HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG1415.AM: Lewis Worthington Smith, 1867-1947
Papers: 1898
Orleans, Harlan County, Nebraska: Teacher
Size: Three items
BACKGROUND NOTE
Lewis Worthington Smith, son of Dwight A. and Sarah E. (Lewis) Smith, was born in Malta, Illinois, in 1867. By 1885 the family was living in Lone Tree Precinct, Clay County, Nebraska. Smith’s marriage record to Jessie B. Welborn in Indianola, Nebraska, on August 24, 1894, shows him as a resident of Orleans, Nebraska. He was probably teaching there then. An 1898 high school graduation program in this collection records him as Orleans High School principal. By 1910 Lewis and Jessie Smith were living in Des Moines, Iowa, where he was an English professor at Drake University. He continued his career at Drake for at least another thirty years. He died in Des Moines in 1947.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection consists of two poems written by Lewis Worthington Smith and a graduation program from Orleans High School, 1898. One poem, “Codrus,” was presented to graduating senior Ira H. Olmstead by principal Lewis Worthington Smith. Codrus was the last of the semi-mythical kings of Athens. He served as an ancient example of patriotism and self-sacrifice. The high school graduation program accompanies this poem. The second poem, “To Our English Brothers,” by Smith is a newspaper clipping from a London newspaper. All three items in this collection are photocopies.
INVENTORY
Envelope containing:
Poem: “Codrus” by Lewis Worthington Smith, 1898
Poem: “To Our English Brothers” by Lewis W. Smith, ca. 1898
Orleans High School Graduation Program, May 23, 1898
Subject headings:
Harlan County (Nebraska)
Orleans (Nebraska)
Poets — Nebraska
Smith, Lewis Worthington, 1867-1947
Teachers — Harlan County (Nebraska)
Teachers — Orleans (Nebraska)
AIF 08-01-2019
