The Strange Disappearance of Sophia Smith

• AUTHOR: Quentin Quesnell
• TITLE: The Strange Disappearance of Sophia Smith
• PLACE: Northampton [Mass.]
• PUBLISHER: Smith College
• YEAR: 1999
• PUB TYPE: Book
• FORMAT: xxvi, 250 p.: ill., facsims., map, ports; 26 cm.
• NOTES: Includes endnotes, bibliographical references and index
• ISBN: 0873919486
• SUBJECT: Smith, Sophia, --1796-1870. Greene, John Morton, -- 1830-1919, Hanscom, Elizabeth Deering, -- 1865- -- Sophia Smith and the Beginnings of Smith College. Smith College -- History. Sex role --United State s -- Historiography. Women -- United States -- Historiography. Women -- United States -- Biography. Women's colleges -- Massachusetts -- Northampton -- History.
• LC NUMBER: LD 7152.65 S65 Q48 1999

  The Story:

  In 1870 Sophia Smith founded a new kind of college--a place for women who met the high admission requirements of Harvard and Yale, but were refused entry to those traditional colleges solely on the basis of their sex. Her dream for women came splendidly true in the success and prestige of Smith College; but, strange to say, credit for her achievement gradually passed from her to someone else--to a man, one of her many counselors and friends, who outlived her by half a century. Here is the entire story a nd the remarkable explanation of how that could have happened, as revealed in contemporary documents, unpublished notebooks, and archival manuscripts cited now for the first time.

  The book contains thousands of new facts about the life and times of Sophia Smith, with detailed analyses of her journal, and her will founding Smith College. The second half of the book compares the public claims made by and for John M. Greene with revelations from his private papers.

  Ordering:

  The Strange Disappearance of Sophia Smith may be ordered from The Grecourt Bookstore, 100 Green Street, Northampton, MA 01060. E-mail: smith@bkstr.com. Cloth binding $35.00.