Smyrna times., 1899-06-21
SARAH TRAINER SMITH.
DEATH OF A GIFTED WRITER AT SHARON
HILL, PENNSYLVANIA.
She waa a Relative of Mrs. John c. StOckly
aud Mrs. Geo. II. Raymond of
Smyrna.

aud Mrs. Geo. II. Raymond of
Smyrna.
The following is copied from the
Philadelphia CdthOtic Standard and
Times, covering the death of Miss
Sarah Trainer Smith, a relative of Mrs.
John c. Stockly and Mrs. Geo. B.
RAYMOND. Miss Smith visited SIN yrna
shortly after the War, and will be re-
membered by our older inhabitants:
''Sarah Trainer Smith was gifted |
woman-mOre, she was one of the rare
souls whose talents are so intertwlned
with noble traits that it is difficult to
differentiate the one from the other.
She was poet and her character was
poesy itself. She never wrote noble
sentiment that was not a reflection OF
her own purpose. Her words are not
mere phrases written to edify or to
amuse her readers-every line of her
writings was built on the motive
thought ard earnest deed of true
Catholic and peerless gentlewOman.
SIT is but just praise of our departed
associate to assert that she lacked some
of the loud-voiced qualifications sup
posed to be essential to the perfect
round of success. Superlatively modest
she was utterly adverse to the lOg-roll-
ing system which some popular writer's
do not disdain to use for the furthur
ing of their own interests. Once,
when her portrait was solicited by the
editor of a certain magazine, addicted
to the prominent people" habit, Miss
Smith, having in brief note declined
the honor of personal advertisement,
turned to the writer of this sketch and
said: "They may have my work; they
never shall have my face" And what
good face it was! face to be remem-
beredforever, and, alas! only mem
CRY now
Owing to what might be called this
violet suality in Miss Smiths nature,
she was rather Indifferent to fame, anC
her writing, covering period of thirty
wears or more, had never been collec
ted for book publication. AS news
paper and magazine work, hOweve
good, is more OF less ephemeral, tn,
exquisite poems, stories and essays o
this gifted author are perhaps not 81
well known to the public at large as il
the work of writer's immeasurably III
ferior, who, desiring rather than de
serving the reputation of authors
make great speed to get between book
covers. 1t is to be hoped that tn
works of Sarah Trainer Smith may
republished in book form. l. simpl
Justice to the reading public this litel
ary monument should be erected
the memory of one of our most taller
ted writer's. Only then may the qua
ity of her work be appraised at its iu
valuation.
Sarah Trainer Smith was descende
from sturdy American ancestro. ST
used to say that she was composite
because her forefathers were Englis
Irish and Swedish colonial pioneer
Her father, Captain Frank Smith,
the American merchant marine, gain'
prominence for gallant service duriI
the Civil War, when he commando
the U. S. S. 5. Alabama. He count
among his friends the now famous A
miral Dewey, then young lieutenaI
In the Sharon Hill residence may
seen an old picture of the young Lie
tenant Dewey, taken aboard Capita
Smiths vessel.
''Miss Smith, who was born in t
ancient parish of Bohemia Manor,
Maryland, was in early youth as bes
tiful as she was comely in middle Ii
inheriting her good looks from the (
cestresses whose old portraits, tax
in gowns of Colonial cut, still sm
from the walls of the bereaved hon
She was a precocious child, and
literary gifts had early fruition, as II
be judged from the fact that her
article, written when she was but TO
teen years of age, was accepted
"Lippincott's Magazine. Sui
quently her contributions were p
lished in the Leslie monthlies
weeklies and in various other ma
zines. Much of her work at this 7
iod was written over a nOn-de-plun
H.
N MEMORIAM.