She went on to publish 170 songs from the late 1800s through the 1940s, even selling over 1 million copies of her original song, “I Love You Truly”! That part of her story is amazing in and of itself. What a gifted woman! But there’s another side of Carrie. She was a woman who suffered a life of incredible tragedy and loss, yet persevered and stayed strong.

At age 11, Carrie lost her father, enduring a youth of poverty with her mother. This was all in an era when life was made difficult for women, employment was challenging to find and women were remarkably underpaid.

Marriages, Motherhood, Making Ends Meet

Carrie then married at age 18. Her son, Frederick Jacobs Smith, was born on July 23,1882. She and Edward Smith divorced only 7 years later, something rare and scandalous in those days. We don’t know what that relationship was like, but the experience must have been quite difficult for Carrie. 

Not much later, Carrie married a wonderful man, Dr. Frank Lewis Bond, who encouraged her in her songwriting. They lived in Michigan and she worked part time painting ceramics, giving piano lessons, and writing musical compositions. Only 7 years into her new marriage, Frank tragically fell on ice, hitting his head, which led to his sudden death. 

Carrie was forced to care for her son as a single mother, again at a time when life was still very challenging for women.