{ "person": { "id": "3bcb16bb-0391-4031-b7b8-a4cb236af4a9", "public_id": "BT-PER-00003", "slug": "laura-tolliver-smith", "preferred_name": "Laura Tolliver Smith", "given_names": "Laura", "middle_names": null, "birth_surname": "Tolliver", "later_surnames": [ "Smith" ], "name_variants": [ "Laura Tolliver", "Laura Taliaferro", "Laura Smith", "Tolliver", "Taliaferro" ], "sex_recorded": "Female", "birth_date_display": "about 1852", "birth_date_start": null, "birth_date_end": null, "birth_precision": "circa", "death_date_display": null, "death_date_start": null, "death_date_end": null, "death_precision": "unknown", "birth_place_id": "48890e92-cabf-4442-aa45-044eb66dd856", "death_place_id": null, "summary": "Laura Tolliver Smith was born about 1852 in Copiah County, Mississippi. Surviving post-Civil War records identify her as a formerly enslaved member of the family associated with H. G. D. Brown's Lucky Hit plantation. She later married John Smith and raised a large family. Some details preserved in family history — including a claim that she attended an institution called \"Vicksburg College\" and the family's relationship with Bishop C. H. Mason — remain subjects of ongoing research.", "portrait_media_id": null, "portrait_verified": false, "featured": true, "public_visibility": "public", "published": true, "created_at": "2026-08-08T14:57:50.891379+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-08T16:00:17.768808+00:00" }, "claims": [ { "id": "0c53d0aa-2dbb-4e4e-b85f-67e5ccc4cb2d", "slug": "laura-tolliver-vicksburg-college", "title": "Did Laura Tolliver attend \"Vicksburg College\"?", "public_id": "BT-CLM-00006", "published": true, "claim_text": "A published family history by Alma Smith Spearman states that Laura Tolliver was a student at an institution identified as \"Vicksburg College\" when she married John Smith.", "claim_type": "education", "current_status": "under_investigation", "public_summary": "The family account is documented. Laura's attendance is not. BEFORE TILL preserves Alma Smith Spearman's statement as evidence that the family account exists, while the institution itself and Laura's attendance remain unverified.", "confidence_level": "unresolved", "last_reviewed_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "research_question": "What institution was remembered as \"Vicksburg College\", did Laura attend it, and do any of its records survive?", "evidence": [ { "id": "812f3b04-0434-48f1-9a9c-c96efc156eb6", "claim_id": "0c53d0aa-2dbb-4e4e-b85f-67e5ccc4cb2d", "relationship": "partially_supports", "weight": "moderate", "analysis": "This evidence documents that the family account exists and was recorded by a descendant author. It does not document Laura's attendance at any institution.", "evidence_items": { "id": "5f884ee6-59de-4237-9171-989b96f81cdf", "sources": { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "url": null, "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "published": true, "repository": null, "record_form": "authored_narrative", "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "source_type": "book", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00075", "observation": "Alma Smith Spearman's published family history states that Laura Tolliver was a student at an institution identified as \"Vicksburg College\" at the time of her marriage to John Smith. This documents that the family account exists; it does not by itself document attendance.", "page_locator": null, "verbatim_excerpt": "Laura Tolliver, while yet a student of Vicksburg College, was given in marriage to John Smith, a country farmer.", "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "9b0a199a-fd0c-4e80-a01a-83cb9721d6ef", "claim_id": "0c53d0aa-2dbb-4e4e-b85f-67e5ccc4cb2d", "relationship": "unresolved", "weight": "context_only", "analysis": "Census literacy reporting is inconsistent across decades and is not by itself a reliable test of schooling.", "evidence_items": { "id": "99b7772a-4727-4ce0-99e0-38ebc43e7954", "sources": { "id": "acf3a192-edf0-486a-87f4-3d6f5c783295", "url": null, "title": "1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00038", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mount Hope", "date_created_display": "1900" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00066", "observation": "Compiled research reports the 1900 census as indicating that Laura could neither read nor write. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED.", "page_locator": "p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "013e58c4-a136-4377-8218-a0f034cdc04e", "claim_id": "0c53d0aa-2dbb-4e4e-b85f-67e5ccc4cb2d", "relationship": "unresolved", "weight": "context_only", "analysis": null, "evidence_items": { "id": "964c790d-6e76-42eb-a15f-d0a7d801fa07", "sources": { "id": "3016405e-c9fd-492c-9921-f303cb0eafd3", "url": null, "title": "1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00036", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10", "date_created_display": "1870" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00054", "observation": "Compiled research reports the 1870 census as indicating that Laura could read but could not write. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED.", "page_locator": "p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } } ], "conclusions": [ { "id": "0094ae2d-3be7-4d60-b15a-94b69c4fc6be", "public_id": "BT-CON-00092", "claim_id": "0c53d0aa-2dbb-4e4e-b85f-67e5ccc4cb2d", "version_number": 1, "conclusion_text": "A published family account states that Laura Tolliver attended an institution identified as \"Vicksburg College.\" BEFORE TILL currently preserves that account as family history, but Laura's attendance has not yet been independently documented within the archive. Census records also contain inconsistent information regarding Laura's literacy. The identity and historical context of the institution require additional research.", "status": "under_investigation", "confidence": "unresolved", "reasoning_summary": "Evidence that a story was told is not the same as evidence that the event occurred.", "what_is_known": "Alma Smith Spearman recorded the education story. Several census records contain literacy observations regarding Laura.", "what_is_not_known": "Whether Laura attended the institution. What institution Alma meant by \"Vicksburg College.\" When Laura supposedly attended. Whether records of the institution survive. Whether the school name was remembered accurately.", "future_research": "Identify educational institutions operating in Vicksburg and surrounding Mississippi communities during the relevant period. Investigate Reconstruction-era education available to formerly enslaved students. Search school catalogs, newspapers, Freedmen's Bureau educational records, institutional archives, and local histories. Do not conclude that no institution existed until research establishes it.", "is_current": true, "published_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "researchers": { "title": "Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist", "founder": true, "display_name": "Amberly R. Carter-Mills" } } ], "currentConclusion": { "id": "0094ae2d-3be7-4d60-b15a-94b69c4fc6be", "public_id": "BT-CON-00092", "claim_id": "0c53d0aa-2dbb-4e4e-b85f-67e5ccc4cb2d", "version_number": 1, "conclusion_text": "A published family account states that Laura Tolliver attended an institution identified as \"Vicksburg College.\" BEFORE TILL currently preserves that account as family history, but Laura's attendance has not yet been independently documented within the archive. Census records also contain inconsistent information regarding Laura's literacy. The identity and historical context of the institution require additional research.", "status": "under_investigation", "confidence": "unresolved", "reasoning_summary": "Evidence that a story was told is not the same as evidence that the event occurred.", "what_is_known": "Alma Smith Spearman recorded the education story. Several census records contain literacy observations regarding Laura.", "what_is_not_known": "Whether Laura attended the institution. What institution Alma meant by \"Vicksburg College.\" When Laura supposedly attended. Whether records of the institution survive. Whether the school name was remembered accurately.", "future_research": "Identify educational institutions operating in Vicksburg and surrounding Mississippi communities during the relevant period. Investigate Reconstruction-era education available to formerly enslaved students. Search school catalogs, newspapers, Freedmen's Bureau educational records, institutional archives, and local histories. Do not conclude that no institution existed until research establishes it.", "is_current": true, "published_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "researchers": { "title": "Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist", "founder": true, "display_name": "Amberly R. Carter-Mills" } }, "hasConflict": true }, { "id": "36d200ba-0b28-4da9-9a7f-a2003f542bd2", "slug": "smith-eighty-acre-farm", "title": "Did John and Laura Smith own an approximately 80-acre farm?", "public_id": "BT-CLM-00089", "published": true, "claim_text": "A published family history describes John and Laura Smith as acquiring approximately 80 acres with a house, barns, livestock, a blacksmith shop, wells, orchards, pastures, streams, gardens, trees, and poultry.", "claim_type": "land", "current_status": "under_investigation", "public_summary": "The 1900 and 1910 censuses reportedly record John and Laura as owning their home. Home ownership supports property ownership generally, but does not by itself establish acreage, boundaries, or any of the described buildings and improvements.", "confidence_level": "low", "last_reviewed_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "research_question": "What do county deeds, tax rolls, plat maps, agricultural schedules, mortgage records, and probate files show?", "evidence": [ { "id": "98d7fbde-e47f-4223-b58a-ea75e3058498", "claim_id": "36d200ba-0b28-4da9-9a7f-a2003f542bd2", "relationship": "partially_supports", "weight": "moderate", "analysis": null, "evidence_items": { "id": "f6d3fd10-a42d-49db-bd1f-302694ea8c1c", "sources": { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "url": null, "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "published": true, "repository": null, "record_form": "authored_narrative", "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "source_type": "book", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00081", "observation": "Alma Smith Spearman's family history describes John and Laura as acquiring approximately 80 acres including a house, barns, livestock, a blacksmith shop, wells, orchards, pastures, streams, gardens, trees, and poultry. These descriptive elements are recorded as the family account, not as independently proven property details.", "page_locator": null, "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "41c80130-e551-47ee-873e-4fa54f4664d9", "claim_id": "36d200ba-0b28-4da9-9a7f-a2003f542bd2", "relationship": "partially_supports", "weight": "moderate", "analysis": null, "evidence_items": { "id": "e71565a6-fab6-461b-ad28-22bd0aa2100e", "sources": { "id": "3ad3a8bc-6304-4347-889e-9c04947ca567", "url": null, "title": "1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00039", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mayharris", "date_created_display": "1910" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00073", "observation": "John and Laura are reported as owning their home in 1910.", "page_locator": "p. 5A (penned), dwelling 77, family 77", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "80270111-2939-45ae-af55-129bb71c4bb4", "claim_id": "36d200ba-0b28-4da9-9a7f-a2003f542bd2", "relationship": "partially_supports", "weight": "moderate", "analysis": "Home ownership corroborates property ownership generally. It does not establish acreage or any specific improvement.", "evidence_items": { "id": "ded9ea25-ce89-40fd-a6af-3e93064dabcf", "sources": { "id": "acf3a192-edf0-486a-87f4-3d6f5c783295", "url": null, "title": "1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00038", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mount Hope", "date_created_display": "1900" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00065", "observation": "John and Laura are reported as owning their home in 1900.", "page_locator": "p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } } ], "conclusions": [ { "id": "844892a0-0de3-4946-92db-8ac3e9b0d7e7", "public_id": "BT-CON-00095", "claim_id": "36d200ba-0b28-4da9-9a7f-a2003f542bd2", "version_number": 1, "conclusion_text": "Family history describes an approximately 80-acre farm with substantial improvements. Census returns reportedly record John and Laura as homeowners in 1900 and 1910. Home ownership supports property ownership generally but does not by itself establish the acreage or any of the described buildings and features.", "status": "under_investigation", "confidence": "low", "reasoning_summary": "Descriptive elements of the family account are held as a single account rather than entered as separate proven facts.", "what_is_known": "The family account describes the property. Two census entries reportedly report home ownership.", "what_is_not_known": "The acreage, boundaries, date of acquisition, and whether the described blacksmith shop, orchards, and outbuildings existed.", "future_research": "Search county deeds, tax rolls, plat maps, agricultural schedules, mortgage records, and probate files.", "is_current": true, "published_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "researchers": { "title": "Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist", "founder": true, "display_name": "Amberly R. Carter-Mills" } } ], "currentConclusion": { "id": "844892a0-0de3-4946-92db-8ac3e9b0d7e7", "public_id": "BT-CON-00095", "claim_id": "36d200ba-0b28-4da9-9a7f-a2003f542bd2", "version_number": 1, "conclusion_text": "Family history describes an approximately 80-acre farm with substantial improvements. Census returns reportedly record John and Laura as homeowners in 1900 and 1910. Home ownership supports property ownership generally but does not by itself establish the acreage or any of the described buildings and features.", "status": "under_investigation", "confidence": "low", "reasoning_summary": "Descriptive elements of the family account are held as a single account rather than entered as separate proven facts.", "what_is_known": "The family account describes the property. Two census entries reportedly report home ownership.", "what_is_not_known": "The acreage, boundaries, date of acquisition, and whether the described blacksmith shop, orchards, and outbuildings existed.", "future_research": "Search county deeds, tax rolls, plat maps, agricultural schedules, mortgage records, and probate files.", "is_current": true, "published_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "researchers": { "title": "Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist", "founder": true, "display_name": "Amberly R. Carter-Mills" } }, "hasConflict": false }, { "id": "77e89530-132a-442a-896c-7a27c1b3850d", "slug": "smith-family-bishop-mason-hospitality", "title": "Did Laura and John Smith provide hospitality and support to Bishop C. H. Mason around 1897?", "public_id": "BT-CLM-00088", "published": true, "claim_text": "A published family history reports that around 1897 John and Laura Smith welcomed Bishop C. H. Mason into their home and extended an ongoing invitation for him to stay when in the area.", "claim_type": "historical_association", "current_status": "under_investigation", "public_summary": "BEFORE TILL preserves this as a family account recorded by Alma Smith Spearman. The events themselves have not yet been independently corroborated inside the archive.", "confidence_level": "unresolved", "last_reviewed_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "research_question": "Can Bishop Mason's movements around 1897 be independently documented? Do COGIC records, Mason biographies, or church records mention John, Laura, or Joe Smith? Can Mason Harrison Smith's name and relationship be documented?", "evidence": [ { "id": "87898978-4336-4e6d-9795-f38752cf55d0", "claim_id": "77e89530-132a-442a-896c-7a27c1b3850d", "relationship": "partially_supports", "weight": "weak", "analysis": "A naming practice recorded in family history. Independent documentation of Mason Harrison Smith's name and relationship is still needed.", "evidence_items": { "id": "7f575902-0e0d-4f66-9ad4-18e9e9f014de", "sources": { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "url": null, "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "published": true, "repository": null, "record_form": "authored_narrative", "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "source_type": "book", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00080", "observation": "Alma Smith Spearman's family history reports that the Smiths' oldest grandson, Mason Harrison Smith, was named for Bishop Mason.", "page_locator": null, "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "92e0e3ed-c3ac-478a-ad64-ead69ac05bd6", "claim_id": "77e89530-132a-442a-896c-7a27c1b3850d", "relationship": "partially_supports", "weight": "weak", "analysis": null, "evidence_items": { "id": "c3c9126c-7089-4892-a16f-81d892a39c65", "sources": { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "url": null, "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "published": true, "repository": null, "record_form": "authored_narrative", "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "source_type": "book", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00079", "observation": "Alma Smith Spearman's family history reports that the Smiths' son Joe Smith cared for Bishop Mason's horse and buggy.", "page_locator": null, "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "fda0a2d5-a407-46cd-bee8-4866f7e4b14b", "claim_id": "77e89530-132a-442a-896c-7a27c1b3850d", "relationship": "partially_supports", "weight": "moderate", "analysis": null, "evidence_items": { "id": "27394d5b-586d-4d4a-8041-0fa8bbe646e2", "sources": { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "url": null, "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "published": true, "repository": null, "record_form": "authored_narrative", "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "source_type": "book", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00078", "observation": "Alma Smith Spearman's family history reports that Bishop C. H. Mason was welcomed into the Smith home and that John and Laura extended an ongoing invitation for him to stay when he was in the area.", "page_locator": null, "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "82810c6f-a2c0-4c4d-8733-64d7a8d2f706", "claim_id": "77e89530-132a-442a-896c-7a27c1b3850d", "relationship": "partially_supports", "weight": "moderate", "analysis": null, "evidence_items": { "id": "b34df37f-4745-4f5c-9ee8-b1aca6683b2a", "sources": { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "url": null, "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "published": true, "repository": null, "record_form": "authored_narrative", "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "source_type": "book", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00077", "observation": "Alma Smith Spearman's family history reports that Laura's Baptist faith and the family's religious life contributed to John and Laura welcoming Bishop C. H. Mason around 1897.", "page_locator": null, "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } } ], "conclusions": [ { "id": "250e2197-c98a-46a7-94af-bb4639d4bb89", "public_id": "BT-CON-00094", "claim_id": "77e89530-132a-442a-896c-7a27c1b3850d", "version_number": 1, "conclusion_text": "A published family history reports that John and Laura Smith welcomed Bishop C. H. Mason into their home around 1897 and supported his travel in the area. BEFORE TILL preserves this as family memory. The events themselves have not yet been independently corroborated inside the archive.", "status": "under_investigation", "confidence": "unresolved", "reasoning_summary": "Alma Smith Spearman documented the story. That documents the account, not the event.", "what_is_known": "The family account exists and is attributed to Alma Smith Spearman.", "what_is_not_known": "Whether Bishop Mason's movements around 1897 included the Smith household, and whether Joe Smith or Mason Harrison Smith can be independently connected to him.", "future_research": "Search COGIC institutional records, Mason biographies and itineraries, church minutes, and local newspapers.", "is_current": true, "published_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "researchers": { "title": "Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist", "founder": true, "display_name": "Amberly R. Carter-Mills" } } ], "currentConclusion": { "id": "250e2197-c98a-46a7-94af-bb4639d4bb89", "public_id": "BT-CON-00094", "claim_id": "77e89530-132a-442a-896c-7a27c1b3850d", "version_number": 1, "conclusion_text": "A published family history reports that John and Laura Smith welcomed Bishop C. H. Mason into their home around 1897 and supported his travel in the area. BEFORE TILL preserves this as family memory. The events themselves have not yet been independently corroborated inside the archive.", "status": "under_investigation", "confidence": "unresolved", "reasoning_summary": "Alma Smith Spearman documented the story. That documents the account, not the event.", "what_is_known": "The family account exists and is attributed to Alma Smith Spearman.", "what_is_not_known": "Whether Bishop Mason's movements around 1897 included the Smith household, and whether Joe Smith or Mason Harrison Smith can be independently connected to him.", "future_research": "Search COGIC institutional records, Mason biographies and itineraries, church minutes, and local newspapers.", "is_current": true, "published_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "researchers": { "title": "Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist", "founder": true, "display_name": "Amberly R. Carter-Mills" } }, "hasConflict": false }, { "id": "bac0d24f-79f1-461b-a946-e60c44983554", "slug": "smith-children-how-many", "title": "How many children did John and Laura Smith raise?", "public_id": "BT-CLM-00087", "published": true, "claim_text": "Census returns and the family history describe the size of John and Laura Smith's family in different terms.", "claim_type": "other", "current_status": "under_investigation", "public_summary": "The 1900 and 1910 censuses report Laura as the mother of 11 children, nine then living. The family history describes nine biological children and three adopted sons. These statements do not necessarily contradict one another, because adopted children would not be counted among children born to Laura.", "confidence_level": "medium", "last_reviewed_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "research_question": "Which household, probate, guardianship, church, and family records can identify the children individually?", "evidence": [ { "id": "0e2b8df8-ffd5-4aba-9382-ee19508df16e", "claim_id": "bac0d24f-79f1-461b-a946-e60c44983554", "relationship": "contextualizes", "weight": "moderate", "analysis": "The census reports concern children born to Laura, while the family narrative describes children raised in the household and may include adopted children. The two statements are not necessarily in conflict.", "evidence_items": { "id": "962ed98a-4677-41ee-b28a-fb7b89c3222b", "sources": { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "url": null, "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "published": true, "repository": null, "record_form": "authored_narrative", "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "source_type": "book", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00076", "observation": "Alma Smith Spearman's family history describes John and Laura as raising nine biological children and three adopted sons.", "page_locator": null, "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "b01354f6-4180-4607-95a7-94f16fd4ffee", "claim_id": "bac0d24f-79f1-461b-a946-e60c44983554", "relationship": "supports", "weight": "moderate", "analysis": null, "evidence_items": { "id": "8e7251d4-a644-4058-992c-904c2e778d6c", "sources": { "id": "3ad3a8bc-6304-4347-889e-9c04947ca567", "url": null, "title": "1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00039", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mayharris", "date_created_display": "1910" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00072", "observation": "Nine of Laura's children are reported living in 1910.", "page_locator": "p. 5A (penned), dwelling 77, family 77", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "11af1822-9385-4141-b30d-181251411b04", "claim_id": "bac0d24f-79f1-461b-a946-e60c44983554", "relationship": "supports", "weight": "moderate", "analysis": null, "evidence_items": { "id": "b653675f-2dcc-42bf-b976-259a018bf434", "sources": { "id": "3ad3a8bc-6304-4347-889e-9c04947ca567", "url": null, "title": "1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00039", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mayharris", "date_created_display": "1910" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00071", "observation": "Laura is reported as the mother of 11 children in 1910.", "page_locator": "p. 5A (penned), dwelling 77, family 77", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "d1053f22-24bd-439e-9be7-997e992496fd", "claim_id": "bac0d24f-79f1-461b-a946-e60c44983554", "relationship": "supports", "weight": "moderate", "analysis": null, "evidence_items": { "id": "b6cb6547-ad6f-49a0-8ee3-2292be84f930", "sources": { "id": "acf3a192-edf0-486a-87f4-3d6f5c783295", "url": null, "title": "1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00038", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mount Hope", "date_created_display": "1900" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00064", "observation": "Nine of Laura's children are reported living in 1900.", "page_locator": "p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "1b667494-4225-4177-94dc-dd84d20e5667", "claim_id": "bac0d24f-79f1-461b-a946-e60c44983554", "relationship": "supports", "weight": "moderate", "analysis": null, "evidence_items": { "id": "6e00d047-e0ff-41ad-a751-9f21faf55abd", "sources": { "id": "acf3a192-edf0-486a-87f4-3d6f5c783295", "url": null, "title": "1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00038", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mount Hope", "date_created_display": "1900" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00063", "observation": "Laura is reported as the mother of 11 children.", "page_locator": "p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } } ], "conclusions": [ { "id": "4323c7b1-089b-4516-98b7-cd4da88d5395", "public_id": "BT-CON-00093", "claim_id": "bac0d24f-79f1-461b-a946-e60c44983554", "version_number": 1, "conclusion_text": "The census reports concern children born to Laura, while the family narrative describes children raised in the household and may include adopted children. Additional household, probate, guardianship, church, and family records are needed.", "status": "under_investigation", "confidence": "medium", "reasoning_summary": "These statements do not necessarily contradict one another and the claim is therefore not marked corrected.", "what_is_known": "The 1900 and 1910 censuses report Laura as the mother of 11 children with nine then living. The family history describes nine biological children and three adopted sons.", "what_is_not_known": "The identities of the individual children, which were born to Laura, and which were raised in the household without being born to her.", "future_research": "Reconstruct the household across all available censuses; search probate, guardianship, church, and cemetery records.", "is_current": true, "published_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "researchers": { "title": "Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist", "founder": true, "display_name": "Amberly R. Carter-Mills" } } ], "currentConclusion": { "id": "4323c7b1-089b-4516-98b7-cd4da88d5395", "public_id": "BT-CON-00093", "claim_id": "bac0d24f-79f1-461b-a946-e60c44983554", "version_number": 1, "conclusion_text": "The census reports concern children born to Laura, while the family narrative describes children raised in the household and may include adopted children. Additional household, probate, guardianship, church, and family records are needed.", "status": "under_investigation", "confidence": "medium", "reasoning_summary": "These statements do not necessarily contradict one another and the claim is therefore not marked corrected.", "what_is_known": "The 1900 and 1910 censuses report Laura as the mother of 11 children with nine then living. The family history describes nine biological children and three adopted sons.", "what_is_not_known": "The identities of the individual children, which were born to Laura, and which were raised in the household without being born to her.", "future_research": "Reconstruct the household across all available censuses; search probate, guardianship, church, and cemetery records.", "is_current": true, "published_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "researchers": { "title": "Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist", "founder": true, "display_name": "Amberly R. Carter-Mills" } }, "hasConflict": false }, { "id": "16928ea7-cb7d-4877-b2d1-22696e9bc8c0", "slug": "laura-literacy-census-records", "title": "What do census records indicate about Laura Tolliver Smith's literacy?", "public_id": "BT-CLM-00086", "published": true, "claim_text": "Federal census records between 1870 and 1910 report Laura Tolliver Smith's literacy inconsistently.", "claim_type": "literacy", "current_status": "under_investigation", "public_summary": "Three compiled census entries reportedly indicate that Laura could read but could not write; the 1900 entry reportedly indicates she could do neither. The original images have not yet been reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "confidence_level": "medium", "last_reviewed_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "research_question": "What do the original census images show, and who reported the household's information in each year?", "evidence": [ { "id": "f84f5fd5-c91b-4e19-ae72-01eb0522883e", "claim_id": "16928ea7-cb7d-4877-b2d1-22696e9bc8c0", "relationship": "partially_supports", "weight": "moderate", "analysis": null, "evidence_items": { "id": "c9f4e557-f693-4fb6-a85f-6bbefcd05401", "sources": { "id": "3ad3a8bc-6304-4347-889e-9c04947ca567", "url": null, "title": "1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00039", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mayharris", "date_created_display": "1910" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00074", "observation": "Compiled research reports the 1910 census as indicating that Laura could read but could not write. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED.", "page_locator": "p. 5A (penned), dwelling 77, family 77", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "5c0d29b6-4161-49ea-9b26-53bc97db552b", "claim_id": "16928ea7-cb7d-4877-b2d1-22696e9bc8c0", "relationship": "contradicts", "weight": "moderate", "analysis": "This entry conflicts with the other three compiled entries. It is preserved rather than discarded.", "evidence_items": { "id": "99b7772a-4727-4ce0-99e0-38ebc43e7954", "sources": { "id": "acf3a192-edf0-486a-87f4-3d6f5c783295", "url": null, "title": "1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00038", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mount Hope", "date_created_display": "1900" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00066", "observation": "Compiled research reports the 1900 census as indicating that Laura could neither read nor write. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED.", "page_locator": "p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "dc723bc1-c47c-4183-88ec-6dfd1de61185", "claim_id": "16928ea7-cb7d-4877-b2d1-22696e9bc8c0", "relationship": "partially_supports", "weight": "moderate", "analysis": null, "evidence_items": { "id": "0b4b511c-175d-4581-9696-2a92da180680", "sources": { "id": "810b8354-f33b-4214-92fc-a7887b5e5ba1", "url": null, "title": "1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill, Union County, Kentucky", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00037", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Union County, Kentucky, population schedule, Rose Hill", "date_created_display": "1880" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00058", "observation": "Compiled research reports the 1880 census as indicating that Laura could read but could not write. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED.", "page_locator": "p. 33A (penned), dwelling 288, family 288", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "1ffe30b0-beb9-4a5b-865e-49a6ac2c007c", "claim_id": "16928ea7-cb7d-4877-b2d1-22696e9bc8c0", "relationship": "partially_supports", "weight": "moderate", "analysis": null, "evidence_items": { "id": "964c790d-6e76-42eb-a15f-d0a7d801fa07", "sources": { "id": "3016405e-c9fd-492c-9921-f303cb0eafd3", "url": null, "title": "1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00036", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10", "date_created_display": "1870" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00054", "observation": "Compiled research reports the 1870 census as indicating that Laura could read but could not write. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED.", "page_locator": "p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } } ], "conclusions": [ { "id": "3d048725-ec1b-4da6-a514-af08eca8e078", "public_id": "BT-CON-00091", "claim_id": "16928ea7-cb7d-4877-b2d1-22696e9bc8c0", "version_number": 1, "conclusion_text": "Available census reports are inconsistent regarding Laura Smith's literacy. Three currently compiled census entries reportedly indicate that she could read but could not write, while the 1900 census reportedly indicates that she could neither read nor write. Census literacy reporting should be evaluated cautiously and the original images should be reviewed before drawing a definitive conclusion.", "status": "under_investigation", "confidence": "medium", "reasoning_summary": "The 1900 entry is not treated as overriding the other three. The conflict is preserved.", "what_is_known": "Four census entries carry literacy observations for Laura, compiled from prior research.", "what_is_not_known": "What the original images actually record, who supplied the household's information in each year, and how the enumerator interpreted the literacy columns.", "future_research": "Review all four original census images inside BEFORE TILL and record what each column states.", "is_current": true, "published_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "researchers": { "title": "Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist", "founder": true, "display_name": "Amberly R. Carter-Mills" } } ], "currentConclusion": { "id": "3d048725-ec1b-4da6-a514-af08eca8e078", "public_id": "BT-CON-00091", "claim_id": "16928ea7-cb7d-4877-b2d1-22696e9bc8c0", "version_number": 1, "conclusion_text": "Available census reports are inconsistent regarding Laura Smith's literacy. Three currently compiled census entries reportedly indicate that she could read but could not write, while the 1900 census reportedly indicates that she could neither read nor write. Census literacy reporting should be evaluated cautiously and the original images should be reviewed before drawing a definitive conclusion.", "status": "under_investigation", "confidence": "medium", "reasoning_summary": "The 1900 entry is not treated as overriding the other three. The conflict is preserved.", "what_is_known": "Four census entries carry literacy observations for Laura, compiled from prior research.", "what_is_not_known": "What the original images actually record, who supplied the household's information in each year, and how the enumerator interpreted the literacy columns.", "future_research": "Review all four original census images inside BEFORE TILL and record what each column states.", "is_current": true, "published_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "researchers": { "title": "Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist", "founder": true, "display_name": "Amberly R. Carter-Mills" } }, "hasConflict": true }, { "id": "4782607d-9495-4cc0-b024-b3ea0f0c2ff2", "slug": "laura-lucky-hit-plantation", "title": "Laura Tolliver was formerly enslaved on H. G. D. Brown's Lucky Hit plantation.", "public_id": "BT-CLM-00085", "published": true, "claim_text": "Laura Tolliver was formerly enslaved on the plantation identified in the 1865 Freedmen's Bureau register as H. G. D. Brown's Lucky Hit.", "claim_type": "enslavement", "current_status": "documented", "public_summary": "The 1865 Freedmen's Bureau register associates Laura's former enslaver with Lucky Hit plantation. The precise location of Lucky Hit has not been independently established and no coordinates are recorded.", "confidence_level": "high", "last_reviewed_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "research_question": "Where exactly was Lucky Hit plantation, and what land, tax, or estate records survive for it?", "evidence": [ { "id": "69e263b5-ee93-4afe-bbdc-b1721e35271a", "claim_id": "4782607d-9495-4cc0-b024-b3ea0f0c2ff2", "relationship": "supports", "weight": "strong", "analysis": "The plantation association comes from the same 1865 register that names Laura and her former enslaver.", "evidence_items": { "id": "3e6934b8-34b0-4b21-8abd-14d6b9fe1c53", "sources": { "id": "4c57334f-eda6-4dd7-a17b-a75403bfbba5", "url": null, "title": "Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation", "creator": "Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00035", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. The original image has not yet been independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "freedmens_bureau", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872", "date_created_display": "1865-era Freedmen's Bureau record" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00049", "observation": "The register associates the former enslaver with Lucky Hit plantation.", "page_locator": "pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "bdab5b60-1297-4ef2-9af4-4f7771c363b6", "claim_id": "4782607d-9495-4cc0-b024-b3ea0f0c2ff2", "relationship": "supports", "weight": "strong", "analysis": null, "evidence_items": { "id": "24d52e90-2a9f-4fd6-bc8f-0296f132e9c8", "sources": { "id": "4c57334f-eda6-4dd7-a17b-a75403bfbba5", "url": null, "title": "Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation", "creator": "Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00035", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. The original image has not yet been independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "freedmens_bureau", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872", "date_created_display": "1865-era Freedmen's Bureau record" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00048", "observation": "The register identifies Laura as formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown.", "page_locator": "pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } } ], "conclusions": [], "currentConclusion": null, "hasConflict": false }, { "id": "f840f597-c00f-4fca-bb56-774030d9191e", "slug": "laura-enslaved-by-hgd-brown", "title": "Laura Tolliver was formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown.", "public_id": "BT-CLM-00084", "published": true, "claim_text": "Laura Tolliver was formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown of Copiah County, Mississippi.", "claim_type": "enslavement", "current_status": "documented", "public_summary": "An 1865 Freedmen's Bureau register names Laura and identifies her as formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown. An unnamed eight-year-old female in Brown's 1860 slave schedule is consistent in age but cannot independently be identified as Laura.", "confidence_level": "high", "last_reviewed_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "research_question": "Do additional Brown estate, probate, tax, or Freedmen's Bureau labor records name Laura or her family?", "evidence": [ { "id": "9870399d-724f-4fd3-b055-02324fefe7ba", "claim_id": "f840f597-c00f-4fca-bb56-774030d9191e", "relationship": "supports", "weight": "strong", "analysis": "This is the strongest named evidence in the case: the record identifies Laura by name and states the enslavement relationship directly.", "evidence_items": { "id": "24d52e90-2a9f-4fd6-bc8f-0296f132e9c8", "sources": { "id": "4c57334f-eda6-4dd7-a17b-a75403bfbba5", "url": null, "title": "Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation", "creator": "Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00035", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. The original image has not yet been independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "freedmens_bureau", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872", "date_created_display": "1865-era Freedmen's Bureau record" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00048", "observation": "The register identifies Laura as formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown.", "page_locator": "pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "4e7c0952-864e-4e93-b509-2816eb1d9f1b", "claim_id": "f840f597-c00f-4fca-bb56-774030d9191e", "relationship": "supports", "weight": "moderate", "analysis": "An age of 12 in an 1865-era record is consistent with a birth around 1852-1853.", "evidence_items": { "id": "ec29554c-bc01-4eb8-86be-ca6bb7307be3", "sources": { "id": "4c57334f-eda6-4dd7-a17b-a75403bfbba5", "url": null, "title": "Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation", "creator": "Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00035", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. The original image has not yet been independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "freedmens_bureau", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872", "date_created_display": "1865-era Freedmen's Bureau record" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00045", "observation": "The register records Laura as age 12.", "page_locator": "pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "cab51bd9-42f6-4818-b412-3f62588f0701", "claim_id": "f840f597-c00f-4fca-bb56-774030d9191e", "relationship": "supports", "weight": "strong", "analysis": null, "evidence_items": { "id": "b3c237e9-c5c2-4fc3-ad5a-374a89827efe", "sources": { "id": "4c57334f-eda6-4dd7-a17b-a75403bfbba5", "url": null, "title": "Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation", "creator": "Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00035", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. The original image has not yet been independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "freedmens_bureau", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872", "date_created_display": "1865-era Freedmen's Bureau record" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00043", "observation": "The register identifies Laura by name.", "page_locator": "pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } }, { "id": "dab75192-53b4-41e1-a120-2268f82c1399", "claim_id": "f840f597-c00f-4fca-bb56-774030d9191e", "relationship": "contextualizes", "weight": "context_only", "analysis": "The age is consistent with Laura's approximate 1852 birth year and later evidence connecting Laura to H. G. D. Brown, but the slave schedule itself does not name the child. The identification should therefore remain inferential.", "evidence_items": { "id": "3b111e28-6544-48ce-a40d-0364af79b444", "sources": { "id": "cd81d43e-4f0f-4dcf-89b4-a9ca66a25c59", "url": null, "title": "1860 U.S. Census Slave Schedule — H. G. D. Brown Household, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00034", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. The original image has not yet been independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, slave schedule", "date_created_display": "1860" }, "public_id": "BT-EVD-00042", "observation": "An unnamed enslaved female approximately eight years old appears in H. G. D. Brown's 1860 slave schedule.", "page_locator": "pp. 12-13 (penned), digital image 12 of 101", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "public_visibility": "public" } } ], "conclusions": [ { "id": "8e5cf69f-0b96-49e9-9f69-e22896931253", "public_id": "BT-CON-00090", "claim_id": "f840f597-c00f-4fca-bb56-774030d9191e", "version_number": 1, "conclusion_text": "The 1865 Freedmen's Bureau register provides direct named evidence that Laura was formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown. The unnamed eight-year-old female recorded in Brown's 1860 slave schedule is consistent with Laura's approximate age but cannot independently be identified as Laura.", "status": "documented", "confidence": "high", "reasoning_summary": "Named evidence carries the conclusion. The slave schedule is retained as context, not as identification.", "what_is_known": "Laura is named in an 1865-era Freedmen's Bureau register as formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown, recorded as female, age 12, a field laborer, and described with the historical term \"yellow\".", "what_is_not_known": "Whether the unnamed child in the 1860 slave schedule was Laura. Where Laura was held before 1865. Who her parents were.", "future_research": "Review the original register image inside BEFORE TILL. Search Brown estate, probate, tax, and Freedmen's Bureau labor contract records.", "is_current": true, "published_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "researchers": { "title": "Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist", "founder": true, "display_name": "Amberly R. Carter-Mills" } } ], "currentConclusion": { "id": "8e5cf69f-0b96-49e9-9f69-e22896931253", "public_id": "BT-CON-00090", "claim_id": "f840f597-c00f-4fca-bb56-774030d9191e", "version_number": 1, "conclusion_text": "The 1865 Freedmen's Bureau register provides direct named evidence that Laura was formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown. The unnamed eight-year-old female recorded in Brown's 1860 slave schedule is consistent with Laura's approximate age but cannot independently be identified as Laura.", "status": "documented", "confidence": "high", "reasoning_summary": "Named evidence carries the conclusion. The slave schedule is retained as context, not as identification.", "what_is_known": "Laura is named in an 1865-era Freedmen's Bureau register as formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown, recorded as female, age 12, a field laborer, and described with the historical term \"yellow\".", "what_is_not_known": "Whether the unnamed child in the 1860 slave schedule was Laura. Where Laura was held before 1865. Who her parents were.", "future_research": "Review the original register image inside BEFORE TILL. Search Brown estate, probate, tax, and Freedmen's Bureau labor contract records.", "is_current": true, "published_at": "2026-08-08T16:02:40.933018+00:00", "researchers": { "title": "Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist", "founder": true, "display_name": "Amberly R. Carter-Mills" } }, "hasConflict": false } ], "traditions": [ { "id": "342c2fdc-3884-4ce3-b90a-99f7e365b57e", "public_id": "BT-TRD-00097", "title": "The eighty-acre place", "tradition_text": "John and Laura acquired approximately eighty acres, with a house, barns, livestock, a blacksmith shop, wells, orchards, pastures, streams, gardens, trees, and poultry.", "earliest_known_teller": "Alma Smith Spearman", "family_branch": "Smith", "first_documented_date": null, "sources": { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "published": true, "repository": null, "record_form": "authored_narrative", "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "source_type": "book", "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null } }, { "id": "ce43b336-7858-4583-a451-f7ca02e000f3", "public_id": "BT-TRD-00098", "title": "Laura attended \"Vicksburg College\"", "tradition_text": "Laura Tolliver, while yet a student of Vicksburg College, was given in marriage to John Smith, a country farmer.", "earliest_known_teller": "Alma Smith Spearman", "family_branch": "Smith", "first_documented_date": null, "sources": { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "published": true, "repository": null, "record_form": "authored_narrative", "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "source_type": "book", "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null } }, { "id": "0d88cd8d-f09c-4ddb-86ba-122d988edfe6", "public_id": "BT-TRD-00099", "title": "Bishop C. H. Mason in the Smith home", "tradition_text": "Around 1897 John and Laura Smith welcomed Bishop C. H. Mason into their home, extended an ongoing invitation for him to stay when in the area, their son Joe cared for his horse and buggy, and their oldest grandson Mason Harrison Smith was named for him.", "earliest_known_teller": "Alma Smith Spearman", "family_branch": "Smith", "first_documented_date": null, "sources": { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "published": true, "repository": null, "record_form": "authored_narrative", "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "source_type": "book", "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null } } ], "observations": [ { "id": "b3c237e9-c5c2-4fc3-ad5a-374a89827efe", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00043", "evidence_type": "register_entry", "observation": "The register identifies Laura by name.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "4c57334f-eda6-4dd7-a17b-a75403bfbba5", "url": null, "title": "Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation", "creator": "Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00035", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. The original image has not yet been independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "freedmens_bureau", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872", "date_created_display": "1865-era Freedmen's Bureau record" } }, { "id": "122aea93-04b5-4544-b300-978b501e85bb", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00044", "evidence_type": "register_entry", "observation": "The register records Laura as female.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "4c57334f-eda6-4dd7-a17b-a75403bfbba5", "url": null, "title": "Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation", "creator": "Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00035", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. The original image has not yet been independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "freedmens_bureau", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872", "date_created_display": "1865-era Freedmen's Bureau record" } }, { "id": "ec29554c-bc01-4eb8-86be-ca6bb7307be3", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00045", "evidence_type": "register_entry", "observation": "The register records Laura as age 12.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "4c57334f-eda6-4dd7-a17b-a75403bfbba5", "url": null, "title": "Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation", "creator": "Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00035", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. The original image has not yet been independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "freedmens_bureau", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872", "date_created_display": "1865-era Freedmen's Bureau record" } }, { "id": "35205027-f1c1-4ed4-a346-6d3f17a0b579", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00046", "evidence_type": "complexion_description", "observation": "The register describes Laura using the historical color/complexion term \"yellow\". This is language used by the record-keeper to categorise perceived complexion. It is not a statement of parentage or ancestry.", "verbatim_excerpt": "yellow", "page_locator": "pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "4c57334f-eda6-4dd7-a17b-a75403bfbba5", "url": null, "title": "Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation", "creator": "Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00035", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. The original image has not yet been independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "freedmens_bureau", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872", "date_created_display": "1865-era Freedmen's Bureau record" } }, { "id": "9ae787d7-5835-44c3-87b4-bf2fb5b9fcbd", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00047", "evidence_type": "occupation", "observation": "The register identifies Laura as a field laborer.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "4c57334f-eda6-4dd7-a17b-a75403bfbba5", "url": null, "title": "Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation", "creator": "Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00035", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. The original image has not yet been independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "freedmens_bureau", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872", "date_created_display": "1865-era Freedmen's Bureau record" } }, { "id": "24d52e90-2a9f-4fd6-bc8f-0296f132e9c8", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00048", "evidence_type": "enslavement", "observation": "The register identifies Laura as formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "4c57334f-eda6-4dd7-a17b-a75403bfbba5", "url": null, "title": "Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation", "creator": "Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00035", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. The original image has not yet been independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "freedmens_bureau", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872", "date_created_display": "1865-era Freedmen's Bureau record" } }, { "id": "84875421-3ff2-4293-88cb-ad54aa177c57", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00050", "evidence_type": "census_entry", "observation": "Laura Smith appears in the household enumerated as the Lawrence Hines/Hinz household in the 1870 census of Copiah County, Mississippi.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "3016405e-c9fd-492c-9921-f303cb0eafd3", "url": null, "title": "1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00036", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10", "date_created_display": "1870" } }, { "id": "ea69ada7-415c-4dbf-9266-e7f74dfba832", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00051", "evidence_type": "census_age", "observation": "Laura Smith is recorded as approximately age 18 in 1870.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "3016405e-c9fd-492c-9921-f303cb0eafd3", "url": null, "title": "1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00036", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10", "date_created_display": "1870" } }, { "id": "964c790d-6e76-42eb-a15f-d0a7d801fa07", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00054", "evidence_type": "census_literacy", "observation": "Compiled research reports the 1870 census as indicating that Laura could read but could not write. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "3016405e-c9fd-492c-9921-f303cb0eafd3", "url": null, "title": "1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00036", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10", "date_created_display": "1870" } }, { "id": "90d8bb9f-afe9-446c-80c4-25b81f3c3ab2", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00055", "evidence_type": "census_entry", "observation": "Laura Smith appears in the John Smith household at Rose Hill, Union County, Kentucky, in 1880.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 33A (penned), dwelling 288, family 288", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "810b8354-f33b-4214-92fc-a7887b5e5ba1", "url": null, "title": "1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill, Union County, Kentucky", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00037", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Union County, Kentucky, population schedule, Rose Hill", "date_created_display": "1880" } }, { "id": "07ec07d9-5a60-4030-9b03-27afce81a5fd", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00056", "evidence_type": "census_age", "observation": "Laura Smith is recorded as approximately age 27 in 1880.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 33A (penned), dwelling 288, family 288", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "810b8354-f33b-4214-92fc-a7887b5e5ba1", "url": null, "title": "1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill, Union County, Kentucky", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00037", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Union County, Kentucky, population schedule, Rose Hill", "date_created_display": "1880" } }, { "id": "0b4b511c-175d-4581-9696-2a92da180680", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00058", "evidence_type": "census_literacy", "observation": "Compiled research reports the 1880 census as indicating that Laura could read but could not write. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 33A (penned), dwelling 288, family 288", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "810b8354-f33b-4214-92fc-a7887b5e5ba1", "url": null, "title": "1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill, Union County, Kentucky", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00037", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Union County, Kentucky, population schedule, Rose Hill", "date_created_display": "1880" } }, { "id": "afebfe89-426d-4481-b5ea-7e8a25550866", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00059", "evidence_type": "census_entry", "observation": "Laura Smith appears in the John Smith household at Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi, in 1900.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "acf3a192-edf0-486a-87f4-3d6f5c783295", "url": null, "title": "1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00038", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mount Hope", "date_created_display": "1900" } }, { "id": "0254e327-ca4b-450d-9dc3-b39638095294", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00061", "evidence_type": "census_birth", "observation": "Laura Smith is reported born approximately September 1852.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "acf3a192-edf0-486a-87f4-3d6f5c783295", "url": null, "title": "1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00038", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mount Hope", "date_created_display": "1900" } }, { "id": "4190ff27-2ecd-43ee-b446-6f45d4c4ecf6", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00062", "evidence_type": "census_marriage", "observation": "John and Laura are reported married approximately 31 years.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "acf3a192-edf0-486a-87f4-3d6f5c783295", "url": null, "title": "1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00038", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mount Hope", "date_created_display": "1900" } }, { "id": "6e00d047-e0ff-41ad-a751-9f21faf55abd", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00063", "evidence_type": "census_children", "observation": "Laura is reported as the mother of 11 children.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "acf3a192-edf0-486a-87f4-3d6f5c783295", "url": null, "title": "1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00038", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mount Hope", "date_created_display": "1900" } }, { "id": "b6cb6547-ad6f-49a0-8ee3-2292be84f930", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00064", "evidence_type": "census_children", "observation": "Nine of Laura's children are reported living in 1900.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "acf3a192-edf0-486a-87f4-3d6f5c783295", "url": null, "title": "1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00038", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mount Hope", "date_created_display": "1900" } }, { "id": "99b7772a-4727-4ce0-99e0-38ebc43e7954", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00066", "evidence_type": "census_literacy", "observation": "Compiled research reports the 1900 census as indicating that Laura could neither read nor write. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "acf3a192-edf0-486a-87f4-3d6f5c783295", "url": null, "title": "1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00038", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mount Hope", "date_created_display": "1900" } }, { "id": "63011e89-fa2d-482e-956e-131b9ad7d0dd", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00067", "evidence_type": "census_entry", "observation": "Laura Smith appears in the John Smith household at Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi, in 1910.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 5A (penned), dwelling 77, family 77", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "3ad3a8bc-6304-4347-889e-9c04947ca567", "url": null, "title": "1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00039", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mayharris", "date_created_display": "1910" } }, { "id": "51ff26aa-b051-454e-a2bd-d41b60275450", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00069", "evidence_type": "census_age", "observation": "Laura Smith is recorded as approximately age 57 in 1910.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 5A (penned), dwelling 77, family 77", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "3ad3a8bc-6304-4347-889e-9c04947ca567", "url": null, "title": "1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00039", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mayharris", "date_created_display": "1910" } }, { "id": "aa133b95-4a8a-400c-b22d-a557b2f637c6", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00070", "evidence_type": "census_marriage", "observation": "John and Laura are reported married approximately 41 years.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 5A (penned), dwelling 77, family 77", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "3ad3a8bc-6304-4347-889e-9c04947ca567", "url": null, "title": "1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00039", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mayharris", "date_created_display": "1910" } }, { "id": "b653675f-2dcc-42bf-b976-259a018bf434", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00071", "evidence_type": "census_children", "observation": "Laura is reported as the mother of 11 children in 1910.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 5A (penned), dwelling 77, family 77", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "3ad3a8bc-6304-4347-889e-9c04947ca567", "url": null, "title": "1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00039", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mayharris", "date_created_display": "1910" } }, { "id": "8e7251d4-a644-4058-992c-904c2e778d6c", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00072", "evidence_type": "census_children", "observation": "Nine of Laura's children are reported living in 1910.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 5A (penned), dwelling 77, family 77", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "3ad3a8bc-6304-4347-889e-9c04947ca567", "url": null, "title": "1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00039", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mayharris", "date_created_display": "1910" } }, { "id": "c9f4e557-f693-4fb6-a85f-6bbefcd05401", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00074", "evidence_type": "census_literacy", "observation": "Compiled research reports the 1910 census as indicating that Laura could read but could not write. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": "p. 5A (penned), dwelling 77, family 77", "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "3ad3a8bc-6304-4347-889e-9c04947ca567", "url": null, "title": "1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00039", "published": true, "repository": "FamilySearch", "record_form": "digital_image", "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "source_type": "census", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mayharris", "date_created_display": "1910" } }, { "id": "5f884ee6-59de-4237-9171-989b96f81cdf", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00075", "evidence_type": "family_history", "observation": "Alma Smith Spearman's published family history states that Laura Tolliver was a student at an institution identified as \"Vicksburg College\" at the time of her marriage to John Smith. This documents that the family account exists; it does not by itself document attendance.", "verbatim_excerpt": "Laura Tolliver, while yet a student of Vicksburg College, was given in marriage to John Smith, a country farmer.", "page_locator": null, "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "url": null, "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "published": true, "repository": null, "record_form": "authored_narrative", "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "source_type": "book", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null } }, { "id": "962ed98a-4677-41ee-b28a-fb7b89c3222b", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00076", "evidence_type": "family_history", "observation": "Alma Smith Spearman's family history describes John and Laura as raising nine biological children and three adopted sons.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": null, "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "url": null, "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "published": true, "repository": null, "record_form": "authored_narrative", "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "source_type": "book", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null } }, { "id": "b34df37f-4745-4f5c-9ee8-b1aca6683b2a", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00077", "evidence_type": "family_history", "observation": "Alma Smith Spearman's family history reports that Laura's Baptist faith and the family's religious life contributed to John and Laura welcoming Bishop C. H. Mason around 1897.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": null, "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "url": null, "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "published": true, "repository": null, "record_form": "authored_narrative", "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "source_type": "book", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null } }, { "id": "27394d5b-586d-4d4a-8041-0fa8bbe646e2", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00078", "evidence_type": "family_history", "observation": "Alma Smith Spearman's family history reports that Bishop C. H. Mason was welcomed into the Smith home and that John and Laura extended an ongoing invitation for him to stay when he was in the area.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": null, "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "url": null, "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "published": true, "repository": null, "record_form": "authored_narrative", "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "source_type": "book", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null } }, { "id": "c3c9126c-7089-4892-a16f-81d892a39c65", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00079", "evidence_type": "family_history", "observation": "Alma Smith Spearman's family history reports that the Smiths' son Joe Smith cared for Bishop Mason's horse and buggy.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": null, "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "url": null, "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "published": true, "repository": null, "record_form": "authored_narrative", "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "source_type": "book", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null } }, { "id": "7f575902-0e0d-4f66-9ad4-18e9e9f014de", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00080", "evidence_type": "family_history", "observation": "Alma Smith Spearman's family history reports that the Smiths' oldest grandson, Mason Harrison Smith, was named for Bishop Mason.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": null, "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "url": null, "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "published": true, "repository": null, "record_form": "authored_narrative", "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "source_type": "book", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null } }, { "id": "f6d3fd10-a42d-49db-bd1f-302694ea8c1c", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00081", "evidence_type": "family_history", "observation": "Alma Smith Spearman's family history describes John and Laura as acquiring approximately 80 acres including a house, barns, livestock, a blacksmith shop, wells, orchards, pastures, streams, gardens, trees, and poultry. These descriptive elements are recorded as the family account, not as independently proven property details.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": null, "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "url": null, "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "published": true, "repository": null, "record_form": "authored_narrative", "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "source_type": "book", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null } }, { "id": "b7663d8f-c22b-4933-817e-7913f97ed492", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00082", "evidence_type": "research_lead", "observation": "A Find a Grave memorial (ID 92711754) for George Smith, 21 April 1881 - 3 March 1936, Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island, Cook County, Illinois, reportedly identifies his mother as Laura Taliaferro. Derivative, user-contributed content; treated as a research lead.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": null, "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "3260e6e2-fc12-436d-be60-d39baff100c7", "url": null, "title": "Find a Grave memorial for George Smith (1881-1936), Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island, Illinois", "creator": "Find a Grave contributor (unidentified)", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00041", "published": true, "repository": "Find a Grave", "record_form": "other", "rights_note": "RESEARCH LEAD / DERIVATIVE SOURCE. User-contributed memorial content. Not treated as proof of parentage or birthplace unless supported by a monument photograph, death certificate, obituary, or burial record.", "source_type": "other", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "Find a Grave memorial ID 92711754", "date_created_display": "1881-1936 (memorial created later)" } }, { "id": "c0b03069-321f-4974-894e-53f1bf0d07b0", "public_id": "BT-EVD-00083", "evidence_type": "research_lead", "observation": "The same Find a Grave memorial reportedly gives Laura's birthplace as Hazlehurst, Copiah County, Mississippi. Not yet corroborated by an original or near-original record inside BEFORE TILL.", "verbatim_excerpt": null, "page_locator": null, "date_observed": null, "sources": { "id": "3260e6e2-fc12-436d-be60-d39baff100c7", "url": null, "title": "Find a Grave memorial for George Smith (1881-1936), Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island, Illinois", "creator": "Find a Grave contributor (unidentified)", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00041", "published": true, "repository": "Find a Grave", "record_form": "other", "rights_note": "RESEARCH LEAD / DERIVATIVE SOURCE. User-contributed memorial content. Not treated as proof of parentage or birthplace unless supported by a monument photograph, death certificate, obituary, or burial record.", "source_type": "other", "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "collection_name": "Find a Grave memorial ID 92711754", "date_created_display": "1881-1936 (memorial created later)" } } ], "sources": [ { "id": "4c57334f-eda6-4dd7-a17b-a75403bfbba5", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00035", "title": "Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation", "creator": "Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands", "source_type": "freedmens_bureau", "record_form": "digital_image", "repository": "FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration", "collection_name": "Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872", "date_created_display": "1865-era Freedmen's Bureau record", "url": null, "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. The original image has not yet been independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "observations": 11 }, { "id": "3016405e-c9fd-492c-9921-f303cb0eafd3", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00036", "title": "1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "source_type": "census", "record_form": "digital_image", "repository": "FamilySearch", "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10", "date_created_display": "1870", "url": null, "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "observations": 5 }, { "id": "810b8354-f33b-4214-92fc-a7887b5e5ba1", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00037", "title": "1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill, Union County, Kentucky", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "source_type": "census", "record_form": "digital_image", "repository": "FamilySearch", "collection_name": "U.S. census, Union County, Kentucky, population schedule, Rose Hill", "date_created_display": "1880", "url": null, "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "observations": 4 }, { "id": "acf3a192-edf0-486a-87f4-3d6f5c783295", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00038", "title": "1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "source_type": "census", "record_form": "digital_image", "repository": "FamilySearch", "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mount Hope", "date_created_display": "1900", "url": null, "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "observations": 11 }, { "id": "3ad3a8bc-6304-4347-889e-9c04947ca567", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00039", "title": "1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "source_type": "census", "record_form": "digital_image", "repository": "FamilySearch", "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mayharris", "date_created_display": "1910", "url": null, "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "observations": 10 }, { "id": "01a5ddc4-aefc-4049-a106-6864486c683a", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00040", "title": "Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman", "creator": "Alma Smith Spearman", "source_type": "book", "record_form": "authored_narrative", "repository": null, "collection_name": null, "date_created_display": null, "url": null, "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "rights_note": "COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.", "observations": 17 }, { "id": "3260e6e2-fc12-436d-be60-d39baff100c7", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00041", "title": "Find a Grave memorial for George Smith (1881-1936), Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island, Illinois", "creator": "Find a Grave contributor (unidentified)", "source_type": "other", "record_form": "other", "repository": "Find a Grave", "collection_name": "Find a Grave memorial ID 92711754", "date_created_display": "1881-1936 (memorial created later)", "url": null, "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "rights_note": "RESEARCH LEAD / DERIVATIVE SOURCE. User-contributed memorial content. Not treated as proof of parentage or birthplace unless supported by a monument photograph, death certificate, obituary, or burial record.", "observations": 2 }, { "id": "cd81d43e-4f0f-4dcf-89b4-a9ca66a25c59", "public_id": "BT-SRC-00034", "title": "1860 U.S. Census Slave Schedule — H. G. D. Brown Household, Copiah County, Mississippi", "creator": "United States Bureau of the Census", "source_type": "census", "record_form": "digital_image", "repository": "FamilySearch", "collection_name": "U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, slave schedule", "date_created_display": "1860", "url": null, "accessed_date": null, "rights_status": null, "rights_note": "SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. The original image has not yet been independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.", "observations": 1 } ], "enslavement": [ { "id": "6f0b2f46-6c10-4bc9-9c34-e3880680f60d", "public_id": "BT-ENS-00096", "start_date": null, "end_date": null, "relationship_basis": "Named entry in an 1865-era Freedmen's Bureau register of former slaves.", "status": "documented", "notes": "Start date unknown. End date not recorded as a specific day; emancipation context is 1865.", "places": { "name": "Lucky Hit plantation", "location_precision": "unknown" }, "enslaver": { "slug": "h-g-d-brown", "preferred_name": "H. G. D. Brown" }, "claims": { "slug": "laura-enslaved-by-hgd-brown", "title": "Laura Tolliver was formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown." } } ], "notes": [ { "id": "dd1906c2-0f91-43b0-86de-0b0a4bd45795", "slug": "laura-literacy-conflict", "title": "Reading the literacy conflict rather than resolving it", "note_type": "conflict", "published_at": "2026-08-08T16:03:48.210974+00:00" }, { "id": "fef58929-ff13-4bd0-9036-4404e55c284e", "slug": "documenting-family-tradition", "title": "Documenting the account is not documenting the event", "note_type": "analysis", "published_at": "2026-08-08T16:03:48.210974+00:00" } ], "actions": [ { "id": "a69b770f-ca60-4e98-a802-29be8cb9aae7", "action_type": "lead_received", "description": "Recorded a Find a Grave memorial for George Smith as a research lead naming Laura Taliaferro as his mother and Hazlehurst as her birthplace.", "result": "Held as a derivative lead, not as proof of parentage or birthplace.", "action_date": "2026-08-08", "person_id": "3bcb16bb-0391-4031-b7b8-a4cb236af4a9", "claim_id": null }, { "id": "aeb8d428-9df9-4934-88e8-285afe40e08c", "action_type": "status_changed", "description": "Set the Vicksburg College claim to Under Investigation with unresolved confidence.", "result": "The family account is documented; the attendance is not.", "action_date": "2026-08-08", "person_id": "3bcb16bb-0391-4031-b7b8-a4cb236af4a9", "claim_id": "0c53d0aa-2dbb-4e4e-b85f-67e5ccc4cb2d" }, { "id": "4d2376a8-8adf-4dd4-b4fe-e7c18516aa87", "action_type": "conclusion_published", "description": "Published version 1 conclusions for six claims.", "result": "One claim reaches Documented. The remainder stay Under Investigation.", "action_date": "2026-08-08", "person_id": "3bcb16bb-0391-4031-b7b8-a4cb236af4a9", "claim_id": null }, { "id": "58548003-2199-4aec-a585-9be1adc90c35", "action_type": "claim_created", "description": "Opened seven claims for Case 001, separating enslavement, plantation association, literacy, education, family size, the Bishop Mason account, and the farm.", "result": "Each claim carries its own evidence and its own status.", "action_date": "2026-08-08", "person_id": "3bcb16bb-0391-4031-b7b8-a4cb236af4a9", "claim_id": null }, { "id": "4a837021-a6f0-49fa-a282-0628e0b32e34", "action_type": "record_found", "description": "Identified Laura by name in an 1865-era Freedmen's Bureau register of former slaves.", "result": "Named evidence of enslavement by H. G. D. Brown of Lucky Hit plantation.", "action_date": "2026-08-08", "person_id": "3bcb16bb-0391-4031-b7b8-a4cb236af4a9", "claim_id": "f840f597-c00f-4fca-bb56-774030d9191e" }, { "id": "38500f43-7c7c-49c2-8d97-59b82e5fc548", "action_type": "source_reviewed", "description": "Compiled eight sources for Laura Tolliver Smith: the 1860 slave schedule, the 1865 Freedmen's Bureau register, four federal censuses, a published family history, and a Find a Grave memorial.", "result": "Citations recorded. Original images still require independent review inside BEFORE TILL.", "action_date": "2026-08-08", "person_id": "3bcb16bb-0391-4031-b7b8-a4cb236af4a9", "claim_id": null }, { "id": "d2a61427-39cb-4b3a-b6cd-a03263788da7", "action_type": "claim_created", "description": "Opened the first structured claim in the BEFORE TILL evidence architecture: Laura Tolliver and the institution remembered as \"Vicksburg College.\"", "result": "Claim recorded as Under Investigation. No evidence entered yet.", "action_date": "2026-08-08", "person_id": null, "claim_id": "0c53d0aa-2dbb-4e4e-b85f-67e5ccc4cb2d" } ], "events": [ { "role": "household member", "id": "156eb82d-c19e-476c-81c9-5c4bfa95bdf1", "title": "1880 census: the Smith household at Rose Hill, Union County, Kentucky", "status": "documented", "public_id": "BT-EVT-00100", "published": true, "event_type": "census", "date_display": "1880" }, { "role": "household member", "id": "c350b385-0026-48ea-8db1-91f7dd2799e8", "title": "1870 census: Laura and John Smith in Copiah County, Mississippi", "status": "documented", "public_id": "BT-EVT-00101", "published": true, "event_type": "census", "date_display": "1870" }, { "role": "household member", "id": "88010c74-fb58-4b83-8cf8-397bc5352e32", "title": "1900 census: the Smith household at Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi", "status": "documented", "public_id": "BT-EVT-00102", "published": true, "event_type": "census", "date_display": "1900" }, { "role": "household member", "id": "bab72b3d-c5e1-4d36-bbac-f4b21c05bf50", "title": "1910 census: the Smith household at Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi", "status": "documented", "public_id": "BT-EVT-00103", "published": true, "event_type": "census", "date_display": "1910" }, { "role": "subject", "id": "5dd551c1-1d3a-4cb0-9685-3c895e83c0df", "title": "Birth of Laura Tolliver", "status": "corroborated", "public_id": "BT-EVT-00104", "published": true, "event_type": "birth", "date_display": "about 1852" }, { "role": "spouse", "id": "30c3ed29-4d55-45c8-87e0-da4f08c6a414", "title": "Marriage of John Smith and Laura Tolliver", "status": "under_investigation", "public_id": "BT-EVT-00105", "published": true, "event_type": "marriage", "date_display": "about 1869" }, { "role": "subject", "id": "c7766e86-b4f2-4c1c-8d84-1c1d5aceeef8", "title": "Laura named in an 1865 Freedmen's Bureau register of former slaves", "status": "documented", "public_id": "BT-EVT-00106", "published": true, "event_type": "emancipation", "date_display": "1865" } ], "generated_at": "2026-08-09T02:17:16.640Z" }