Samuel Francis Smith
Encyclopedia
Samuel Francis Smith, Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

 minister, journalist and author, is best known for having written the lyrics to "My Country, 'Tis of Thee
My Country, 'Tis of Thee
"My Country, 'Tis of Thee", also known as "America", is an American patriotic song, whose lyrics were written by Samuel Francis Smith. The melody derived from Muzio Clementi's Symphony No. 3, and is shared with "God Save the Queen," used by many members of the Commonwealth of Nations...

", which he entitled America.

Early life

Samuel Francis Smith was born in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Massachusetts
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...

, on October 21, 1808, and his earliest education was at the Eliot School. After graduating from Boston Latin School
Boston Latin School
The Boston Latin School is a public exam school founded on April 23, 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is both the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States....

 in 1825, Smith attended Harvard from 1825 to 1829, and was a classmate of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was an American physician, professor, lecturer, and author. Regarded by his peers as one of the best writers of the 19th century, he is considered a member of the Fireside Poets. His most famous prose works are the "Breakfast-Table" series, which began with The Autocrat...

 He did translations from various foreign languages into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and wrote magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 and newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

 articles to raise funds for his tuition. He received many honors on his graduation in 1829, and at first went into journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...

 before deciding to become a minister, with an interest in church music. One melody in particular caught his attention. The German lyrics were a German patriotic hymn of some sort. Instead of translating it, Smith decided to write an American patriotic hymn, so he sat down and in thirty minutes had written My Country, 'Tis of Thee, to go along with the melody. He had never heard the tune before and had no idea of its derivation or associations with the British national anthem, God Save the Queen
God Save the Queen
"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...

.

Smith gave Lowell Mason
Lowell Mason
Lowell Mason was a leading figure in American church music, the composer of over 1600 hymn tunes, many of which are often sung today. His most well-known tunes include Mary Had A Little Lamb and the arrangement of Joy to the World...

 the lyrics he had written and the song was first performed in public on July 4, 1831, at a children's Independence Day celebration at Park Street Church
Park Street Church
The Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts is an active Conservative Congregational Church at the corner of Tremont Street and Park Street. The church is currently pastored by Gordon P. Hugenberger.-History:...

 in Boston. The song, titled "America", was first published by Lowell Mason in The Choir in 1832. Smith later wrote an additional stanza for the April 30, 1889 Washington Centennial Celebration. There is a handwritten note by Smith in the Louise Arner Boyd Collection archived by the Marin History Museum featuring all the original verses to the song with the additional stanza on the reverse of the notepaper. It is dated May, 16, 1889 and signed, "S.F. Smith".

The house Smith lived in is now a Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...

 dormitory called America House, or A-House for short.

Early career

After graduating from Andover Theological in 1834, Smith worked in Boston editing the Baptist Missionary Magazine before going to Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

. His ordination as a Baptist minister was on February 12, 1834, in Waterville, Maine
Waterville, Maine
Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The population was 15,722 at the 2010 census. Home to Colby College and Thomas College, Waterville is the regional commercial, medical and cultural center....

, where in addition to his ministry, he served as Professor of Modern Languages at Waterville College. In 1842, he left Waterville to go to Newton, Massachusetts
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...

.

In Newton, Smith became editor of the Christian Review and other publications of the Baptist Missionary Union (BMU). He continued his ministry as well, becoming pastor of the First Baptist Church in Newton
First Baptist Church in Newton
First Baptist Church in Newton built in 1888 is an historic church building located at 848 Beacon Street in the village of Newton Centre, in Newton, Massachusetts...

 in the village of Newton Centre. In Newton
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...

, Smith bought a house at 1181 Centre Street which had been built in 1836 and added on to in 1842. After twelve years as pastor of the Newton Centre church, he became editorial secretary of the BMU and served there for fifteen years. During the years 1875–1880, he made many trips to Europe, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, the Indian Empire as well as Ceylon and Burma to visit missionary outposts.

On September 16, 1834, Smith married Mary White Smith, whose maiden name was Smith. They had six children. Smith was foster father for four years to teenager Thornton Chase
Thornton Chase
Thornton Chase is commonly recognized as the first convert to the Bahá'í Faith of Occidental background...

, who, instead of entering college, left to become an officer in the 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...

. Chase later converted to the Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....

 and was a leading member in the United States.

Smith did not stop writing. In addition to "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", Smith wrote over 150 other hymns and in 1843 teamed with Baron Stow
Baron Stow
Baron Stow was a Boston Baptist minister, writer and editor, who in 1843 with Samuel Francis Smith compiled a Baptist hymnal entitled: The Psalmist, which for the next thirty years was the most widely used Baptist Hymnal in the United States....

 to compile a Baptist hymnal, The Psalmist.

Later years and death

Professor and author Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was an American physician, professor, lecturer, and author. Regarded by his peers as one of the best writers of the 19th century, he is considered a member of the Fireside Poets. His most famous prose works are the "Breakfast-Table" series, which began with The Autocrat...

 recommended Smith as a potential candidate for an honorary Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...

 degree from Harvard University in 1893. Harvard president Charles William Eliot
Charles William Eliot
Charles William Eliot was an American academic who was selected as Harvard's president in 1869. He transformed the provincial college into the preeminent American research university...

 declined, noting that My Country 'Tis of Thee was better known for its tune, which Smith did not write, rather than its lyrics. Holmes disagreed, noting that "his song will be sung centuries from now, when most of us and our pipings are forgotten."

He wrote a history of his adoptive home, entitled History of Newton, Massachusetts, which was published in 1880.

Samuel Francis Smith died suddenly on November 16, 1895, while on his way by train to preach in the Boston neighborhood of Readville
Readville, Massachusetts
Readville, called Low Plains from 1655 until renaming in 1847 after Mr. James Read originally part of Dedham until 1867 but now a part of Boston, is considered either a part of the Hyde Park neighborhood, or a neighborhood in its own right. It is served by Readville station on the MBTA Commuter Rail...

 and was buried in Newton Cemetery in Newton. "America" was among the pieces sung at his funeral. He was survived by his wife and 5 children.

Legacy

The home in which Smith and his family lived in Newton is no longer standing. In 1958 a society was formed to buy and preserve it, though the home was damaged by fire in 1968 and again in 1969, leading to its being torn down. A small monument and growing garden honors his legacy.

Smith was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...

 in 1970.

External links

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