Mary Jane Scott was born on 13 Nov 1862 in West Boylston to Edward W. Scott and Catherine Annie Jackson. Edward and Catherine were former slaves who traveled from their birthplace in Warrenton, VA to Massachusetts with Methodist missionaries. You can read a bit more about the Scott family here.

Mary Jane married James D. Smith in Worcester, MA on 20 Dec 1888. Their son, James Martin Smith was born in Worcester on 13 Jan 1890. Husband James disappears from Worcester records by 1900. The 1900 census lists Mary Jane, her son, (James) Martin, and a cousin, William Jackson all living at 70 John St. By this time, Mary Jane was working as a laundress. By 1910, her younger brother Walter Scott and sister-in-law, Gertrude Smith had joined the Smith household above the Kennedy family at 17 Orchard St.

James Martin Smith married Fannie Virginia Harris on 22 Dec 1914 in Worcester and died nearly four years later on 4 Oct 1918. Their son, Thomas Smith, born 12 Aug 1918, married Bernice Dorothy Wilson, the daughter of Leslie Wilson and Lena Jackson. Thomas and Bernice’s daughter, Rheta Virginia Smith, was born 15 Aug 1938. In 1940, family resided with the Jacksons at 67 Mason St.