Melicent Knapp Smith
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
October 15, 1816
Melicent Knapp Smith | |
|---|---|
 Melicent Knapp Smith, 1880 | |
| Born | Melicent Knapp October 15, 1816 Greenwich, Connecticut |
| Died | September 24, 1891 (aged 74) Koloa, Hawaii |
| Occupation(s) | Educator, Missionary |
| Spouse |
James William Smith (m. 1841) |
Melicent Knapp Smith (October 15, 1816 – September 24, 1891) was an American educator and Christian missionary in the Hawaiian Islands. She was a member of the Tenth Company sent to the islands by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1841.
Melicent Knapp was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, the daughter of Jared Knapp and Mary Owen Knapp. Her brother Horton Owen Knapp (1813–1845) was also a missionary in Hawaii, preceding her by five years.[1]
In Hawaii
Melicent Knapp arrived in Hawaii with her new husband, a medical missionary, in 1842, as a member of the Tenth Company sent by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). They were stationed at Koloa, Hawaii on the island of Kauai.[2] She looked after their congregation and household, and provided hospitality for the wives and children of visiting sea captains, while her husband treated patients all over the island. She started and operated the Koloa Boarding School for Girls, teaching with two of her daughters, Emma and Lottie, from 1861 until 1871.[3][4] She also taught Bible study and sewing classes for Hawaiian women.
