pacific Relations Conference in Shanghai. She died in 1935 at the age of 64. At the time of her death she was in the process of writing another book on the history of southern California.