Biography

Mabel Ellen Mann was born on October 19th, 1891, to Elizabeth Wilkie Mann and Henry Fred Mann, and was the first of six children. Mann graduated from Marshalltown High School in 1909 and attended the Iowa State Teachers College, after which she taught school for four years. On February 25th, 1914, Mann married John Oscar Smith and left teaching to become a farm homemaker. She would calculate the farm’s business and tax expenses, while also making time to participate in 4-H, volunteering for the Ivester Church of the Brethren, and for making corn husk dolls and card designs. In 1928, Mann Smith was the first woman to be named Master Farm Homemaker of Iowa. Mann Smith had two daughters: Mary Elizabeth and Ruth Roberta. Mabel Ellen Mann Smith died January 20th, 1984, in Conrad, Iowa.

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