Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-05-25
STATUES OF WOMEN.
How Some of Our Heroines Have
Been Remembered.

How Some of Our Heroines Have
Been Remembered.
S.At the annual homecomers' festival
dt Adrian, Mich, June "a, will be un-
yelled and dedicated statue of
Aunt Laura" Haviland, a Quakeress
Of simple life, unassuming manners
and quiet demeanor, with a soft voice
and a tender touch, Of whom General
Grant once said that If he had few
more women like her he could dis
pense with half his generals and SOL
diers and put down the rebellion in a
few months.
She was q woman Of extraordinary
executive ability and physical and
moral courage, combined with a re-
markable gift Of oratory and deter
mination of purpose which never
yielded to difficulties or obstacles
which others would not have over
come. She had broad and noble
views Of life, a deep religious spirit
and the most exalted conceptions of
duty. She spent ffty-three years in
the relief of suffering, in the rescue of
the distressed and in the correction OF
wrong. Towns have been named In
her honor, portraits Of her kindly face
enframed in a Quaker cap, with broad
ribbons tied under her chin, hang In
hundreds of schoolhouses and thou
sands Of homes on b" h 81 Of the
Atlantic. Her dust lies beside that of
her kindred in Raisin Valley cemetery,
near Adrian, where she died April 20,
1898, in the Goth year Of her age. The
last task of her life was to write an
autobiography which was published
under the title Of "a Woman's Life
Work." and it records many historical
events that are not printed elsewhere.
A modest monument, corresponding
to her simple dignity, marks the place
where she sleeps, but the citizens OF
Adrian have collected funds by popu-
lar subscription to erect a tribute to
her memory that shall endure for the
ages in order that all who come after
them may know who she was and
what she did; that "the memory OF
the just shall not perish" Will Car
Teton, the poet, will pronounce the eu-
logy and appropriate ceremonies will
be held.
Laura Smith Haviland was born in
Kitey, Ontario, Canada, on Decem-
Der 20, 1908, the daughter Of Daniel
and Sene Blancher Smith. Her faith
er, a native of New York, was an ap-
proved minister Of the Society of
Friends, a man Of strong convictions,
deep spiritual feeling, but reticent OF
speech. Laura married Charles Hav-
iland, Jr., Of Lockport, N. Y, on Nov.
2, 1925, and became the mother Of sew
en- children, of whom five survived her
and are still living. In 1929 Charles and
Laura Haviland came to Michigan and
took up a farm in Raisin township,
Lewanee county. within three miles
of where her parents had settled two
years before. Mrs. Haviland was a
good housekeeper, a brave wife, de-
voted mother and the best kind OF a
pioneer, being capable Of great endur-
ance, easily adapting herself to all
circumstances, having a clever facul-
ty of overcoming difficulties and a
cheerful, helpful spirit.
Not long after she was settled she
started a school In a little building
adjoining her farm home, where she
taught the children Of the neighbor-
hood, there being no other person In
the community able to undertake that
duty. Later her brother, Harvey
Smith, sold his farm Of 160 acres and
with the proceeds built what after
wards became Raisin Institute, the
first manual training school in Mich
igan, and probably the first in the
west. 1t was intended for the educa-
ton of orphans and the children of
parents who were not able to support
them. The first pupils were nine chill
dren from the county poorhouse.
The school became famous. was ul-
timately adopted by the state legisla-
ture and was the nucleus Of two state
industrial schools, one for girls at