Mary Smith was the wife of the Rev. Jacob Henry Smith (1820-1897), pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, and the mother of seven children. Her diaries recount family matters, people and events related to the church, and commentary on life in Greensboro in the early twentieth century. Some events discussed in this include the 1908 election, her son Hal's meeting with Booker T. Washington, and the 100th birthdays of Edgar Allen Poe and Robert E. Lee.