Laya Machat-Smyth: A Girlhood Friend.

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A small, typed, four-page speech can be found within the contents of “Prose: M–R”, box 1, Folder 29, in the Sonia H. and Nathaniel A. Davis papers at the John Hay Library. Sonia gave this speech while hosting a party in her home, celebrating her recovery from a “6 mos. illness.”¹ The celebration was held on 24 October 1954. The speech introduces several personal friends of Sonia, all of whom were talented singers, artists, and theatre actors. One friend, though, was especially dear to Sonia: Laya Machat-Smyth.

While each one of you is a very dear friend of mine, I must speak of one who was my very first and best after I had left my girlhood home. In fact we were like sisters. Her good husband, after many years of association with the Los Angeles Museum as a scientist, has very recently retired. Besides his vocation as an outstanding scientist in his own field of science his AVOCATION lies in the realm of art; specifically in architecture and construction; his cultured wife, my girlhood friend, is a former Grand Opera star. She was the Diva of the San Carlos Opera Co., The Mexican, and the South American Opera Companies. She too, is now retired. Permit me to introduce Dr. Eugene Graywood Smythe [sic] and his good wife, Laya Machat Smythe. [sic]

Series 1. Subseries. Writings, 1952 – 1968, Box 1, Folder 29, Prose: M – R, “Sunday, October 24, 1954”, John Hay Library, Providence, RI.

Laya “Sadie” Machat was born in Ponyri, Russia on 18 May 1890.² Her parents were Max Machat and Fanny Rachael Machat, and after her birth, the Machat family emigrated to New York. Max Machat became a dry goods merchant in Kings County, Brooklyn, supporting his wife and children.³ Laya was the youngest child with four older brothers, Herman, Benjamin, Louis, and Julian “Jules” Machat.⁴

The censuses for 1900, 1905, and 1910 reveal varying information. In 1900, Herman and Benjamin were documented under Max’s household, but not Louis, Julian, and Laya.⁵ Herman was a clothing dealer while Benjamin worked as a clerk for a business of an installment nature. In 1905, all five children were listed.⁶ Herman worked as a stone mason, Benjamin became a dentist, Louis was a clerk, Julian was still in school, and Laya was unemployed. In 1910, Laya and Julian were the only children living with Max and Fanny.⁷ Laya was a teacher at a public school while Julian was unemployed. In 1917, according to her application for a passport, Laya claimed to have lived in Italy from 1911 through 1915.⁸

Before leaving for Italy, however, Laya was Sonia’s first and best friend. When Sonia arrived in the United States on 3 June 1892, her mother, Racille, was married to Solomon Moseson. Mr. Moseson had three children from a previous marriage, but he genuinely disliked his new stepdaughter. According to Sonia’s recollections of her stepfather, he harassed her and sought to make her life miserable even while sick.⁹ His abuse became so unbearable that Sonia was forced to leave the house:

A friend of Racille’s said she would take Sonia into her home until both the friend and the mother could decide what was best for the child. Because after all, Racille could not leave her husband and take care of the children also. Yet whenever Mr. Moseson went on his trips which usually lasted about ten days, Sonia would come back home such as it was, and when the husband was expected, she would hie back to Mrs. Balch. This lady was a widow who had a very large house and a family to match. The youngest daughter, Eva, a girl about the same age as Sonia, was studying music. She and Sonia became very good friends.

Sonia H. Davis, Two Hearts That Beat as One, 2023, p. 38.

While drafting her autobiographical writings, Sonia changed several names to keep the real identities a secret. Samuel Greene was “Stanley Greene”, Solomon Moseson was “Samuel Morris”, and “Eva Balch” is no doubt Laya Machat. One thing worth noting is Sonia’s recollection of Mrs. Machat being a widow. The exact death of Max Machat is unknown. There are three censuses to his name—1900, 1905, and 1910. Mr. Machat was certainly alive in the late 1890s when Sonia moved in. While living with the family, Laya’s mother, Fanny Machat, asked Sonia what she wished to do for a career, and when Sonia revealed she wanted to become a milliner, Mrs. Machat took the initiative to guide Sonia in the right direction:

I’ll ask my milliner whether she would care to take an apprentice.”

In those years telephones were not the common commodity they are today, but Mrs. Balch was one of the few householders who permitted herself that expensive utility. She called up Madam Hagadorn, the finest milliner in town, and told her that she had in her home a very bright little girl who, she thought, would make a very good apprentice. Could she find room for her?

“But Mrs. Balch,” said Madam Hagadorn, “we do not pay our apprentices the first six months. Also, we usually have them deliver our orders. If the young lady is willing to work six months while learning, we will pay her a small salary after that, according to her ability.”

Sonia H. Davis, Two Hearts That Beat as One, 2023, p. 38.

Sonia moved to Passaic, New Jersey, after her millinery apprenticeship with Mrs. Mary Hagadorn. Laya remained in Brooklyn. It is unclear how close Laya and Sonia remained after this change. Sonia was sixteen when she married Samuel Greene on 24 December 1899—Laya had celebrated her ninth birthday four months prior.

Laya went on to study music and become an opera singer. She traveled and performed in various locales outside of the United States. On 9 March 1916, Laya married Eugene Smyth in San Juan, Puerto Rico.¹⁰ Eugene Graywood Smyth was born on 28 July 1886, in Topeka, Kansas. He, too, was the youngest, having an older sister, Edna M. Smyth, and a brother, Charles Smyth. The 1900 census claims his father was a widower. Edna was twenty-six years of age, Charles was twenty-three, and Eugene was fourteen.¹¹ The census also reveals Bernard B. Smyth, Eugene’s father, worked as a librarian while his son Charles worked as a printer. Eugene ultimately became an entomologist, traveling for his work.

On 3 March 1924, Sonia married her second husband, H.P. Lovecraft, and after learning about it, Eugene and Laya were guests at 259 Parkside Avenue on 29 March 1924:

Another striking wedding gift was from Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Smythe—Mrs. Smythe [sic] being the opera-singer Mme. Machat, who is a childhood friend of S.H. This gift is a clay calendar disc from 1000 to 3000 years old, dug up from the prehistoric ruins of Mexico, and bearing the characteristic astronomical and artistic devices of the ancient Aztec or Toltec civilisation. Smythe [sic] is a splendid chap—a government entomologist having a position something like Sechrist’s, but rather more important. He and his wife were among the guests here yesterday, and I was interested to see his portfolio of drawings—for he is, despite his maturity, beginning to take up art in a serious way.

H.P. Lovecraft to Lillian D. Clark, 30 March 1924, Letters to Family and Family Friends 1.130.

Unfortunately, Sonia and Howard’s marriage dissolved and on 25 March 1929, they divorced.¹² On 6 January 1934, Sonia traveled to California for a vacation, yet liking Los Angeles very much, she chose to stay in California.¹³ In March 1936, she met Nathaniel A. Davis, marrying him on 7 April 1936.¹⁴

In the midst of these events, Laya had relocated to Los Angeles as well:

P.P.S Dr. Machat (the dentist) and his sister (now Mrs. Smyth) live in Santa Barbara. Before I beame [sic] real sick, each—at different times—came to get me and have me stay at their homes sometimes weekends; but Sadie Machat as we used to call her, now Mrs. Smyth, sometimes kept me on a visit for a week.

Her husband is an Entomologist. For many years I lost track of them, but when I came to Irene’s First [sic] wedding, in ’47 I went to visit Dr + Mrs. Machat and learned that the Smyths were in Calif. that he was at the Los Angeles Museum.

Before that they were in Peru where he had a yearly contract for nine years, trying to destroy some sort of bug that ravished and destroyed many fruits and vegetables. They were given a well-furnished house and a maid. Mrs. S, having nothing do, sang for the “Lima Opera Co.” For six years after they left Peru, he worked in the Los Angeles Museum. They lived in Hermosa Beach for a few years, then built themselves a lovely home on top of a hill in Sta. Barbara, a very interesting residence. They came to see me at Magdas and took me to dinner. Dr. Machat sent me a small radio; also “Only in America” by Harry Golden, and recently he subscribed to a periodical, “Carolina Israelite” by Harry Golden, for me. On my birthday, they took me to dinner.

S.

Subseries. Writings, 1952 – 1968, Box 9, Folder 1, Autobiographical Writings, John Hay Library, Providence, RI.

By the 1940 census, Eugene and Laya were living in Sonoma, California, having previously lived in South America.¹⁵ In 1950, Eugene was continuing his work as an entomologist; by 1954, Sonia introduced him as recently retired from the field.

The celebration of 24 October 1954 was not an isolated event. Sonia was known for her hospitality. She hosted many dinners and banquets during the early and middle 1920s, inviting many friends over to her home. This hospitality, too, went beyond the confines of her home and into amateur journalism meetings:

In addition to being an extremely personable woman, she was a rare cook, and displayed magnificent hospitality to club members. On at least one picnic she had brought an entire stuffed and roasted turkey to be cut up among the members and guests. Such generosity made some of our conservative members a little uneasy, but the dinners she gave to the club in her home were the really dazzling events.

Rheinhart Kleiner, “Discourse on H. P. Lovecraft”, Lovecraft Remembered, p. 161.

From 1954 until the end of her life, Sonia planned small concerts during her time in Mount Sinai Hospital (now Cedars-Sinai Medical Center) and Diana Lynn Lodge, hiring her friend Mrs. Liverette to perform. In one such event, Sonia invited “Dr. Machat,” likely Laya’s brother Benjamin, who had become a dentist:

I used to invite Dr. Machat; he came once with his nephew, and when he saw the singers and dancers, he asked: Where do you get such talent. [sic] I told him she is my friend, she has her musicians—who pay her when they receive jobs, etc etc [sic]

Series 1. Subseries. Writings, 1952 – 1968, Box 9, Folder 1, Autobiographical Writings, John Hay Library, Providence, RI.

To Sonia, the Machats were family, and to the Machats, Sonia was equally important as a daughter and sister. As a child, Sonia came to live with the Machat family, seeking refuge, but through those adolescent years and into adulthood, a bond was formed—a bond that could not be destroyed by distance nor time apart.

Sonia passed away on 26 December 1972, and Eugene Smyth on 30 July 1975, but the date of Laya’s passing is unknown.¹⁶ What remains, though, is the irrevocable truth: Sonia and Laya were best friends.

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Note: Updated September 2026. This post incorporates additional research and material from Laya Machat-Smyth: Revisited, which has been consolidated into this revised entry.

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Endnotes:

1. Series 1. Subseries. Writings, 1952 – 1968, Box 1, Folder 29, Prose: M – R, John Hay Library, Providence, RI. ↩︎
2. “United States, Passport Applications, 1795-1925”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVJP-Z4C1: Fri Apr 25 02:33:47 UTC 2025), Entry for Laya Machat Smythe and Eugene Graywood Smythe, 1917. ↩︎
3. “United States, Census, 1910”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MP14-1NC: Mon Oct 20 08:49:37 UTC 2025), Entry for Max Machat and Fanny R Machat, 1910. ↩︎
4. Herman Machat (1877 – Deceased), Benjamin Machat (1879 – Deceased), Louis Machat (1887 – Deceased), Julian Machat (1889 – Deceased) https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/GF46-7C5 ↩︎
5. “United States, Census, 1900”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSNR-99Z: Tue Oct 21 04:07:04 UTC 2025), Entry for Max Machat and Rachael Machat, 1900. ↩︎
6. “New York, State Census, 1905”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MK9T-8CG: Fri Jan 31 22:11:56 UTC 2025), Entry for Max Machat and Rachael Machat, 1905. ↩︎
7. “United States, Census, 1910”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MP14-1NC: Mon Oct 20 08:49:37 UTC 2025), Entry for Max Machat and Fanny R Machat, 1910. ↩︎
8. “United States, Passport Applications, 1795-1925”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVJP-Z4C1: Fri Apr 25 02:33:47 UTC 2025), Entry for Laya Machat Smythe and Eugene Graywood Smythe, 1917. ↩︎
9. Sonia H. Davis, Two Hearts That Beat as One, 2023, p. 36. ↩︎
10. “Puerto Rico, Registro Civil, 1805-2002”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVJ7-R4DX: Wed May 14 06:53:43 UTC 2025), Entry for Eugene Smyth and Laya Machat. ↩︎
11. United States, Census, 1900”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMYP-WXY: Fri Mar 28 14:46:21 UTC 2025), Entry for Bernard B Smyth and Edna M Smyth, 1900. ↩︎
12. “Court Record”, Providence Journal, (Providence, Rhode Island), March 26, 1929, p. 14.
    https://soniahdavis.com/sonia-h-greene-in-the-press-a-documentary-record/#court-record ↩︎
13. “California, Los Angeles, Passenger Lists, 1907-1948”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZQQ-QW1: Mon Jul 06 06:34:21 UTC 2026), Entry for Sonia Greene, 1934. ↩︎
14. “California, County Marriages, 1849-1957”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8JG-JSK: Sat Mar 09 03:59:48 UTC 2024), Entry for Nathaniel Abraham Davis and Sonia Haft Greene Lovecraft, 7 April 1936. ↩︎
15. “United States, Census, 1940”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K96Z-5YB: Sun Jan 05 16:08:35 UTC 2025), Entry for E Graywood Smyth and Laya Smyth, 1940. ↩︎
16. “California, Death Index, 1940-1997”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPJW-S28: Tue Feb 25 19:23:44 UTC 2025), Entry for Eugene G Smyth, 30 Jul 1975. ↩︎