Melicent Knapp Smith

Melicent Knapp Smith (October 15, 1816 – September 24, 1891) was an American educator and Christian missionary in the Hawaiian Islands. She was a member of the Tenth Company sent to the islands by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1841.

Melicent Knapp Smith
Melicent Knapp Smith, 1880
Born
Melicent Knapp

(1816-10-15)October 15, 1816
Greenwich, Connecticut
DiedSeptember 24, 1891(1891-09-24) (aged 74)
Koloa, Hawaii
Occupation(s)Educator, Missionary
Spouse
James William Smith
​
(m. 1841)​

Early life

Melicent Knapp was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, the daughter of Jared Knapp and Mary Owen Knapp. Her brother Horton Owen Knapp (1813-1845) was also a missionary in Hawaii, preceding her by five years.[1]

In Hawaii

Melicent Knapp arrived in Hawaii with her new husband, a medical missionary, in 1842, as a member of the Tenth Company sent by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). They were stationed at Koloa, Hawaii on the island of Kauai.[2] She looked after their congregation and household, and provided hospitality for the wives and children of visiting sea captains, while her husband treated patients all over the island. She started and operated the Koloa Boarding School for Girls, teaching with two of her daughters, Emma and Lottie, from 1861 until 1871.[3][4] She also taught Bible study and sewing classes for Hawaiian women.

Personal life

Melicent Knapp married physician James William Smith in 1841. They had nine children born between 1843 and 1857,[1] including William Owen Smith (1848-1929),[4] Jared Knapp Smith (1849-1897),[5] and Melicent Philena Smith Waterhouse (1854-1943). Two daughters, both named Mary, died in infancy. Melicent Knapp Smith was widowed in 1887 and died in 1891 in Koloa, aged 74 years. Her gravesite is in the churchyard at Koloa Union Church. The Smith Family papers are archived at the Kauai Historical Society.[6]

Alfred S. Hartwell was one of Melicent Knapp Smith's sons-in-law. Her descendants included grandson Alfred Herbert Waterhouse (1877-1948).[7] The Koloa Scholarship Fund was established in memory of James William Smith, Melicent Knapp Smith, Jared Knapp Smith, Alfred Waterhouse, and Mabel Plamer Waterhouse.[8]

References
  1. R. Thomas Collins, Jr., One Life at a Time: A New World Family Narrative, 1630-1960 (Ravensyard Publishing 1999): 122-127. ISBN 9780966788303
  2. Edward Joesting, Kauai: The Separate Kingdom (University of Hawaii Press 1988): 64. ISBN 9780824811624
  3. "'Going Public' projects puts young students in the write mood" The Garden Island (March 13, 2003).
  4. "William Owen Smith (1848-1929)" Trustees, The Kamehameha Schools Archives.
  5. Hank Soboleski, "The Murder of Dr. Jared K. Smith" The Garden Island (March 3, 2013).
  6. Smith Family Records MS 43, Finding Aid, Kauai Historical Society.
  7. Hank Soboleski, "Dr. Alfred Herbert Waterhouse" The Garden Island (November 30, 2014).
  8. "Koloa Residents Seek Expansion of Scholarship" Honolulu Advertiser (September 11, 1994): 13. via Newspapers.comopen access
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