Katie Kehm Smith

Katie Kehm Smith (1868 – 18 September 1895) was an American freethought lecturer and organizer.

Early life Katie Kehm was born in Warsaw, Illinois, and received her education in public schools.

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."

The Annual Congress of the Freethought Federation of America and Secular Union, which took place in New York City 25–27 October 1895, passed a resolution stating:That that the members of this association have learned with deep sorrow of the untimely death of that most earnest and useful worker In the cause, Katie Kehm Smith, of Oregon; we realize that she did a work never before successfully attempted; that she was a pioneer in Secular Sunday-school labors and that it will be most difficult to find those who are by temperament and natural aptitude adapted to continue and extend the system of Secular Sunday instruction with which her name will remain associated as originator and organizer... In the death of Katie Kehm Smith, Freethought loses one of its bravest and clearest thinkers, and one of its brightest women. Following her death, Kehm Smith's supporters launched a monument fund, later unveiling a marble obelisk inscribed with "The world is my country. To do good is my religion."