In 1867 as a young girl, she, along with her brother Erasmus Fulton Smith and the rest of the family, had moved to Brazil from the United States.
तब तक वह और उसके चार बेटे साथ ही एक और स्त्री जिसे पापा, आंटी सैली कहते थे, बपतिस्मा के लिए तैयार थे ।