M. H. Smith papers
Scope and Contents
Papers featuring M. H. Smith's sermons and related notes and research materials about the evils of drinking and drunkenness. Research materials include journal articles, newspaper clippings, and pamphlets. Church bulletins from parishes where Smith preached in New York and Vermont, and a bound booklet The Church In Action Against The Saloon (1906) are also included.
Dates
- Creation: 1884-1914
Creator
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
These materials are made available for use in research, teaching and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials.
Biographical note: M. H. Smith
M. H. (Milford Hale) Smith was born on April 25, 1855, in Willsboro Point, New York, to Mary Elizabeth (Morhous) and Ira Hinckley Smith. He was educated at Crown Point Academy and graduated from Albany State Normal College (now Albany State University) in 1878. Smith earned his Ph.D. at the American National University in Harriman, Tennessee. On December 10, 1873, he married Emma Jane Knowles. On October 11, 1882, they had a son, Ray Ernest Smith.
In April 1880, Smith was admitted to the Christian ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church and received his first appointment from the Troy Conference to Dannemora, New York. He held the role of minister in many New York communities, including Ellensburg, Saranac, Granville, Mechanicville, and Greenwich. He also was appointed to parishes in Vergennes and Rutland, Vermont, where he helped publish a record of his family history.
M. H. Smith died on June 19, 1923 in Rutland, Vermont.
Sources:
Hale, Oscar Fitzalan. Ancestry and Descendants of Josiah Hale, The Tuttle Company, Printers, 1909, https://www.seekingmyroots.com/members/files/G002916.pdf
"Rev Milford Hale Smith". Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/180475085/milford_hale-smith.
"Milford Hale Smith". WikiTree, 2013, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Smith-44492#_note-0.
Full Extent
1 Linear Feet (1 container)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Papers of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Methodist Episcopal minister M. H. (Milford Hale) Smith, including his notes, research materials, and sermons promoting temperance and denouncing drinking.
Arrangement
Alphabetical.
Provenance
Because the current accessioning system was not used until January 1986, it is not possible to know exactly the dates of acquisition of materials received before that time.
Processing Information
M. H. Smith kept envelopes of notes, outlines, and research materials for each sermon he delivered. The sermon titles written on the envelopes provided the titles of the majority of the items in the collection. The locations of where the sermons were delivered were also recorded by Smith and have been included.
- Title
- M. H. Smith Papers
- Subtitle
- 1884-1914
- Author
- Molly Aleshire
- Date
- 2025
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the John J. Burns Library Repository
John J. Burns Library
Boston College
140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill MA 02467 USA
617-552-4861
burns@bc.libanswers.com