Name: Carrie Smith (Crawford)
Birth Date: February 1877
Birth Place: Nashville Tennesse, USA
Death Date: November 19, 1954
Death Location: Evanston Illinois, USA
Summary
Carrie Crawford Smith (1877-1954) received her liberal arts degree from Fisk University in 1895. She taught school in Tennessee and Florida before coming to Evanston in 1917. The following year Smith opened the Smith Employment Agency which she ran almost continuously until 1954. Smith specialized in finding employment for the many African-Americans who were moving to Evanston from the south following WWI. Specializing in household help, Smith was an important figure in the African-American community, helping new residents find jobs and transition to life in Evanston.
Children: Six: Edna May, Robert Alexander, Frank Donald, Laura Louise, Crawford, Melvin
Education: Fisk University: Liberal Arts, 1891-1895. Northwestern University: Educational Courses.
Years in Evanston: 1917-1954
Sources: Carrie Crawford Smith, 1877-1954: A Biography, chronicled by Melvin Scribner Smith, 1993, 20 pp "The Evanston Newsletter" Vol IV, no. 14 Thursday, May 8, 1947 Newspapers: Photograph of Carrie Smith, c. 1920s and Digital photo of Smith Children, Shorefront archives