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Sonora Louise Smart Dodd (February 18, 1882 – March 22, 1978) was the daughter of American Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, and was responsible for the founding of Father's Day. [1] [2] [3]
- Overview
- HISTORY Vault: America the Story of Us
William Jackson Smart was a twice-married, twice-widowed father of 14 children.
William Jackson Smart was a twice-married, twice-widowed Civil War veteran and father of 14 children, one of whom dedicated her life to the creation of Father’s Day in honor of her devoted and selfless dad.
The story goes that William’s daughter, Sonora Smart Dodd, was attending one of the first official Mother’s Day services in 1909 at her church in Spokane, Washington, when she had an epiphany—if mothers deserved a day in honor of their loving service, why not fathers?
When Sonora was 16, her mother Ellen died, leaving William as a single father to Sonora and her five younger brothers. And by Sonora’s account, he performed brilliantly. “I remember everything about him,” Sonora said many years later to the Spokane Daily Chronicle. “He was both father and mother to me and my brothers and sisters.”
Sonora’s mother Ellen, herself a widow, had three children from a previous marriage. On top of that, William had also been married and widowed before he met Sonora’s mother. William had five children with his first wife, Elizabeth, who were already grown when William became a widower for the second time.
In 1910, Sonora brought a petition before the Spokane Ministerial Alliance to recognize the courage and devotion of all fathers like William on June 5, her dad’s birthday. The local clergy liked the idea of a special Father’s Day service, but couldn’t pull something together so quickly, so they settled for June 19, the third Sunday in June.
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- Dave Roos
Jun 18, 2023 · LOS ANGELES (AP) — You could call her the mother of Father’s Day. The late Sonora Smart Dodd launched the celebration of dads in 1910 in her hometown of Spokane, Washington.
Jun 16, 2023 · Sonora Louise Smart Dodd is known as the “Mother of Father’s Day.” She began trying to make Father’s Day an officially recognized holiday in 1909. Sonora Smart was born on February 18, 1882, in Jenny Lind (Sebastian County), the daughter of William Jackson Smart, a farmer and Civil War veteran, and Ellen Victoria Cheek Smart. She was ...
Jun 16, 2023 · Sonora Smart Dodd was the daughter of the veteran and devoted father William Jackson Smart, who was forced to raise six children when his wife died. Inspired by her incredible dad, she...
- Kerry Byrne
- 1 min
Jun 17, 2022 · Sonora Smart Dodd, who was raised by a single dad, spent 62 years making the holiday happen. Her great-granddaughter shares the whole story.
Jun 18, 2017 · On Mother’s Day in 1909, 28-year-old Sonora Smart Dodd sat in a Spokane church, turning a question over in her mind as the preacher spoke in glowing terms of the virtues of motherhood.
