Smith, Mary, 1842-1878

Family of artists; Philadelphia, Pa. area.

Russell Smith (1812-1896) was a native of Glasgow, Scotland whose family came to the United States in 1819 and settled near Pittsburgh. Russell Smith married Mary Priscilla Wilson, a flower painter and teacher of French and drawing, in 1838. Mary Priscilla Smith (1819-1874) studied at a female seminary in Germantown, Pennsylvania operated by noted educator William Russell (Russell Smith's uncle) in Germantown, Pennsylvania, and at Charles Picot's school in Philadelphia. After becoming a mother, she painted very little but taught her children, Xanthus and Mary, to draw and paint. Xanthus Smith (1839-1929) was born in Philadelphia. Mary Russell Smith (1842-1878) was born near Jenkintown, Pennsylvania.

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