Edith Renfrow Smith’s 110 years of living reflects gratitude and determination. Her humble character is revealed through her joyous voice and her positive example of living.
Edith Smith at 107 in 2021, surrounded by birthday cards (click to enlarge)
Edith is a manifestation of her mother Eva Pearl’s influential words no one is better than you!
On July 24, 2024, I spoke to Edith, my second cousin once removed, to wish her a happy birthday. Throughout our conversation, she expressed appreciation for her long life. Edith is remarkably sharp. Her oral histories about our family gave me insight into the 1800s, when Edith’s grandfather, George Russell Craig (1838-1924), and his sister, my maternal great grandmother, Viola Craig Turner (1828-1906), lived.
George and Eliza Craig family. Edith’s mother Eva Pearl is in the center of back row, 1902
George Craig had hidden with the Underground Railroad in Leavenworth, Kansas. In approximately 1859 he made his way to freedom led by abolitionist John Brown. George exited the railroad in Iowa, where he met Eliza Jane Gilbal (1839-1924). Eliza was born to an enslaved woman, but at two years old Eliza was sent away. She was free but she never saw her mother again. In 1862, George and Eliza were married and had three daughters, Theodora, Anna Katherine, and Eva Pearl.
“No One Is Better Than You,” written by Monique McLay Shore and illustrated by Erica Lauren Butler, is a book that reflects the values of our ancestors. They fought for their freedom, overcoming racial obstacles and poverty, and pursued educations for their children. Their tenacious influences affected the next generations of Craig’s.
Lee and Eva Pearl Renfrow’s six children grew up hearing these persuasive words, “No One Is Better Than You. They may have more money. They may be more beautiful. But No One Is Any Better Than You,” Eva Pearl would express to her children. These words build a confidence that offer a person a positive sense of themselves. They encourage the receiver to pursue what they want to achieve. It appears Edith’s determined pursuit of a college education was influenced by these words.
In No One Is Better Than You, Edith’s life is portrayed with her mother’s words, by the writer’s expressive descriptions and by colorful, realistic illustrations by Erica Lauren Butler. “Her bright spirit and belief in the good in all people, along with her adage that ‘No one is better than you,’ is a message that more people need to hear,” writes author Monique McLay Shore.
As a child, Edith enjoyed listening to her mother’s oral histories. Her father was a hardworking chef and grew a giant garden. Edith helped maintain the garden and picked the vegetables and fruits for her mother to preserve with canning. In school, Edith interacted with the Camp Fire Girls, and played volleyball, field hockey, and basketball. In the middle of the depression, Edith worked to finance her college education. In 1937, she was the first Black woman to graduate from Grinnell College in Iowa.
No One Is Better than You is a positive example of a Black child born in 1914, who evolved as an educator teaching grade school and volunteering for numerous social service agencies throughout her life. Edith had a family with her husband, Henry Smith, and raised two daughters, Virginia and Alice. At 93 years old a Grinnell College student art gallery was named the Smith Gallery, in Edith’s honor. When she was 104 years old, she received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Grinnell College.
Edith Renfrow Grinnell College Graduation, 1937
Edith and my mother, Maybelle Craig Broussard, were 2nd cousins, born a few months apart in 1914. Unfortunately, they never met. Maybelle was born in Oakland, California, March 31, 1914, and graduated from the University of California, at Berkeley in 1936. I discovered Edith and her family through a DNA match after my mother had passed in 2017. Maybelle was also an educator.
On September 28, 2024 friends and family members are expected to attend the ceremony at Grinnell College for the naming of Renfrow Hall, a dormitory and community center named in Edith’s honor. Born and raised in Grinnell, Iowa, Edith is the oldest living graduate of both Grinnell High School and Grinnell College. This will be the first time some Craig cousins meet Edith and members of her immediate family.
Nettie Craig Asberry, 1915
Nettie Craig Asberry was born July 15, 1865 and died November 17, 1968 at age 103. Edith met her as a youth. Nettie is Viola’s daughter and George Craig’s niece. She moved from Kansas to Tacoma, Washington in 1895 and is known for her civil rights activism. In 2023, The Colored Women’s Club of Tacoma purchased Asberry’s former home and is currently renovating the house into a museum and community center in honor of Asberry’s achievements. I’m contributing a copy of No One Is Better Than You for the children’s library room in my grandaunt’s museum. It will be wonderful to present this eloquently written and illustrated book about Edith’s life and character, in memory of Eva Pearl’s powerful words, No One Is Better Than You.
Antoinette Broussard’s current writing project is a book about her Craig family; Violet’s Honor: Don’t Be Afraid To Open The Door and See What is On the Other Side. You can read more about her family and her research in this post, and here. Scroll down to read more about her.
