Emma Josephine Smith Hospital Founder
By John W. Ashbury
Photo courtesy Ron Davis
She was born into a prominent family and found her calling after she was paralyzed. Her efforts have served the Frederick County community for more than 120 years, yet her name isn’t highly recognized, nor are her accomplishments.
Emma Josephine Smith was born in Frederick County on Jan. 21, 1844, the daughter of George W. Smith and Mary Ann Elizabeth Nixdorff Smith. They were the parents of 14, five of whom did not survive infancy. George Smith also had a son and a daughter with his first wife.
Emma’s father was a prominent farmer and real estate broker who enjoyed an executive’s perspective, as his advice was sought by many on several public and private issues. He also served as a judge of the Orphans Court.
When George Smith died in 1871, a codicil to his 1860 will provided that his son from his first wife serve as executor and be granted the sum of $1,000, with the remainder of his estate to be divided among his other children. Emma Smith received a modest inheritance, which she invested wisely and used to support herself for the rest of her life.
Emma was just 15 when her mother died in 1859. She lived in the family home until her father’s estate was settled. According to the 1880 U.S. Census, she was a “boarder” at the City Hotel on West Patrick Street. The 1890 Census was lost in a fire. The 1900 Census recorded her residing on West 2nd Street, thought to be in the 100 block, as the U.S. Postal Service changed house numbers throughout Frederick in 1905. She purchased 18 W. 3rd St. in January 1910, where she lived the rest of her life.
Sometime in the 1880s, Emma was struck with paralysis and spent several years in an out-of-town hospital, thought to have been in Baltimore. This life-changing event was the genesis of her passion and drive to have a hospital built in Frederick.
When she returned home, there was a move afoot to establish a home for “persons of respectable parentage and good character, who, in advanced age, by reason of the death of their natural protectors, by loss of fortune, by physical infirmity to care for themselves are unprovided with the means of obtaining the comfort and security so necessary for the repose of mind and body which should ever attend the declining years of life.”
She lent her experience and service to the Board of Managers of The Home for The Aged, now known as the Record Street Home, from its inception in 1892 until her death.
Though she was busy with the safety and provisions of that facility, the idea of a hospital in town was never far from her mind. On March 26, 1897, she brought together a group of her friends at the Carlin House, at the southeast corner of North Court and West Church streets, and formed an organization that resulted in the establishment of the Frederick City Hospital Association. The women worked diligently for more than five years before seeing the tangible result from their efforts.
Frederick City Hospital. circa 1906
In November 1897, Smith began the purchase of property on Park Avenue in a development created by Charles E. Trail known as “Frederick City Manufacturing and Development Company’s North West Addition to Frederick Md.” On Nov. 10, she bought a lot in the development from Thomas A. Gatch and Amanda Gatch of Baltimore for the sum of $50. It measured 50 feet by 135 feet. On Nov. 26, she added four more lots, also approximately 50 feet by 135 feet each. The next day, she bought two more similarly sized lots for $100.
Smith transferred the seven lots, totaling nearly 50,000 square feet, to the Frederick City Hospital Association on Jan. 7, 1898. That same year, the organization received a charter to build the hospital. There was appointed a Board of Trustees, consisting of 15 men, because women could not vote nor create legal documents establishing such organizations at that time.
The building was estimated to cost $8,000, and the women of the Board of Managers for the hospital, which had grown to 33, set about the task of raising that amount. Many fundraisers were held, including a show at The Frederick Fairgrounds that raised $1,200.
The contract was awarded in 1901 to Michael Gittinger, the low bidder at $8,353. On July 11, the cornerstone was laid. The three-story brick building, with 16 private rooms and three wards, was dedicated on May 1, 1902. The cost of the private rooms ranged from $5 to $15 a week, including board and nursing care.
Though incapacitated, she devoted most of her adult life to the creation and operation of Frederick City Hospital until her death from a cerebral hemorrhage on Aug. 21, 1916. At that time, there was a great outpouring of praise for her. Her obituary and an accompanying newspaper letter to the editor read more like eulogies. Her death certificate listed her profession as a “lady of leisure.” She is buried in the family plot at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
Emma Smith’s legacy stands tall in today’s medical community. The hospital now known as Frederick Health, covers 12 acres between West 7th Street and Park Avenue, as well as dozens of other locations and a network of specialty providers.
On Aug. 21, the Kiwanis Club of Frederick will unveil a plaque in honor of Emma Josephine Smith at her former home at 18 W. 3rd St. The program will begin at 10:30 a.m. All are welcome.
Portrait of a Mystery
Though the portrait of Emma Josephine Smith on page 78 has its roots at the original Frederick City Hospital, the facility has gone through many renovations, demolitions and expansions since its dedication on May 1, 1902.
A renovation during the 1990s required the removal of a closet, along with the contents inside. Included in the items removed was a portrait of a middle-aged woman, whose dress and hair style suggested it was painted in the late 19th century or early 20th century. No one associated with the hospital knew who the woman was.
Ann Weisburger Lebherz, widely known for her research and preservation of local history and sites, suggested that perhaps renowned local artist Helen Smith might recognize the woman in the portrait. The hospital allowed Lebherz to visit Helen Smith at Vindobona Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at Braddock Heights with the mysterious painting in hand.
Helen Smith, always inquisitive, immediately wanted to know more about the treasure that Lebherz had wrapped up so carefully. With the padding and wrapping removed, Helen Smith said, “My, but that sure looks like Cousin Emma.” Thus, the portrait of Emma Josephine Smith that accompanies this article was identified.