Eugénie M. Rayé-Smith

Eugénie M. Rayé Smith from the Times Union, July 10, 1914

Eugénie M. Rayé-Smith (1871 - July 9, 1914) was an American lawyer, educator and suffragist.

Eugénie Marie Rayé-Smith was born around 1871 and attended public school in New York City.[1][2] She earned her bachelor's degree in 1899 and her master's degree in 1901 from New York University (NYU) where she studied law.[3] She went on to teach the Woman's Law Class at NYU.[4] She married Alexander G. Smith in 1906.[1]

She served as the vice president of the Women Lawyers' Club in New York, which she helped to organize.[5] Rayé-Smith was the first editor of the Women Lawyers Journal (WLJ), which was started in May 1911.[6] As an advocate of women's suffrage, Rayé-Smith founded the Fortnightly Suffrage Club of Richmond Hill.[7] She was well known for her suffrage songs and verses.[8] In 1912, she published an expanded edition of the book, Equal Suffrage Song Sheaf, which included three new songs.[9] This "second edition" was one of the most popular women's suffrage songsters.[10]

Rayé-Smith died in her home on July 9, 1914, at the age of 43.[1] She was buried in Greenwood Cemetery.[1] The next year, the Fortnightly Suffrage Club held a memorial in her honor.[11] The Women Lawyers Journal, nearly a decade after her death, praised Rayé-Smith for her work as editor, noting that her efforts helped grow the "meetingless club" of women lawyers.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Eugenie Smith's Funeral Sunday". Times Union. 1914-07-10. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-01-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Highlighted Sheet Music Selections". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  3. ^ Maxwell, W. J., ed. (1916). New York University General Alumni Catalogue. New York: New York University. p. 138.
  4. ^ Lyon, C. C. (September 1914). "Careers for Girls". The Educational Times. 67 (641): 427–428.
  5. ^ "Club Events, Past and Future". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1913-05-24. p. 22. Retrieved 2023-01-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Endres, Kathleen L.; Lueck, Therese L. (1996). Women's Periodicals in the United States: Social and Political Issues. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 490. ISBN 978-0-313-28632-2.
  7. ^ "Long Island Clubs and Societies". Long Island Life. 1 (5): 10. August 1915 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "Mrs. Eugenie Smith, Law Teacher, Dies". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1914-07-09. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-01-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "New Edition of Suffrage Songs". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1912-11-27. p. 22. Retrieved 2023-01-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Sheet Music". Woman Suffrage Memorabilia. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Women Have Memorial". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1915-07-11. p. 62. Retrieved 2023-01-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Looking Backward Through the Journal". Women Lawyers' Journal. 11 (4): 25–26. May 1922 – via Google Books.