Barbara A. Smothers

Please click here to view the Live Streaming of the Funeral Service for Ms. Smothers.  The Live Streaming will begin at 1:00pm on Saturday, February 25, 2023.

Barbara on Barbara written about herself around the turn of the is century 2010

Barbara A. Kiah was born and raised in Baltimore City. Being a product if Baltimore’s educational system, she was a graduate of Frederick Douglass High School.  She went on to receive her BS. Degree in Social Science from Coppin State College and MS. Degree in Education, after which she taught in the secondary schools of Baltimore City, serving a brief time as Acting Department Head of Social Studies at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and completed research at the Kenneth Dike Library, Ibabdan, Nigeria.

Life’s experience carried her to Alamogordo, New Mexico Stevenville, Newfoundland and Plattsburgh, New York where she enjoyed the people and the work she accomplished there.

Being a genealogist, she is a member of the Baltimore African-American Historical & Genealogical Society, The Maryland Historical Society, The Maryland Genealogical Society and was a member of the Reference and Research Advisory Committee 1998 – 2000 at the Maryland Hall if Records. Research work has been completed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., the Library of Virginia in Richmond, the Maryland Hall of Records, Annapolis, MD, the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore; as well as, Enoch Pratt Free Library of Baltimore and Family History Library of the L.D.S. also of Maryland.

Besides that, her continued education has brought her to the Waxter Center in pursuit of added photographic skills, that resulted in a Photographic Display at the Center during the January and February that reflected work accomplished in Bryce Canyon in Utah, Virginia and Maryland; as well as West Africa.  Continued music studies resulted in several performances with fellow students of Ms. Caputo, having previously studies organ under the tutelage of Ms. Budd, Organists at the Second Presbyterian Church. And of course, sitting with the Creative Writing Group.