Mary A Smith: History of the Navy in Narragansset Bay oral history transcription, 1985

Item

Identifier: MSC-382- Item OH 62

Staff Only

Mary A Smith: History of the Navy in Narragansset Bay oral history transcription

Scope and Contents

Smith, Larry 1892-1987. Reminiscences of her youth and life as a Navy wife, including growing up in Annapolis on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy, social life with midshipmen, marriage, World War I, life in Shanghai and Chefoo, China, and travel to Manila, 1925-1928; Assignment to the Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, R.I., and comments on the Naval War College in the 1930s; Impressions of Admirals W. T. Sampson, W. Rodgers,]. P. Pringle, T. Hart, R. A. Spruance, E. G. Kalbfus and CAPT R. C. Smith; Assignment to Hawaii; Retirement in Newport, R.I., 1940. Part of History of the Navy in Narragansett Bay Project.

Dates

Creation: 1985

Creator

Smith, Mary Taylor Alger (Person)
Naval War College (U.S.) (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Access is open to all researchers, unless otherwise specified.

Biographical Note

Mary Taylor Alger Smith (1892-1987), was born in Washington, D.C., in 1892, her parents were Navy Captain Philip R. Alger (1859-1912) and Louisa T. Alger (1866-1962). Her great-grandfather was, Major General Montgomery C. Meigs (1816-1892), U.S. Army Quartermaster General, he served in that role during and after the Civil War. Meigs, among many accomplishments, oversaw the creation of Arlington National Cemetery at the behest of Abraham Lincoln.

Mary was raised in Washington, D.C., and Annapolis, Maryland. In 1912 she married Navy Ensign, Roy Campbell Smith, Jr. (1888-1946). In 1925, Commander Smith was ordered to the Asiatic Fleet to command the USS Noa. Mary and their four children; Montgomery, Louisa, Roy, and Mary, accompanied her husband to the Asiatic Theatre, she and the children lived in the Philippines and China for the duration of Commander Smith’s deployment. The family returned to the United States in 1928, and after time in Newport, Rhode Island, Panama, and Hawaii, they eventually settled in Newport.

Mary was involved in numerous community organizations in Newport. She was an honorary board member of the Newport County Visiting Nurse Service, and she regularly attended the Naval War College lecture series. She supported the Redwood Library; the Newport Art Museum; the Newport Historical Society; Daughters of the American Revolution, William Ellery Chapter; the Mayflower Society; and the Preservation Society of Newport County. Mary was a resident of Newport, Rhode Island, at the time of her death in 1987.