Katie Kehm Smith
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1868
Katie Kehm Smith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Katie Kehm 1868 |
| Died | 18 September 1895 |
| Occupation(s) | Teacher, lecturer, organizer |
| Organization | Oregon State Secular Union |
| Known for | Founding the First Secular Church of Portland and its Secular Sunday School |
| Spouse | D.W. Smith |
Katie Kehm Smith (1868 – 18 September 1895)[1][2] was an American freethought lecturer and organizer.[3][2] In Samuel Porter Putnam's 400 Years of Freethought, published a year before her death, Putnam described Smith as "Probably the youngest prominent lecturer in the Freethought ranks".[3] She initiated the First Secular Church of Portland, followed by its Secular Sunday School.[3][4]
Katie Kehm was born in Warsaw, Illinois, and received her education in public schools.[3] She became a freethinker at the age of 16.[3] In 1885, aged 17, she graduated from high school in Ottumwa, Iowa, and began to work as a teacher, which she continued in Iowa and Oregon for over six years.[3]
Kehm delivered her first freethought lecture while still a teenager.[3] By the time of her high school graduation, Kehm was already well known among freethinkers as a public speaker, secretary of her local Liberal Society, and a contributor to The Truth Seeker.[5]
Samuel Porter Putnam wrote that "although a teacher, and often opposed and ostracized by Bible bigots, she never neglected an opportunity to expose the myths and evil effects of Christianity."[3] Having spent time among working people, Putnam wrote, Kehm "early resolved to do what she could to take people's eyes off their "souls" and turn their attention to their bodies."[3] She traveled widely lecturing on freethought topics.[2]
Samuel Porter Putnam described Kehm Smith as being "gentle in manner and speech; she is an orator, and charms while she hits hard with polished reason and facts told politely."[3]