Collection Overview
Title: Smith Family Collection
Dates: 1860-1900
Creator: Clara Drew Smith
Repository: Drew Archival Library
Call Number: DAL.MSS.097
Accession Number: DAL.2018.041
Location: Fogg Archives Room
Quantity: 1 box
Language: English

Administrative Information
Access Restriction: Collection is open to researchers
Acquisition Information: Donation, Susan Clapp Lewis, 2018
Preferred Citation: DAL.MSS.097, Smith Family Collection, Duxbury Rural & Historical Society
Finding Aid Prepared by Carolyn Ravenscroft, 2018

Scope and Content:
The collection consists of items and photographs belonging to the extended Smith and Drew families of Duxbury, MA. Included are two photo albums, one created by Clara Drew Smith (1864). Both include numerous carte-de-visites, tintypes and cabinet cards of family members.

Biographical Information:
Clara Drew Smith (1830-1911) was the daughter of Charles Drew Jr. and Hannah Thomas. She was a member of the large Drew family of Duxbury and grew up on Cove Street. In 1851 she married her cousin, Capt. Jonathan Smith (1824-1863). He was the son of Capt. Jonathan Smith and Zilpah Drew, and was raised on St. George Street. Clara and Jonathan Smith spent much of their married life in Boston and East Boston but visited Dubury for extended periods. Jonathan Smith died at age 39 in 1863 after a long illness. After the death of her husband, Clara supported herself as a copyist in Boston. Clara and Jonathan Smith had three children: Helen (1853-1854), Clara May (1855-1931), and Omar (1859-1863).

Clara May Smith Ripley (1855-1931) was the only child of Clara and Jonathan Smith to survive to adulthood. She was born in Dorchester, MA and was raised in Boston, spending extended periods in Duxbury. In 1880 she married Charles Ripley (1852-1839). The Ripleys had three children: Edward Payson Ripley (1881-1919), Helen Drew Ripley (1883-1978), and Clara D. Ripley (b. 1888). The Ripleys built a summer home on Abrams Hill in Duxbury at 1 Abrams Hill. It was the first house built in the neighborhood and was constructed by Laurence Bradford. The family owned the house for four generations.