May Riley Smith (May 27, 1842 – January 14, 1927) was an American poet and clubwoman.

Biography

May (or Mary) Louise Riley was born on May 27, 1842, in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. She attended Brockport Collegiate Institute. She married Albert Smith, of

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

, a bridge engineer, on March 31, 1869, and they had one son. Soon, they removed to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where Smith belonged to several literary and social clubs during her life. She was the president of the

Sorosis file:Sorosis Club rules.jpg, Sorosis Club rules in 1869Sorosis was the first professional women's club in the United States. It was established in March 1868 in New York City by Jane Cunningham Croly. Origin of the club's name Sorosis is a lati ...

Club from 1911 to 1915 and the club's honorary president from 1919 until her death in 1927. She was also a member of the Poetry Club,

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

, the Meridian Club, the Barnard Club, and the

MacDowell Club The MacDowell Clubs in the United States were established at the turn of the twentieth century to honor internationally recognized American composer Edward MacDowell. They became part of a broader social movement to promote music and other art forms ...

. Her published books are ''A Gift of Gentians and Other Verses'' (New York, 1882), and ''The Inn of Rest'' (1888). Among the best and most popular of her poems are "Tired Mothers," "If We Knew," "The Easter Moon," " Love is Sweeter than Rest" and "My Prayer." Among those that have been published separately as booklets are "His Name" and "Sometime". Many of her poems were devotional and were reprinted in hymn books. Her poems were also published in magazines such as

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

. Smith died in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

on January 14, 1927.

Notes

References

Attribution

External links

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May Riley Smith
at the Online Books Page {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, May Riley 1842 births 1927 deaths Writers from Rochester, New York American women poets Clubwomen 19th-century American poets Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century Daughters of the American Revolution people 19th-century American women writers