Spotlight #6: Ann Eliza Brainerd Smith

This photo and the accompanying caption were originally posted to our Facebook page (link to external site) on March 8, 2023.

Happy International Women's Day! In honor of the holiday, we wanted to take a moment to share the story of one renowned woman of St. Albans, Ann Eliza Brainerd Smith.

Ann Eliza Smith (October 7, 1819 – January 6, 1905) was a St. Albans born-and-raised author and women's rights activist. She was President of the board of managers for the Vermont Women's Exhibit at the Centennial Exposition of 1876 in Philadelphia, and was frequently chosen in similar capacities as a representative of Vermont women. Smith wrote essays, poems and other works, and is best known for her three novels, Seola, Selma, and Atla. During the Civil War, she coordinated a response to the Confederate raid on St. Albans on October 19, 1864. In 1870, Governor Peter T. Washburn, who had served as adjutant general of the Vermont Militia during the war, recognized her efforts and presented her with an honorary commission as a lieutenant colonel on his military staff.