Ella Smith Elbert '88
Week of January 16, 2001

Ella Lavinia Smith, born in 1865 in Washington, D.C., was in many ways a typical member of the class of 1888. She grew up in Newport, R.I. with her parents and a brother and sister. Other girls from her high school attended Wellesley, and several of the boys attended Ivy League universities. Ella, however, was the only African-American in her Wellesley class of about 65 students. One other African-American student — Harriet Alleyne Rice, the first to graduate from the College — was at Wellesley then, in the class of '87.

After receiving her B.A., Elbert joined the faculty of the Normal Department at Howard University, in Washington, D.C. She taught history and civics to future teachers, and although she had majored in history and economics at Wellesley, she also taught Latin, algebra and geometry at Howard. She remained a member of the Howard faculty until 1899. During that decade she also became a teacher of working women at evening school and began a program that led to a Wellesley master's degree in 1892. Her advisor was Professor Katharine Coman, one of Wellesley's most esteemed scholars and teachers. Elbert's thesis, "The Practical Effects of Secession as Seen in the Congressional Legislation of Reconstruction," is preserved in the College Archives.

Elbert also joined charitable organizations during the 1890's. She had a rewarding social life, too, which included friendship with Paul Lawrence Dunbar, the author and poet.

Ella had met Samuel Elbert when she was first at Howard, where he was a medical student. He became a doctor in 1891 and earned a second M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1894. Samuel Elbert built a successful medical practice in Wilmington, Del., and when he married Ella in 1899, she moved with him to a Wilmington mansion. Her 1900 class notes conclude thus: "Aim — To make a satisfactory and truly pleasant home for one very busy doctor."

Marriage transported Ella Smith Elbert to a different world. Her son, Sammy, was born in 1900, and from then on her energy was directed toward family activities. Although Samuel Elbert developed one of the largest medical practices in the state and was active in public affairs -- he served on the Wilmington school board, was a trustee of the State College for Colored Students in Dover, and a Wilmington elementary school was named for him — Ella's life as Mrs. Elbert was more introspective.

By the mid-1900s, Samuel Elbert had built an outstanding personal library, with a concentration of books and documents by or about African-Americans. Its focus was on slavery, abolition and the Reconstruction era; the scope extended to authors from countries other than the United States and to writings on slavery throughout the world. Ella Smith Elbert, too, evolved into an enthusiastic collector. She is remembered now for her extraordinary gift of books and documents, which constitute the Elbert Collection at the Wellesley College Library.

Ella Smith Elbert participated in alumnae events throughout her life. The Elbert Collection, eventually consisting of about 800 items, was established at the time of her 50^th Reunion. Inscriptions in many of the books reflect the Elberts' social connections to several outstanding African American authors. The collection includes documents such as a bill of sale for a slave woman as well as many autobiographical works. The nucleus of the collection, which was originally assembled and cataloged by Robert Mara Adger, a leading Philadelphia bibliophile, had been given on the occasion of Elbert's 30^th Reunion. An annotated bibliography, Rare Afro-Americana: A Reconstruction of the Adger Library, by Wendy Ball '77 and Professor Tony Martin, is shelved in the Clapp reference area.

The gift of the Elbert Collection was made, Elbert said, "because of my love for and gratitude to my alma mater and beloved teacher, Miss Katharine Coman, Professor of History during my four years at Wellesley." Elbert's hope was that it would benefit students, and she insisted that the contents of the collection be readily available to them. Happily, her wish has come true. Students and others who wish to become acquainted with the Elbert Collection are welcome to visit Special Collections, on the fourth floor of Clapp Library.

Written by Sally Linden