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Jeanie Oliver Davidson Smith
1836–1925
A 19th-century American poet and novelist who published under the name Temple Oliver, she wrote lyrical verse as well as fiction and kept writing almost to the end of her life. Her work appeared in major British and American magazines, and her 1889 collection Day Lilies helped build her reputation as a poet.
1 Audiobook
The Story of Zephyr: A Christmas Story
by Jeanie Oliver Davidson Smith
About the author
Born in Troy, New York, in 1836, Jeanie Oliver Davidson Smith spent part of her youth in Edinburgh after her mother's death and was educated there before returning to the United States. That transatlantic background seems to have stayed with her, and later accounts describe her as inheriting both poetic and artistic leanings from her family.
After marrying Horace E. Smith, dean of Albany Law School, she made her home in Johnstown, New York, where her house became known as a social and literary center. Alongside family life and charitable work, she published poems, tales, and sketches in British and American magazines.
Writing as Temple Oliver, she produced several books, including Day Lilies (1889), The Mayor of Kanemeta (1891), and Donald Moncrieff (1892). She was especially admired for her verse and belonged to literary organizations such as the Society of American Authors, the Authors League of America, and the Pen and Brush Club of New York. She died in Johnstown on November 16, 1925.