Virginia Thrall Smith

Virginia Thrall Smith (August 16, 1836 – January 3, 1903) was an American children's rights activist, who helped reform Connecticut's child welfare policies and founded the first free kindergarten program in the state.

Early life The daughter of Melissa Griswold and Hiram Thrall, Smith was born and grew up in Bloomfield, Connecticut. She was educated at Suffield Institute, Hartford Female Seminary, and Mount Holyoke College. In 1857, 21 year old Virginia Thrall married William B. Smith (1832-1897) and the couple moved to Hartford, Connecticut. Between 1859 and 1874, the couple had six children, three of whom died in infancy from diphtheria.

In 1882, Smith was appointed to the State Board of Charities. She visited poorhouses and estimated that 2,500 children were housed in these low quality and often dangerous facilities. Thanks to Smith's advocacy, a new law was passed in May 1883 establishing temporary children's homes.

Smith organized the Connecticut Children's Aid Society in 1892. She set up a homes for sick and abandoned children in Wethersfield and Newington. The Newington facility grew into the Connecticut Children's Medical Center. Meanwhile, the Connecticut Children's Aid Society has grown into The Village for Families & Children.

Death Virginia Thrall Smith died in Hartford in 1903 and she is buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery.