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Part of the American
History & Genealogy Project |
Delia Graeme Smallwood
Mrs. Smallwood, vice-regent of the
District of Columbia was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Her
Revolutionary ancestry is on the side of her mother, whose
people have lived in New England for many generations. Her
great-grandfather, Dr. James Jackson, for whom the town of
Jackson, New Hampshire, was named, was one of the first surgeons
of New England. Another ancestor was Joseph Clark, who was one
of the men who rowed General Benedict Arnold to the British ship
"Vulture" on the morning of his desertion and who refused a
command in the British army which was offered him as an
inducement to remain on the British side.
One of the earliest of Mrs. Smallwood's
ancestors in this country was General Hercules Mooney, who came
from the north of Ireland in his own boat, 'The Hercules,''
landing at Plymouth, New Hampshire. He was highly educated and
became one of the foremost teachers of his day. He served hi the
early Colonial wars as a British colonel and took part in the
capture of Louisburg. At the beginning of the Revolutionary War,
however, he united his fortunes with the American colonies, was
made a general and figured largely in the northern campaign of
that heroic seven years' struggle.
Through her father Mrs. Smallwood belongs to the Graemes of
Scotland and the Hetheringtons of England. "The Fighting Graemes,"
as they were called, have served in every English and Scotch war
and at the battle of Bunker Hill they were in the British army
and stormed the heights which her mother's people were valiantly
defending.
Mrs. Smallwood's family have always
placed a high valuation upon education. Her own was obtained in
Boston, where she received the advantages of its splendid public
school system in conjunction with private tutoring in music,
art, oratory, literature and science, and finally occupied a
high position as a teacher in the Boston public schools.
For years she has been, conjointly with
her husband, principal of the Washington Seminary of the Capital
city. Mrs. Smallwood is a public spirited woman, active in the
philanthropic work of the city, and she is closely identified
with the Young Women's Christian Association as one of its
vice-presidents. She is well known as an accomplished teacher,
able speaker and an enthusiastic member of the Daughters of the
American Revolution. She is tireless in her work in whatever
case she champions.
Women of
America
Source: The Part Taken by Women in
American History, By Mrs. John A. Logan, Published by The Perry-Nalle
Publishing Company, Wilmington, Delaware, 1912.
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