Annie Morrill Smith

Annie Morrill Smith
Annie Morrill Smith
Born	February 13, 1856; New York City, United States
Died	November 26, 1946 (aged 90)

Annie Morrill Smith (February 13, 1856 – November 11, 1946) was an American botanist and bryologist from Brooklyn. She was a largely self-taught scientist, and became an important member of the Sullivant Moss Society.^[1] From 1906 to 1911 she acted as the sole editor of The Bryologist.^[2] She also published a number of important genealogical books.

Early life and education

Born Annie Elizabeth Morrill, she was a daughter of Cynthia (Langdon) and Henry Edwin Morrill, M.D. She was educated at Packer Collegiate Institute,^[3] and in 1880 married Hugh Montgomery Smith.^[4]

When she was young, Annie Morrill Smith had studied botany abroad, and became interested in bryophytes and lichens. She was acquainted with Elizabeth Gertrude Britton and Abel Joel Grout, cofounders of the Sullivant Moss Society.

Career

Following the unexpected death of her husband in 1897,^[4] Smith became associate editor of The Bryologist, a journal published by the Sullivant Moss Society. In 1905, she became the formal editor and served in this role until 1911. During this time, Smith used much of her personal wealth to keep the Society solvent. She served as treasurer of the Society for 10 years; she was vice president for seven years; and president for two years. The standard author abbreviation A.M.Sm. is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.^[5]

Smith also published several genealogical books, including From One Generation To Another (1906) about the Langdon family, Morrill Kindred in America (1914) about the Morrills, and Ancestors of Henry Montgomery Smith and Catherine Forshee (1921). She is buried at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn.

References

^ Margaret W. Rossiter (1984). Women Scientists in America. JHU Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-2509-5.
^ Reese, William D.; Culberson, William Louis (1997). "One Hundred Years of "The Bryologist". An Overview of the Editors, 1898 to the Present, with Notes on the History and Practices of the Journal and Its Society". The Bryologist. 100 (1): 140–142. doi:10.2307/3244398. JSTOR 3244398.
^ Leonard, John William, ed. (1914). Woman's Who's Who of America. American Commonwealth Company. p. 754.
^ ^a ^b Anonymous (1897). "Hugh Montgomery Smith". Transactions of the Homœopathic Medical Society of the State of New York. 32: 253–254.
^ International Plant Names Index. A.M.Sm.