Edith Renfrow Smith facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Edith Renfrow Smith
Renfrow Smith in her cap and gown the day she graduated from Grinnell College in 1937
Born	Edith Renfrow (1914-07-14)July 14, 1914 (age 111 years, 29 days) Grinnell, Iowa, U.S.
Spouse(s)	Henry T. Smith ​ (m. 1940)​
Children	2

Edith Renfrow Smith was born on July 14, 1914. She is an American woman who has lived for a very long time, over 110 years! She made history as the first African American woman to graduate from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. Her grandparents were born into slavery.

When she was 108 years old, Edith was called a "superager" by a study from Northwestern University. This means she had an amazing memory and lived a very long life. In 2019, when she was 105, Grinnell College gave her a special honorary degree. In 2022, the college announced they would name a new building, Renfrow Hall, after her. This building opened in the fall of 2024.

Edith's Early Life

Edith Renfrow was born on July 14, 1914. She was the fifth of six children born to Eva Craig and Lee Augustus Renfrow. Her family was one of the few African American families living in Grinnell, a small town in Iowa.

Family History

Both of Edith's parents had parents who were born into slavery. Her father's mother, Elia Anderson, was born in The Gambia and brought to America as a slave.

The story of Edith's grandmother, Eliza Jane, was even shared in a 1937 article in The Crisis, a magazine from the NAACP. The article explained how Eliza Jane's mother was a slave girl who fell in love with her owner. He treated her with respect and planned for their children to be educated. When he became sick, he sent their children north to be safe and educated.

After her master died, his brothers destroyed Eliza Jane's mother's freedom papers, forcing her back into slavery. Eliza Jane, the youngest child, was raised by Quakers in Ohio and later Iowa. There, she met and married George Craig. Their daughter, Eva Pearl Craig, would become Edith's mother.

Her Siblings

Education was very important to the Renfrow family. All of Edith's siblings went to college and had successful careers.

• Her oldest sister, Helen Renfrow Lemme (1904–1968), became a famous teacher and fought for civil rights in Iowa City, Iowa. An elementary school in Iowa City is named after her.
• Alice Renfrow (1906–1997) worked at the Library of Congress.
• Rudolph Renfrow (1907–1972) was a top student at Hampton University and worked for civil rights in Washington, D.C.
• Evanel Renfrow (1908–1994) earned two degrees in nutrition and became a professor at Savannah State University.
• Her youngest brother, Paul Renfrow (1916–1974), was a soldier in the US Army during World War II. He was part of the D-Day invasion.

Her College Years

Edith, like her siblings, finished public school in Grinnell. She was the only one who stayed in town to attend Grinnell College. She graduated in 1937 with a major in psychology and a minor in economics. She was the very first African American woman to graduate from Grinnell College.

During her college years, which were during the Great Depression, Edith worked different jobs on campus. She lived and ate at home to save money. Even so, she was an active part of college life. She said, "That was a wonderful experience. I was just part of the group, and I enjoyed all the group activities that we had at Grinnell." She went to dances and dinners and played sports like basketball and field hockey.

Her Career and Family

After college, Edith moved to Chicago to find work. She worked at the YWCA and later at the University of Chicago. In Chicago, she met Henry T. Smith. They got married on May 25, 1940, at her family home in Grinnell. They had two daughters, Virginia and Alice.

Edith became a teacher and taught in the Chicago school system for 21 years. She is even a member of the Black Educator Hall of Fame. After she retired in 1976, she started volunteering a lot. She volunteered at Goodwill and the Art Institute of Chicago, continuing this into her nineties.

Later Life and Special Honors

Edith Renfrow Smith has received many honors for her long life and contributions.

• In 2009, at age 94, she was added to the Chicago Senior Citizen Hall of Fame.
• Because of her amazing memory and energy, at age 99, Edith was chosen for a "superager" study at Northwestern University. To be a "superager," a person must be 80 or older and have a memory as good as or better than people in their 50s or 60s. Very few people qualify for this study.
• Edith appeared on the Today Show in 2018 as part of a series about superagers. In 2021, she was in a PBS show called "Build a Better Memory through Science."
• In 2019, when she was 104, Grinnell College gave her an honorary degree.
• The Edith Renfrow Smith Black Women's Library opened at Grinnell College in 2019.
• In 2006, a gallery in the Joe Rosenfield Campus Center at Grinnell College was named the Smith Gallery in her honor.
• The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper wrote about Edith when she turned 107 in July 2021, and again when she turned 108.
• In 2022, Grinnell College announced that a new student residence hall would be named Renfrow Hall in her honor. This building opened in 2024.
• She was featured on NBC News and NPR in early 2023, sharing her life lessons and experiences.
• In April 2023, she received the Women in American History award from the Grinnell Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution.
• For her 109th birthday in July 2023, she was featured in the Chicago Sun-Times and on WGN Channel 9.
• In January 2024, a book about her life was published, called "No One is Better than You: Edith Renfrow Smith and the Power of a Mother's Words."
• She was interviewed online and featured as a cover story for Insight News in April 2024.
• For her 110th birthday in July 2024, she was featured in the Chicago Sun Times again.
• On September 21, 2024, at 110 years old, she was added to the Iowa African American Hall of Fame.
• On September 28, 2024, she was present with her family when Renfrow Hall was officially named in her honor at Grinnell College.
• For her 111th birthday in July 2025, she was interviewed by the Chicago Sun Times and featured by the University of Chicago Medicine as their oldest participant in their SuperAging Research Initiative.

Images for kids

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  Edith Renfrow Smith in her cap and gown the day she graduated from Grinnell College in 1937