Edward Parmelee Smith
Encyclopedia
Edward Parmelee Smith was a Congregational minister in Massachusetts
before becoming Field Secretary for the United States Christian Commission
during the American Civil War
. In official positions with the American Missionary Association
(AMA), he was a co-founder of Fisk University
and other historically black colleges established in the South
for the education of freedmen. Beginning in 1873, he served as Commissioner of Indian Affairs under President Ulysses S. Grant
. In 1875 he was selected president of Howard University
, but died on a trip in Africa in 1876 before taking office.
schools and colleges: Andover
, Dartmouth College
and Yale University
, where he graduated from the Theological Seminary.
she worked in hospitals and the field.
. During the American Civil War
he expanded his religious work among soldiers as part of the United States Christian Commission
. He headed a field division. In 1869 he published Incidents of the Christian Commission, an account of its work in hospitals and on the battlefield.
After the war, Smith was recruited for the American Missionary Association
, which was working to found schools for freedmen throughout the South, as education was one of the critical needs. Rev. Smith was appointed a General Field Agent, headquartered in New York, but with charge for its work in the southern states. With John Ogden, the superintendent of education of the Freedmen's Bureau in Tennessee, and Rev. Erastus Milo Cravath
of the AMA, in 1866 Smith founded the Fisk School (future Fisk University
) in Nashville, Tennessee
. Smith and Cravath founded schools in Atlanta, Georgia
; and other cities in Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky.
In 1871 Smith was asked by the US government to investigate needs of American Indians
in Minnesota
. He spent time among the Pillagers and Chippewa and reported back to Washington. In 1873 President Ulysses S. Grant
appointed Smith US Commissioner of Indian Affairs. During tumultuous times, he enjoyed Grant's support, even through charges of extortion and corruption in his department. Smith was cleared of the charges during an investigation. During his tenure, he showed a more generous religious spirit than some of the Indian agents; for instance, he overrode one in Idaho to allow Catholic
priests to hold services for Indians near the agency. In that area, more Native Americans were Catholic than Protestant.
When the Secretary of the Interior
resigned in 1875, Smith did as well. He was then elected to the presidency of Howard University
, one of the historically black colleges jointly founded by the AMA and the Freedmen's Bureau.
Before he started in office, Smith traveled to Africa to visit the mission field of the American Missionary Association. After traveling in Gambia and Sierra Leone
, he came down with a fever at Good Hope Station on Sheroro Island near Accra
. He died there about three weeks later on 27 July 1876.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
before becoming Field Secretary for the United States Christian Commission
United States Christian Commission
The United States Christian Commission was an important agency of the Union during the American Civil War. It was designed to offer religious support, but also provided numerous social services and recreation to the soldiers of the U.S. Army. It provided Protestant chaplains and social workers,...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. In official positions with the American Missionary Association
American Missionary Association
The American Missionary Association was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on September 3, 1846 in Albany, New York. The main purpose of this organization was to abolish slavery, to educate African Americans, to promote racial equality, and to promote Christian values...
(AMA), he was a co-founder of Fisk University
Fisk University
Fisk University is an historically black university founded in 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. The world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers started as a group of students who performed to earn enough money to save the school at a critical time of financial shortages. They toured to raise funds to...
and other historically black colleges established in the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
for the education of freedmen. Beginning in 1873, he served as Commissioner of Indian Affairs under President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
. In 1875 he was selected president of Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
, but died on a trip in Africa in 1876 before taking office.
Early life and education
Born in South Britain, Connecticut in June 1827, Edward Parmelee Smith was educated at New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
schools and colleges: Andover
Andover Newton Theological School
Andover Newton Theological School is a graduate school and seminary located in Newton, Massachusetts. It is America's oldest graduate seminary and the nation's first graduate institution of any kind...
, Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
and Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he graduated from the Theological Seminary.
Marriage and family
Smith married and they had one daughter. His wife always shared his labors; during the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
she worked in hospitals and the field.
Career
Rev. Smith was for some years a pastor at a Congregational Church in Pepperell, MassachusettsPepperell, Massachusetts
Pepperell is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,497 at the 2010 census. It includes the village of East Pepperell.-History:...
. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
he expanded his religious work among soldiers as part of the United States Christian Commission
United States Christian Commission
The United States Christian Commission was an important agency of the Union during the American Civil War. It was designed to offer religious support, but also provided numerous social services and recreation to the soldiers of the U.S. Army. It provided Protestant chaplains and social workers,...
. He headed a field division. In 1869 he published Incidents of the Christian Commission, an account of its work in hospitals and on the battlefield.
After the war, Smith was recruited for the American Missionary Association
American Missionary Association
The American Missionary Association was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on September 3, 1846 in Albany, New York. The main purpose of this organization was to abolish slavery, to educate African Americans, to promote racial equality, and to promote Christian values...
, which was working to found schools for freedmen throughout the South, as education was one of the critical needs. Rev. Smith was appointed a General Field Agent, headquartered in New York, but with charge for its work in the southern states. With John Ogden, the superintendent of education of the Freedmen's Bureau in Tennessee, and Rev. Erastus Milo Cravath
Erastus Milo Cravath
Erastus Milo Cravath was field secretary with the American Missionary Association after the American Civil War, when he helped found Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, and numerous other historically black colleges in Georgia and Tennessee for the education of freedmen. He helped launch...
of the AMA, in 1866 Smith founded the Fisk School (future Fisk University
Fisk University
Fisk University is an historically black university founded in 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. The world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers started as a group of students who performed to earn enough money to save the school at a critical time of financial shortages. They toured to raise funds to...
) in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. Smith and Cravath founded schools in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
; and other cities in Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky.
In 1871 Smith was asked by the US government to investigate needs of American Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. He spent time among the Pillagers and Chippewa and reported back to Washington. In 1873 President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
appointed Smith US Commissioner of Indian Affairs. During tumultuous times, he enjoyed Grant's support, even through charges of extortion and corruption in his department. Smith was cleared of the charges during an investigation. During his tenure, he showed a more generous religious spirit than some of the Indian agents; for instance, he overrode one in Idaho to allow Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
priests to hold services for Indians near the agency. In that area, more Native Americans were Catholic than Protestant.
When the Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
resigned in 1875, Smith did as well. He was then elected to the presidency of Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
, one of the historically black colleges jointly founded by the AMA and the Freedmen's Bureau.
Before he started in office, Smith traveled to Africa to visit the mission field of the American Missionary Association. After traveling in Gambia and Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, he came down with a fever at Good Hope Station on Sheroro Island near Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
. He died there about three weeks later on 27 July 1876.