Newtown Meeting and the American Legion Morell Smith Post 440
Reprinted with permission.
When Wendy Kane and I began researching the [Newtown Meeting’s] graveyard trying to determine who was buried where and what spaces were available for purchase, we combed through many, many records dating back to 1815 including minutes from various committees. A few names would surface so often we started to feel like we knew them!
One name stood out – Anna Stackhouse Smith. Records show she and her husband were members of the meeting, and she served on many committees and donated many items to the meeting. Wendy wondered, why would this woman, who was so obviously involved with Newtown Meeting not be buried here?
We turned our attention to her family and learned of the tragic story of Morell Smith. The Smith family lived in the house which is directly across the street from Starbucks [on State Street in Newtown], where the restaurant Relic is now located. Anna’s husband, Charles, was the town doctor, known and loved by everyone. Morell was their only child. He graduated from George School and Penn State and was planning to become a farmer.
He enlisted in World War I and left for France in April 1918. He often wrote to his parents and to his girlfriend, Sarah Platt. The words that he wrote to her, written September 25, 1918, read today, are most poignant:
"We must settle this war with a peace and league of nations that will make it forever impossible for a nation or group of nations to arm to the teeth, and, seeking the domination of the world, break its pledges to its unsuspicious neighbors, and slaughter their men, their women and their children. The pages of history must not be turned backward. This war of itself is the greatest of arguments for peace and we must insist on a peace that will protect the generations to come from the suffering this generation has endured. We are bound to win and we are going to win because we are in the right.”
Morell was listed as missing one month later. Although the war ended November 1918, the remains of dear Morell were not found until July 1924. He was one of about 26,000 killed in action in the Meuse-Argonne offensive which resulted in over 120,000 total casualties.
The Newtown Meeting community was very supportive of the Smith family during this time, recording in the 1919 meeting for business minutes:
The family appreciated the “message of tender regard and sympathy” sent by Newtown Friends.
Sarah Platt, Morell’s girlfriend, married in 1921 but kept in touch with the family throughout her life. She also kept Morell’s portrait on one side of her bureau, her husband’s the other, until her death in 1999. She said he was the finest man she ever met.
Dr. Smith was plagued with worry and the not-knowing took a toll. Three years after Morell’s burial at the nearby Newtown Cemetery, Dr. Smith took his own life over top of the grave of his son. Anna Smith died in 1945 and is buried alongside her son and husband.
One of the more memorable gifts Mrs. Smith gave to Newtown Meeting are the two stone columns at the entrance of the meeting driveway, donated in memory of her husband Charles. Look for the plaque, the next time you pass by.
A more comprehensive story of his life – including pictures – can be found at The Story of Morell Smith (Revisited), presented by Mike Donovan and Jon Guy at a joint meeting of the Newtown Historic Association and the American Legion Post 440.