Walter George Smith papers


Collection MC 47

1836-1933
(2.8 Linear feet ; 7 boxes)
©Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center

Summary Information

Repository
Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center
Creator
Smith, Walter George, 1854-1924
Title
Walter George Smith papers
ID
MC 47
Date [inclusive]
1836-1933
Extent
2.8 Linear feet ; 7 boxes
Language
English
Abstract
Walter George Smith (1854-1924) was a prominent Philadelphia attorney. A devout Catholic, Smith worked and lectured extensively for the anti-divorce cause. Among other activities, he was involved in advancing the causes of uniform state laws, was an appointed member of the Board of Indian Commissioners, a Manager of the Drexel Institute, and President of the American Bar Association. The collection contains correspondence, including family correspondence; diaries, journals and travel logs; speeches, addresses, published and unpublished writings. Scrapbooks, memorabilia, and obituaries are also included.

Preferred citation

Cite as [indicate cited item or folder here], Smith, Walter George papers, 1836-1933 (MC 47). Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center.

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Biographical/Historical note

Walter George Smith was born in Mac-o-Cheek, Logan County, Ohio on November 24, 1854 to Thomas Kilby Smith, a Civil War general, and Elizabeth Budd McCullough. He moved to the Torresdale section of Philadelphia in the autumn of 1865, and received his primary education at the Protestant Episcopal Academy, which was located at the corner of Juniper and Locust Streets. Smith graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and began practicing law in 1879.

At the onset of his legal career, Smith was often retained as defense counsel in homicide cases, including, for example, the case of Theodore J. McGuirk in 1880. His most notable legal work, however, was toward bringing about uniform divorce laws in various states, lessening the number of grounds for granting divorce, and generally fighting against laws that eased divorce restrictions. Smith also notably represented the widow of General U.S. Grant in a matter concerning the publication of General Grant's memoirs, and shortly thereafter represented Jefferson Davis in a similar matter (see Box 1 Folder 5).

On January 9, 1890, Smith married Elizabeth Langstreth Drexel, sister of St. Katharine Drexel. Elizabeth died just 9 months later on September 26, 1890. Smith did not remarry and did not have any children.

In 1891, Smith was elected as a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania as a representative of the Alumni Association and remained a member for 18 years until 1909, when he resigned over an opposition to the appointment of Dr. J.P. Lichtenberger as an associate professor at Wharton. Smith was vehemently opposed to Lichtenberger's stance on divorce and to his appointment, and the resignation made national headlines. (See Box 1 Folders 1-3).

As a devout Catholic and philanthropist, Smith served on a number of boards and was awarded a number of honors. In 1896, he was elected President of the American Catholic Historical Societies for the state of Pennsylvania, and for 30 years was a Manager of St. Vincent's Foundling Asylum. In 1907, Smith became a member of the Board of Trustees of Catholic University and in 1916 a member of the Board of Public Education of the City of Philadelphia.

In 1917, he was elected President of the American Bar Association, and in 1919 was appointed a Commissioner for Relief in the Near East. Smith sailed for Constantinople at this time, where he organized the distribution of food and clothing in stricken regions of Turkey. In 1923, he was appointed as a member of the Board of Indian Commissioners, and in May of that year embarked on a two-month inspection of Pueblo and Navajo tribes. Journals and travel logs from these trips are part of this collection.

Smith's devotion to Catholicism was affirmed in 1923 when the University of Notre Dame awarded him the Laetare Medal, the highest order accorded to a member of the Roman Catholic laity.

Smith died on April 4, 1924 in Philadelphia.

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Scope and Contents

Much of the material in this collection concerns Walter George Smith's career as an attorney in Philadelphia, and specifically his involvement working to maintain stringent divorce laws and to establish uniform state laws. In 1909, Smith made national headlines when he resigned from the University of Pennsylvania because the school appointed James P. Lichtenberger, with whom Smith strongly disagreed on the divorce issue, as an associate professor at Wharton. The correspondence contains communications between Smith and the Board of Trustees, and many letters from those who supported Smith's decision to resign. Other notable items within the correspondence include letters to and from Jefferson Davis regarding a legal matter resulting from the publication of Davis' memoirs, and a letter from Theodore Roosevelt.

As a member of the Board of Indian Commissioners, Smith visited Pueblo and Navajo tribes, and the collection contains reports of those inspections. As a Commissioner for Relief in the Near East, Smith sailed to Istanbul, where he organized the distribution of food and clothing in stricken regions of Turkey. Travel logs and diaries from this trip, as well as from several European trips are included in the collection.

Smith was a prolific public speaker, and made many speeches and addresses during his lifetime. The speeches and addresses covered a myriad of topics, notably divorce and uniform state laws. Other topics include Abraham Lincoln, the role of women in American society, and the Near East. Many of the speeches and addresses in this collection are in original form, as well as in published form. The Speeches, Addresses, and Unpublished Works series also contains an autobiography of Walter George Smith.

The scrapbooks contain original newspaper clippings that detail Smith's work as an attorney, especially with regard to the issue of divorce and his resignation from the University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees. The scrapbooks also include obituaries and biographies of Smith, and memorabilia from various events and banquets that Smith attended.

While W.G. Smith's writings and papers make up the majority of the collection, there is also material relating to other Smith family members, including his sister, Helen Grace Smith and Thomas Kilby Smith.

The Published Writings series contains mostly journals from the late 19th and early 20th centuries that contain Smith's essays and speeches.

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Overview of Arrangement

Series 1. Correspondence (1885-1924)

Series 2. Diaries, Journals, and Travel Logs (1905-1923)

Series 3. Speeches, Addresses, and Unpublished Writings (circa 1899-1918)

Series 4. Scrapbooks, Memorabilia, and Obituaries (1836-1930)

Series 5. Family Correspondence (1857-1933)

Series 6. Published Writings (1890-1930)

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center

100 E. Wynnewood Rd.
Wynnewood, PA

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Processing Information note

Some of the scrapbooks and their contained newspaper clippings are brittle.

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Related Materials

Separated Materials

Bryson, Thomas A. The Federal Career of Walter George Smith. Offprint from Prologue: The Journal of the National Archives. Washington D.C.: The National Archives and Records Service, Fall 1972. Call no. P008.717

Bryson, Thomas A. An Independent Armenia: The Counsel for the Defense. New York: Armenian General Benevolent Union of America, Inc., Spring 1969. Call no. P008.718

Bryson, Thomas A. Walter George Smith and General Grant's Memoirs. Offprint from the  Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, v. 94, no. 2. Philadelphia: The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, April 1970.

Bryson, Thomas A. Walter George Smith Papers and the Armenian Question at the Paris Peace Conference, 1919. Philadelphia: The American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, March 1970.

Bryson, Thomas A. The Walter George Smith Papers in the Archives of the American Catholic Historical Society. Philadelphia: The American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, December 1969. Call no. P008.714

Hall, William H. Reconstruction in Turkey: A Series of Reports Compiled for the American Committee of Armenian and Syrian Relief. New York: American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief, 1918. Call no. DR 418.A7 1918

Near East Relief. The New Near East. Vol. 5: No. 6-12 (Jan - Sept 1920) and Vol. 6: No. 1-5 (Oct 1920-Feb 1921). Call no. Per-N

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

  • University of Pennsylvania. Board of Trustees.

Geographic Name(s)

  • Torresdale (Philadelphia, Pa.)

Personal Name(s)

  • Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889
  • Lichtenberger, James Pendleton, 1870-1953
  • Smith, Helen Grace, 1865-
  • Smith, Thomas Kilby, 1820-1887

Subject(s)

  • Board of Indian Commissioners (U.S.)
  • Catholic intellectuals
  • Catholics--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia.
  • Divorce--United States--History
  • Uniform state laws--History

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Other Finding Aids note

This is a revision of an older finding aid located in hard copy at PAHRC.

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Provenance

Accession number 1990.048.

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Collection Inventory

 

Series I. Correspondence, 1885-1924

 Box
1		 Folder
1-11

Correspondence re: resignation from University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees, 1909


    Box Folder
Text   1 1-3

Correspondence A-C, 1887-1923


    Box Folder
Text   1 4

Correspondence with Jefferson Davis, 1889-1890


    Box Folder
Text   1 5

Correspondence D-E, 1886-1924


    Box Folder
Text   1 6

Correspondence F-I, 1885-1923


    Box Folder
Text   1 7

Correspondence J-M, 1896-1924


    Box Folder
Text   1 8

Correspondence N-P, 1886-1924


    Box Folder
Text   1 9

Correspondence R-T, 1865-1924


    Box Folder
Text   1 10

Correspondence U-Z and unknown, 1890-1921


    Box Folder
Text   1 11

 

Series II. Diaries, journals, and travel logs, 1905-1923

 Box
1-2		 Folder
12-17, 1-4

Travel Logs, 1905


    Box Folder
Text   1 12

Diary of European Tour, 1913 and undated


    Box Folder
Text   1 13

Travel Journals, Feb-June 1919


    Box Folder
Text   1 14

Travel Logs, July-August 1919


    Box Folder
Text   1 15

Travel Journal of a Journey to the Near East, 1919-1920


    Box Folder
Text   1 16

Travel Logs, 1920-1921


    Box Folder
Text   1 17

Letters of Thomas Kilby Smith, 1920


    Box Folder
Text   2 1

Journal of Western Tour, 1923


    Box Folder
Text   2 2

Travel Logs to Family Members, 1923


    Box Folder
Text   2 3

Report of a Visit to Pueblo and Navajo Indians, 1923


    Box Folder
Text   2 4

 

Series III. Speeches, addresses, and unpublished writings, circa 1899 - 1918

 Box
2		 Folder
5-12

Speeches and Addresses, circa 1900-1924


    Box Folder
Text   2 5-7

Speeches and Addresses A-F, undated


    Box Folder
Text   2 8

Speeches and Addresses G-O, undated


    Box Folder
Text   2 9

Speeches and Addresses P-Z, 1910 and undated


    Box Folder
Text   2 10

Speeches and Addresses, undated fragments, undated


    Box Folder
Text   2 11

Autobiography of Walter George Smith, 1909


    Box Folder
Text   2 12

 

Series IV. Scrapbooks, memorabilia, and obituaries, 1836-1930

 Box
3-5

Newspaper clippings re divorce issue, 1909-1910


    Box Folder
Text   3 1

Obituaries and Biographical Materials, undated


    Box Folder
Text   3 2

Obituaries and Biographical Materials


    Box Folder
Text   3 3

Memorabilia


    Box Folder
Text   3 4

Box

Scrapbooks

 4

Scrapbooks

 5
 

Series V. Family correspondence, 1857-1933

 Box
6		 Folder
1-6

Poems of Helen Grace Smith, 1893-1919


    Box Folder
Text   6 1

Helen Grace Smith Correspondence, 1888-1926


    Box Folder
Text   6 2

Helen Grace Smith Correspondence, 1899-1933


    Box Folder
Text   6 3

Adrian Worthington Smith drawing, undated


    Box Folder
Text   6 4

Article by Charles W.A. Smith, 1857


    Box Folder
Text   6 5

General Thomas Kilby Smith and Thomas Kilby Smith Esq. correspondence, 1866-1887


    Box Folder
Text   6 6

 

Series VI. Published writings, 1890-1930

 Box
6-7		 Folder
7-21, 1-34

The Messenger of the Sacred Heart, July 1890


    Box Folder
Text   6 7

The Pilgrim of Our Lady of Martyrs, January 1890


    Box Folder
Text   6 8

The Messenger of the Sacred Heart , July 1891


    Box Folder
Text   6 9

The Messenger of the Sacred Heart, August 1891


    Box Folder
Text   6 10

An Address on Memorial Day, May 30, 1896


    Box Folder
Text   6 11

The Irish Monthly, Feb. 1899


    Box Folder
Text   6 12

Roger Brooke Taney, March 10, 1899


    Box Folder
Text   6 13

The American Law Register, April 1899


    Box Folder
Text   6 14

American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia Presidential Address, 1899


    Box Folder
Text   6 15

Education and Morality in America, June 15, 1899


    Box Folder
Text   6 16

Rosary Magazine, Vol. XVI, No. 4, April 1900


    Box Folder
Text   6 17

George Allen LL.D: An Address, June 13, 1900


    Box Folder
Text   6 18

American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia's President's Address, 1900


    Box Folder
Text   6 19

Mosher's Monthly Magazine, Vol. XXI, No. 2, November 1902


    Box Folder
Text   6 20

The Alumni Register, Vol. VI, No. 8, May 1902


    Box Folder
Text   6 21

Mosher's Magazine, Vol. XIX, No. 6, March 1902


    Box Folder
Text   7 1

The Alumni Register, Vol. VI, No. 8, May 1902


    Box Folder
Text   7 2

The Alumni Register, Vol. X, No. 3, December 1905


    Box Folder
Text   7 3

The Messenger, Vol. XLVII, No. 3, March 1907


    Box Folder
Text   7 4

Religion and the Scientific Spirit, June 10, 1908


    Box Folder
Text   7 5

St. Francis of Assisi, November 1909


    Box Folder
Text   7 6

Uniform Marriage and Divorce Laws, July 7, 1909


    Box Folder
Text   7 7

Uniform State Laws, August 29, 1912


    Box Folder
Text   7 8

Rhode Island Bar Association, December 2, 1912


    Box Folder
Text   7 9

Central Law Journal, Vol. 74, No. 1, July 5, 1912


    Box Folder
Text   7 10

ABA Chairman's Address, 1913


    Box Folder
Text   7 11

Uniform Social Laws, March 10, 1913


    Box Folder
Text   7 12

Journal of the Society of Comparative Legislation, Vol. XVI, Part 2, circa 1914


    Box Folder
Text   7 13

Medical Professional Secrecy in the Courts, March 19, 1914


    Box Folder
Text   7 14

Abraham Lincoln, February 12, 1917


    Box Folder
Text   7 15

Proceedings of a Meeting to Protest against Deportation of Belgian Citizens into Servitude in Germany, January 7, 1917


    Box Folder
Text   7 16

The Judicial Power in the United States, June 8, 1918


    Box Folder
Text   7 17

Civil Liberty in America, August 1918


    Box Folder
Text   7 18

Democracy under Constitutional Limitations, May-June 1918


    Box Folder
Text   7 19

The Proposed Amendments to the National Constitution, March 30, 1918


    Box Folder
Text   7 20

Democracy under Constitutional Limitations, Feb 22, 1918


    Box Folder
Text   7 21

Abraham Lincoln, Feb 13, 1918


    Box Folder
Text   7 22

War Legislation, January 2, 1918


    Box Folder
Text   7 23

Victorious Peace, April 1918


    Box Folder
Text   7 24

The Catholic World, Vol. CVIII, No. 648, March 1919


    Box Folder
Text   7 25

Joseph Percy Keating, circa 1920


    Box Folder
Text   7 26

Disarmament Conference in Washington, circa 1921


    Box Folder
Text   7 27

A Religious Weekly Review, Feb 19, 1921


    Box Folder
Text   7 28

The New Armenia, Vol. XVI, No. 1, Jan-Feb 1924


    Box Folder
Text   7 29

The Signet, October 1930


    Box Folder
Text   7 30

Correcting the Divorce Evil, undated


    Box Folder
Text   7 31

Educational Legislation as it Affects Catholic Interests, undated


    Box Folder
Text   7 32

Woman's Responsibility in Modern Life, undated


    Box Folder
Text   7 33

Progress, undated


    Box Folder
Text   7 34