Smith, Hannah Whitall, 1832-1911

Religious leader and author.

Hannah Whitall Smith preached and wrote on religious subjects and became involved in the temperance and suffrage movements. When her daughter Mary married English barrister Frank Costelloe in 1888, Hannah, her husband Robert and their children, Alys and Logan, joined Mary in England. Alys married philosopher Bertrand Russell and worked for women's rights as well as other political issues. When Mary's marriage failed soon after the birth of their second daughter Karin, she left England to tour the museums and cathedrals of Europe with her future husband, art critic Bernard Berenson. Her older daughter Ray dedicated herself to women's issues, while Karin became a pioneer in Freudian psychoanalysis and one of Britain's first psychoanalysts. Ray married into the Strachey family and Karin wed Virginia Woolf's brother Adrian Stephen.

From the description of Papers, 1817-1987. (Indiana University). WorldCat record id: 27155573

H.W.S. was an American Quaker philanthropist and author of many tracts and books about holiness and other religious subjects.

Born in 1832, she married Robert Pearsall Smith in 1851, and subsequently had several children. In 1858 she was converted to Christianity, but in 1867 underwent a deeper spiritual life experience. She and her husband taught Bible classes and undertook many religious projects in Philadelphia. In 1873-1874 Hannah and Robert held a series of religious meetings in England, and in 1888 they moved to London to continue their religious work there.

From the description of Papers, 1847-1928. (Asbury Theological Seminary). WorldCat record id: 12689860

Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911), American evangelist, writer, and reformer, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She grew up in a strict Quaker home and from childhood had a passion for religion and introspection. Hannah married Robert Pearsall Smith (1827-1899) in 1851 and settled in Germantown, Pennsylvania. In 1864 they moved to Millville, New Jersey, where they joined the Wesleyan-based Holiness movement. They had two daughters, Mary (1864-1945) and Alys (1867-1951), and one son, Logan Pearsall (1865-1946). In the late 1860's Hannah began preaching and writing on religious subjects, and later became involved in the temperance and suffrage movements, founding the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in 1874. When Mary married English barrister Frank Costelloe in 1888, the family moved to England where Hannah continued her work. It was there that Alys married philosopher Bertrand Russell. Alys joined her mother in working for women's rights and had a keen interest in political issues.

Meanwhile Mary's marriage to Frank Costelloe failed soon after the birth of their second daughter Karin. Mary left England to tour the museums and cathedrals of Europe with her future husband, art critic Bernard Berenson. Mary's daughters Ray and Karin stayed in England with their father and thrived under the influence of their grandmother Hannah. Ray became the third generation of "Whitall" women to devote her life to women's issues, while Karin became a pioneer in Freudian psychoanalysis and one of Britain's first psychoanalysts. The circle of friends and relatives broadened further when Ray married into the Strachey family and Karin wed Virginia Woolf's brother Adrian Stephen.

From the guide to the Smith, H.W. mss., 1817-1987, (Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington) http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly)