Mary Helen Hall was one of three children of Charles Mason and Elizabeth A. (Peaslee) Hall. Her father was a lawyer in Chatham Four Corners (now Chatham Village), New York and served for one year as a United States Commissioner in New York City. Mary Helen Hall married John Jewell Smith in 1884. John Jewell Smith first worked in the Treasurer's office of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. In 1859, with his brother-in-law, William C. Baker, he formed the firm of Baker, Smith and Company, a steam heating firm in New York City. The Company grew so rapidly that John Jewell Smith soon m moved to New York City. He eventually became president of the Company and remained so until his death in 1901. John Jewell Smith was also active in St. Timothy's Church (later Church of Zion and St. Timothy) and the Seamen's Mission. For further information on Mary Helen Hall Smith and John Jewell Smith, see Opening Vistas in Workers' Education by Hilda Worthington Smith in the Schlesinger Library printed book collection.
Hilda "Jane" Worthington Smith, labor educator, was born June 19, 1888, in New York City, first of three children of John Jewell and Mary Helen (Hall) Smith. The Smith family spent its summers in West Park, New York, where Hilda Worthington Smith was to found two resident workers' schools in the 1930s. The rest of the year was spent in their home near Central Park where Hilda Worthington Smith, her sister Helen Hall Smith (1892-1971), and brother Jewell Kellogg Smith (1890-1956) created an imaginary world described in her 1934 essay, "A Post Office in Fairyland."
Helen Hall Smith (1892-1971), sister of Hilda Worthington Smith, was in poor health during most of her childhood and adolescence. In 1917 she began working at the Spring Street Settlement (New York City) and Varick House, one of the early experiments in housing for women workers. Through an apprenticeship with the New York State Charities Aid, she was able to advance in the field of social work without a college degree. Most of her life was dedicated to helping dependent and neglected children. For a more complete biography of Helen Hall Smith see Helen Hall Smith: Her Book (#56v).
