Mary Smart facts for kids

Mary Smart (born 1832, died 1849) was a young woman from Sierra Leone. She is the first person from Sierra Leone known to have lived in Reading, England. Sometimes, her name was written as Mary Stewart.

Mary Smart's Early Life

Mary Smart was born in Sierra Leone in 1832. She was likely a descendant of a man named John Smart. His real name was Okoroafor. He was a nobleman from the Imo State in eastern Nigeria.

In 1816, Okoroafor was captured by slave traders. Luckily, a British ship rescued him. He was then set free in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Okoroafor chose his new name, Smart, from two important people. One was Samuel Smart, who was the Governor of Sierra Leone. The other was John Weeks, a missionary who taught him about Christianity. Okoroafor respected John Weeks so much that he named his daughters after Weeks's sisters. We don't know much about Mary Smart's mother.

In 1848, Mary Smart was one of two girls sent from Sierra Leone to Reading, England. The plan was for them to train there to become teachers.

A Short Life in Reading

Mary Smart died less than a year after she arrived in Reading. She passed away in 1849, at the age of 17. She died from a serious skin infection called erysipelas.

Mary was buried on March 13, 1849. Her grave at Cemetery Junction in Reading has no headstone. This cemetery had only opened a few years earlier, in 1843. Mary was one of the first people buried there. People at the time described her as 'a pious African girl'. Sadly, many young people died in Victorian Reading. This was because of poor hygiene and poverty in the town.

Remembering Mary Smart

Mary Smart's life and death in Reading are important. Her story helps us understand Reading's connections to the history of slavery. Many articles and books have mentioned her.

In 2007, a special exhibition took place. It was put on by the Reading International Solidarity Centre (RISC). They worked with local groups to research Reading's links to the slave trade. The exhibition also looked at the fight to end slavery. The Heritage Lottery Fund helped pay for this project. Mary Smart's story and Okoroafor's history were both part of this exhibition.

In 2021, an online article from BerkshireLive talked about Mary and Okoroafor. The article was called 'The truth about the history of Reading's black community and the town's links to slavery'. It said that stories like theirs have often been 'airbrushed out' of history. This means they were not told or remembered enough.

Richard Stowell also wrote an article for Reading History. It explains the strong links between Reading and Sierra Leone. He says Mary Smart's family history shows how closely Britain and Sierra Leone were connected.

A short book about Mary Smart was written by Richard Stowell. It is called 'From Regent to Reading: the story of Mary Smart 1832-1849'. It was published in 2012. You can find a copy of it in the University of Reading library.