Generic_female
No image available

Abigail Smith Delavan


Other Name:
Abigail M. Smith; Abby Smith
Gender:
Female
Born:
Unknown
Died:
1848
Home Town:
Albany, NY
Marriage(s):
E.C. Delavan (unknown)
Biographical Notes:
Abigail Smith Delavan of Albany, New York attended the Litchfield Female Academy from 1814-1817. She later married E.C. Delavan of Albany prior to her death in 1848.
Quotes:
Caroline Chester wrote in her diary, "had my holy-day and spent it at Mr. Brace's very pleasently, was very much gratified by reading Miss Abby Smith's journal. I think she possesses a very superior mind and an excellent understanding." - Caroline Chester, Diary (Vanderpoel, Emily Noyes. More Chronicles of A Pioneer School From 1792 to 1833. Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1927).

Education
Years at LFA:
1814-1817


Related Objects and Documents
In the Ledger:
help The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation.

Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
Abigail wrote an inscription and signed her name "Abby M. Smith" in Elizabeth Catlin's 1813-1815 memory book (Litchfield Historical Society - Litchfield Female Academy collection).

"Rules of the School and Family" and Names of the Young Ladies belonging ot Miss Pierce's School in the Summer of 1814 (Litchfield Historical Society - Litchfield Female Academy collection).

1816 Litchfield Female Academy Catalog (Vanderpoel, Emily Noyes. Chronicles of A Pioneer School From 1792 to 1833. Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1903).

1817 Litchfield Female Academy Winter Session Catalogue (Vanderpoel, Emily Noyes. More Chronicles of A Pioneer School From 1792 to 1833. Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1927).
...
[more]

Contact Us

Do you have more information for the Ledger?

If you have family papers, objects, or any other details you would like to share, or if you would like to obtain a copy of an image for publication, please contact us at curator@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.