Eva Munson Smith

Eva Munson Smith (,Munson; also known after marriage as, Mrs. George Clinton Smith; July 12, 1843 – November 5, 1915) was an American composer, poet, and author. She was the author of Woman in Sacred Song, a representative work of what women have done in hymnology. She was the author of a large number of temperance songs and other works, which became very popular. Her poems appeared in Poets of America and other standard works. Her best known productions were "Woodland Warblings", "American Rifle Team March", and "I Will Not Leave You Comfortless".

Early life and education Evaline Frances Munson was born in Monkton, Vermont, on July 12, 1843. She was the daughter of William Chandler Munson and Hannah Bailey Munson. Her parents came from Puritan ancestry. Her father was an eminent educator and patriot of his day. He was descended from Capt. Thomas Munson who was born in England in 1612 and came to the Colonies in 1639. He settled first in Hartford, Connecticut, and afterward removed to New Haven, Connecticut. Her mother was a direct descendant of Anna Warner Bailey, of Revolutionary fame, who tore up her flannel petticoat to make wadding for the guns in battle. Her musical and poetical abilities appeared in her childhood, and she was, while yet a girl, a proficient musician, a fine singer and a writer of notable verse. At the age of five years, she composed little airs, and at fourteen, she wrote her musical compositions in form for publication and preservation. She united early with the church, and her musical abilities were turned into the religious channel, such as singing in church choirs.

Mr. Munson and his daughter moved to Lagrange, Missouri and then to Winchester, Tennessee, where she received a good education in the Mary Sharp College. Owing to his union sympathies, Mr. Munson lost his business, and removed to Rockford, Illinois where Eva was graduated from the Rockford Female Seminary (now Rockford University), in 1864. He died there shortly after. and a one time candidate for state superintendent of public instruction on the Prohibition ticket.

Personal life and death Smith traveled extensively in the U.S. In religion, she was a member of the Presbyterian Church. Smith died at the Jacksonville State Hospital in Jacksonville, Illinois, November 5, 1915,

Selected works

Books Woman in Sacred Song, 1885

Musical compositions "Joy", 1868 "Woodland Warblings" "The Home Sonata", 1877 "American Rifle Team March" "I Will Not Leave You Comfortless"