“Mrs. Nellie Townsend Smelzer, 75, of 405 S. Albany St., official custodian of the DeWitt Historical Society, died early today, Mar. 4, 1952, in Conklin Sanitarium after a short illness.

When the DeWitt Historical Society reorganized about 20 years ago she was one of its volunteer workers and later was appointed official custodian. She was well known as a genealogist and was an authority on old Tompkins County families.

She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, Cayuga Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution and the DeWitt Historical Society.”

“Historical Society Official Dies,” Ithaca Journal, March 4, 1952, 3.