Guide to the Margaret Anna Smith Papers
Open for research.
Margaret Anna Smith, the eldest of 10 children, was born to Reverend James N. and Elizabeth W. Smith in 1847 in Haysville, Ohio. The family moved to Portersville, Pennsylvania, and then to Berea, Kansas, where Margaret finished school and started teaching at the age of 17.
In 1872 Ms. Smith was appointed by the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church of North America as a missionary to Egypt. There she directed a girls' school in Haret es Sakkai and later the Fowler orphanage in Fom-el-Khalig. Her missionary work was both educational and evangelical in nature. After many years concentrated on work with Egyptian women and children Ms. Smith retired to the United States in 1931, where she died a year later.
This collection consists of a biographical sketch, photographs, and Ms. Smith's diary. The diary contains personal notes, lists of supply costs, and students' grades.
Diary available on microfilm: MFPOS 203.
Additional resources dealing with Ms. Smith's work:
Record Group 210, Andrew Watson Papers, 1860-1916
Record Group 58, Anna Young Thompson Papers, 1868-1931
Record Group 209, the Board of Foreign Missions (U.P.C.N.A.) Records, 1833-1966 [for more information on the Egypt Mission itself]
The diary was donated by Ms. Margaret Palmer, great niece of Margaret Anna Smith.
Collection processed and finding aid prepared: March 1997
Robert Lukens, Archives Technician
| Box | Folder | Description | |
| 1 | 1 | Finding Aid to Record Group 404 | |
| 1 | 2 | Biographical sketch, n.d. | |
| 1 | 3 | Diary, 1878-1885 [fragile, endboards detached, handle with care] | Microfilm: MFPOS 203 |
| 1 | 4 | Photographs, 1872, n.d. |