Born in 1778, Margaret Bayard Smith was a highly intellectual woman “read widely in the classics, sciences, and literature” according to The Papers of Thomas Jefferson.
Despite her capabilities, she was confined to a role of domesticity as was the practice of the time, but she used that role to befriend many of the prominent political families of Washington D.C., eventually becoming regular guests at Jefferson's white house and the home of James and Dolley Madison, among others.
She outlined many of these relationships and her thoughts on the budding politics of D.C. in letters to her sisters, kept by her son, then eventually passed on to her grandson, and now belong to the library of congress. They give a fascinating point of view of Washington society and it's up and coming politicians from a woman who had a front row seat to its workings.
