Roberta K. Smith

Roberta Smith Obituary
Roberta K. Smith, only child of Leroy Irving Smith and Esther Barrows Smith, life-long resident of Mansfield’s Spring Hill Historic District, died after a short illness on Nov. 7, 2021 in the 101st year of her age. She was delivered by her great uncle on Valentine’s Day in 1921 in Windham’s Clark Hospital, which is now the Holy Family Shelter on the corner of Jackson and Valley Streets, and then went home to Spring Hill for essentially the rest of her long and accomplished life.  Her years at Simmons College in Boston, where she received her B.A. in Library Science, and two years afterwards working in the Elmwood Public Library in Providence during World War II, were the only years she lived away from her family home. In 1945 she moved back to Mansfield upon her father's death and continued her career at UConn’s Wilbur Cross Library, where she ultimately became the highly respected Head of the Reference Department until her early retirement in 1972.



Her 27 years at the Wilbur Cross Library turned out to be only a blip in her life as a consummate researcher and story teller. Roberta loved Mansfield deeply, especially Spring Hill, and authored several articles and books about Mansfield’s history and its historical figures of note (The Constant Years: The Life of Constant Southworth, 1990, and Mansfield’s First Citizen Speaker: The Honorable Shubael Conant, Esq., 2013).



All who knew her will remember Roberta for her often expressed love of home amidst Mansfield’s natural beauty. In her 1983 book, Listen to the Echoes, a history of the Spring Hill area, she recalls a joyful childhood memory: “Throughout my childhood a favorite pastime was standing on the rocky ledges of ‘Fifty-Foot’ [as the ledges of Spring Hill were once called] with playmates, calling out various names and phrases, then remaining absolutely quiet to ‘listen to the echoes.’”



Roberta’s love of home eventually evolved into love of house. In her 2015 book, “Secrets of My Old Spring Hill House”, Roberta recalls how she became interested in the history of several antique houses in Mansfield in addition to her own. Always the devoted researcher, she spent endless hours exploring the Mansfield and State archives and contributed to the Mansfield Historical Society’s 2001 publication, “Historic Mansfield Center”, a description of several historic buildings in that section of town. A personal remembrance by Roberta’s second cousin (in-law) tells us as much about Roberta’s skill as a researcher as about her generosity, creativity, originality, and thoughtfulness, for which she was well-known: “In December of 1981 Roberta presented us with a history of all of the many transactions in the town land records involving our home since 1778. Six typed pages listing the purchases and mortgage activity containing many familiar Mansfield names - Fenton, Atwood, Chaffee, Macfarlane, Crane for example. But the first purchaser’s name listed was of the most interest because she recognized it as a family name. She went to Hartford (I don’t know where) and discovered that he was my husband’s five great grandfather’s brother - meaning after eight generations (203 years) it was purchased by a descendant of the original owner. We were all amazed by the results of her many hours of research! She also included a listing of the names of the ancestors, and a historic plaque for the front of the house. It was a wonderful wedding present, housewarming gift, and the loving tribute from her that we will always treasure.”



In addition to her publications, Roberta was known for her lectures on practically any aspect of life in historic Mansfield. Many friends and various groups had the privilege of touring the Olde Mansfield Center Cemetery with Roberta as an authoritative guide to the symbolism and craftsmanship of 18th century headstones, as well as to the history of the local luminaries below.



Roberta was a charter member of the Mansfield Historical Society when it was established in 1957 and remained resolutely dedicated to its mission until her recent illness. She served as president of the Society in the late 1970s and during her term successfully negotiated with the Town to gain use of the old town office building for the Society’s museum, which was a major turning point for the Society. In 1991 Roberta was officially appointed as the first Town Historian by the Mansfield Town Council, a position she held until her death.



Accolades are too many to list. Most precious to Roberta were the many letters of gratitude she received from UConn students and faculty who relied on Roberta’s research skills to complete their work. Awards of recognition for public service were recurrent in Roberta’s files spreading over decades. She was a founding member of the Joshua's Tract Conservation and Historic Trust. Also dear to Roberta was her membership in the United Church of Christ, Congregational, in Mansfield Center, founded in 1710 by ten early Mansfield settlers, one of whom was Roberta’s maternal ancestor, thus confirming her self-proclaimed status as “authentic Connecticut Yankee”.



Contributions in the memory of Leroy Irving Smith, Esther Barrows Smith, and Roberta K. Smith can be made to the Connecticut Historical Society Library Research Center Improvement Fund, 1 Elizabeth St., Hartford CT, 06105.






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