Emma Louise Smith Dillingham

Emma Louise Smith Dillingham (June 4, 1844 – August 15, 1920) was a Hawaiian poet, educator, and civic leader. She co-founded the Daughters of Hawaiʻi and established the Young Women's Christian Association branch in Oʻahu.

Early life and family Dillingham was born Emma Louise Smith in Honolulu on June 4, 1844, the third child of Rev. Lowell Smith and Abigail Willis Tenney Smith. Her parents were American Protestant missionaries who came to the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

Dillingham was an active leader in women's and civic affairs in Honolulu, organizing the Oʻahu branch of the Young Women's Christian Association in her home in 1900 and lending her support to the Salvation Army. She served as the organization's first regent.