Case · BT-PER-00266 · A living evidence case study

George Smith

Name: BEFORE TILL: The Living Evidence Archive
Creator: Amberly R. Carter-Mills
License: https://beforetill.com/terms

Son of John Smith and Laura Taliaferro Smith, named as their child on his own 1936 Illinois death record. He died 3 March 1936 in Chicago, where he was working as a janitor, and was buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Cook County. His birth year is unsettled: the death record says 21 April 1881, the 1880 Copiah County census says he was 8 years old.

Claims examined: 5
Reached documented: 4
Sources cited: 5
Observations extracted: 11
Family accounts preserved: 6

Case at a glance

George Smith

21 April 1881 (death record) or about 1872 (1880 census) - conflicting — 3 March 1936

Documented in this archive

A 1936 Illinois death record names George Smith's father as John Smith and his mother as Laura Tatlefero, a phonetic spelling of Taliaferro. The 1880 Copiah County census enumerates a George, age 8, as a son in the John Smith household.
Death 3 March 1936 in Chicago; burial 6 March 1936 at Lincoln Cemetery; age given as 54; occupation janitor; residence Chicago.
A wife named Clara survived or was living at the time the death record was made.
Born in Mississippi; died a resident of Chicago in 1936, working as a janitor.

Under investigation

Was Alma Smith Carthan a daughter of George Smith?

Research & interpretation

Amberly R. Carter-Mills

Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist

What the family remembers

Accounts held and repeated in the family. They are preserved as accounts — they are not treated as proof.

The eighty-acre place
Family Tradition
“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 · First written down in: Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman
BT-TRD-00097
Laura attended "Vicksburg College"
Family Tradition
“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 · First written down in: Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman
BT-TRD-00098
Bishop C. H. Mason in the Smith home
Family Tradition
“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 · First written down in: Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman
BT-TRD-00099
The five-year separation
Family Tradition
“Hilliard was sold to another enslaver in Arkansas and separated from Bettie. Bettie's grief was so constant that her enslavers purchased Hilliard back, ending a separation the family remembers as lasting about five years.”
Earliest known teller: Alma Smith Spearman · First written down in: Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman
BT-TRD-00195
Choctaw ancestry in Bettie's line
Family Tradition
“Family memory identifies Choctaw ancestry in the ancestry of Bettie Alexander Taliaferro, born about 1837.”
Earliest known teller: Not recorded
BT-TRD-00604
Shawnee ancestry in Hilliard's line
Family Tradition
“Family memory identifies Shawnee ancestry in the ancestry of Hilliard Taliaferro, born about 1823 in Virginia.”
Earliest known teller: Not recorded
BT-TRD-00605

What the records actually say

Every observation extracted from a source, grouped by the record it came from. Verbatim wording is shown where the record supplies it.

Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman

BT-SRC-00040

Alma Smith Spearman · Authored Narrative

Authored family historyOriginal image: Publication details pendingA descendant-authored account. Evidence that the account exists; not automatically contemporary proof of the events it describes.

The family history names George Smith among the children of John and Laura Smith. No census line, birth record or death record naming both parents has yet been transcribed into this archive.
BT-EVD-00276

Find a Grave memorial 92711754 for George Smith (21 Apr 1881 - 3 Mar 1936), Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island, Cook County, Illinois

BT-SRC-00041

Contributor AR Jackson (member 47847137), memorial maintainer · Find a Grave (database and images), online · Index

Research lead — derivative sourceOriginal image: Derivative source onlyCompiled or user-contributed content. Used to direct research, not as proof.

A user-contributed online cemetery index records a George Smith with a birth of 21 April 1881, a death of 3 March 1936, burial at Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island, Illinois, and a mother given as Laura Taliaferro. No image of an original record accompanies the entry, and the archive has not verified the contributor's sources. The mother's name is the reason the entry is being followed; it is not the reason to accept it.
BT-EVD-00350
The memorial lists eight children for George Smith: Elizabeth Smith Wright (1900-1970), Mamie J. Smith Hall (1900-1967), Alma Smith Spearman (1902-1981), Hosea Smith (1906-1966), George P. Smith (1907-1968), Cary P. Smith (1911-1982), Studge G. Smith (1913-1989) and Rubin Smith (1918-1996). The family links on a memorial are entered by a contributor and are not part of any burial record.
“Family Members — Children: Elizabeth Smith Wright 1900-1970; Mamie J. Smith Hall 1900-1967; Alma Smith Spearman 1902-1981; Hosea Smith 1906-1966; George P. Smith 1907-1968; Cary P. Smith 1911-1982; Studge G. Smith 1913-1989; Rubin Smith 1918-1996”
BT-EVD-00553
A contributor note on the memorial reads that George was the great-grandfather of Emmett Till. This is recorded as a statement made on the memorial page; the archive establishes that pathway from its own records, not from this note.
“GEORGE WAS THE GREAT-GRANDFATHER OF EMMITT TILL.”
BT-EVD-00556

1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi

BT-SRC-00037

United States Bureau of the Census · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · Digital Image

Digital image of original recordOriginal image: Citation entered — image review pendingA photographic image of a contemporary record held by the repository named below.

George Smith is recorded as age 8, son, having attended school within the census year — consistent with a birth about 1872.
“line 32 | - George | B | M | 8 | Son | attended school”
BT-EVD-00429 · p. 33A (penned), dwelling 288, family 288

Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County

BT-SRC-00524

State of Illinois, Bureau of Vital Statistics (record); FamilySearch (index) · FamilySearch online index · Index

Derivative sourceOriginal image: Citation entered — image review pendingA transcription, abstract or index standing in for a record BEFORE TILL has not yet examined directly.

The Illinois death index entry for George Smith, who died 3 March 1936 in Chicago, Cook County, names his father as John Smith and his mother as Laura Tatlefero. This is the first record entered in this archive that names both of George's parents. "Tatlefero" is one of the phonetic spellings of Taliaferro that appear across this family's records.
“Name: George Smith / Father's Name: John Smith / Mother's Name: Laura Tatlefero”
BT-EVD-00525
The same entry records George Smith as Black, male, age 54 at death, born 21 April 1881 in Mississippi, occupation janitor, residing in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.
“Descriptors: Black, Male, 54 [1881] / Birth Date: 21 Apr 1881 / Birthplace: Mississippi / Occupation: Janitor / Residence Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois”
BT-EVD-00526
The entry gives George Smith's spouse as Clara, with the surname read uncertainly as "Chess". The bracketed question mark is the indexer's, and the surname should be treated as unread until the certificate image is examined.
“Spouse's Name: Clara [Chess?]”
BT-EVD-00527
The entry records burial on 6 March 1936 at Lincoln Cemetery, Worth, Cook County, Illinois - the same cemetery given on the Find a Grave memorial.
“Burial Date: 06 Mar 1936 / Burial Place: Lincoln Cemetery; Worth, Cook, Ill.”
BT-EVD-00528
The death date and place - 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois - place George Smith in Illinois by 1936. The archive still has no record fixing when he left Mississippi, only that the move had happened by then.
“Event Date: 03 Mar 1936 / Event Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois”
BT-EVD-00531
The death record gives George Smith a birth of 21 April 1881. The 1880 Copiah County census enumerates George in the John Smith household as age 8, pointing to a birth about 1872 - nine years earlier. Both readings are recorded here. The census age was reported while the child was in the household; the 1881 date was supplied by an informant reporting on a man who had died. Neither is treated as settled.
BT-EVD-00532

Where they conflict

Conflicts are preserved, not resolved by preference. Supporting, complicating and contextual readings are shown side by side.

When was George Smith born, when did he die, and where is he buried?

Documented

What supports the claim

Observations that carry the claim forward.

A user-contributed online cemetery index records a George Smith with a birth of 21 April 1881, a death of 3 March 1936, burial at Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island, Illinois, and a mother given as Laura Taliaferro. No image of an original record accompanies the entry, and the archive has not verified the contributor's sources. The mother's name is the reason the entry is being followed; it is not the reason to accept it.
Partially Supports · Weak weight
Find a Grave memorial 92711754 for George Smith (21 Apr 1881 - 3 Mar 1936), Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island, Cook County, Illinois
A derivative index entry naming a mother "Laura Taliaferro" is a strong reason to order the underlying records and a poor reason to accept the dates. It is carried as a lead until a death certificate, cemetery register or obituary is examined.
The same entry records George Smith as Black, male, age 54 at death, born 21 April 1881 in Mississippi, occupation janitor, residing in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.
Descriptors: Black, Male, 54 [1881] / Birth Date: 21 Apr 1881 / Birthplace: Mississippi / Occupation: Janitor / Residence Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois
Supports · Strong weight
Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County
Gives the death date, age, birth date and residence.
The entry records burial on 6 March 1936 at Lincoln Cemetery, Worth, Cook County, Illinois - the same cemetery given on the Find a Grave memorial.
Burial Date: 06 Mar 1936 / Burial Place: Lincoln Cemetery; Worth, Cook, Ill.
Supports · Strong weight
Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County
Fixes the burial place and date.

What complicates or contradicts it

Kept in view rather than discarded.

The death record gives George Smith a birth of 21 April 1881. The 1880 Copiah County census enumerates George in the John Smith household as age 8, pointing to a birth about 1872 - nine years earlier. Both readings are recorded here. The census age was reported while the child was in the household; the 1881 date was supplied by an informant reporting on a man who had died. Neither is treated as settled.
Contradicts · Moderate weight
Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County
The 1881 birth date conflicts with the 1880 census age. Recorded as an open conflict.

What only provides context

Consistent, but not identifying or probative on its own.

Nothing in this column for this claim.

What this evidence supports

Death 3 March 1936 in Chicago; burial 6 March 1936 at Lincoln Cemetery; age given as 54; occupation janitor; residence Chicago.

What it does not prove

Which birth year is right. A man enumerated at age 8 in 1880 cannot also have been born in 1881, and the archive does not choose between the two readings here.
Still unanswered: Can a death certificate, cemetery register, obituary or funeral record independently establish George Smith's dates and burial?

Amberly's current conclusion

Conclusions are versioned. Nothing is overwritten — a new reading supersedes the last and the earlier version stays on the record.

Was George Smith a son of John and Laura Smith?
Documented
Version 2 · Current · High confidence · published August 20, 2026 · BT-CON-00535
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
George Smith was a son of John Smith and Laura Taliaferro Smith. His 1936 Illinois death record names both parents - father John Smith, mother Laura Tatlefero - and gives Mississippi birthplaces for both that match the counties where John and Laura appear in this archive.
What is known: A 1936 Illinois death record names George Smith's father as John Smith and his mother as Laura Tatlefero, a phonetic spelling of Taliaferro. The 1880 Copiah County census enumerates a George, age 8, as a son in the John Smith household.
What is not known: The death certificate image itself has not been examined. The informant who supplied the parents' names is not identified.
Was Alma Smith Carthan a daughter of George Smith?
Under Investigation
Version 1 · Current · Low confidence · published August 12, 2026 · BT-CON-00280
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Family knowledge places Alma Carthan as a daughter of George Smith. The archive holds no contemporary record for this link, so the generation is carried as under verification.
What is known: Family knowledge places Alma Carthan as a daughter of George Smith. The archive holds no contemporary record for this link, so the generation is carried as under verification.
What is not known: No contemporary record establishing this relationship has been examined by this archive and entered as an original.
When was George Smith born, when did he die, and where is he buried?
Documented
Version 2 · Current · High confidence · published August 20, 2026 · BT-CON-00536
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
George Smith died 3 March 1936 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, and was buried 6 March 1936 at Lincoln Cemetery in Cook County. He was working as a janitor and living in Chicago at the time. His birth date is not settled: the death record gives 21 April 1881, while the 1880 census points to a birth about 1872.
What is known: Death 3 March 1936 in Chicago; burial 6 March 1936 at Lincoln Cemetery; age given as 54; occupation janitor; residence Chicago.
What is not known: Which birth year is right. A man enumerated at age 8 in 1880 cannot also have been born in 1881, and the archive does not choose between the two readings here.
Who was George Smith's wife?
Documented
Version 2 · Current · Medium confidence · published August 20, 2026 · BT-CON-00537
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
George Smith's wife is named Clara on his 1936 death record. Her maiden surname is read there as "Chess" with a question mark and is treated as unread.
What is known: A wife named Clara survived or was living at the time the death record was made.
What is not known: Her maiden name, her birth family, her dates, and whether she and George had children.
When did George Smith leave Mississippi?
Documented
Version 2 · Current · Medium confidence · published August 20, 2026 · BT-CON-00538
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
George Smith had left Mississippi and was living in Chicago by 1936, when he died there. The year he left is still unestablished.
What is known: Born in Mississippi; died a resident of Chicago in 1936, working as a janitor.
What is not known: The year of departure, the route, and who he moved with.

What could change this

The records not yet located, and the questions still open. If you hold one of them, the archive wants to hear from you.

Was George Smith a son of John and Laura Smith?
Was George Smith a son of John and Laura Smith?
Next: Order the certificate image from Cook County or the Illinois State Archives and read the informant line.
Was Alma Smith Carthan a daughter of George Smith?
Was Alma Smith Carthan a daughter of George Smith?
Next: Locate and examine a census enumeration, birth record, death record naming parents, marriage record, obituary, Social Security application, church record or probate file.
When was George Smith born, when did he die, and where is he buried?
Can a death certificate, cemetery register, obituary or funeral record independently establish George Smith's dates and burial?
Next: Examine the death certificate image and look for a Chicago-area record - marriage, draft registration, or a later census - that gives George's own reported age.
Who was George Smith's wife?
What marriage licence, census household, obituary or death certificate names George Smith's wife?
Next: Search Chicago marriage records for a George Smith and a Clara, and check the 1920 and 1930 censuses for the household.
When did George Smith leave Mississippi?
Which census years, city directories, draft registrations, marriage records or children's birthplaces bracket George Smith's departure from Mississippi?
Next: Trace George in the 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 censuses to bracket the departure year.

Do you hold a record, a photograph, or a family account bearing on this question? Submit it for review. A submission becomes a research lead; it does not change a published conclusion on its own.

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Relationship to the family (optional)The lead

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I confirm this submission contains no sensitive personal information about a living person who has not agreed to share it.

Evidence trails

Follow any claim from the claim itself, through each observation and its source, to the conclusion it produced.

Step 1 · Claim

Was George Smith a son of John and Laura Smith?

Documented· 2 sources

BT-CLM-00274

Parent-child relationship between john-smith and george-smith, held as a single generation link rather than as part of a lineage assertion.

Step 2 · Evidence & Source

Supports · Weak weight
The family history names George Smith among the children of John and Laura Smith. No census line, birth record or death record naming both parents has yet been transcribed into this archive.
Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman · Authored Narrative
BT-EVD-00276 ← BT-SRC-00040
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Family knowledge and documentary verification are recorded separately. Both are shown; neither is presented as the other.
Supports · Strong weight
The Illinois death index entry for George Smith, who died 3 March 1936 in Chicago, Cook County, names his father as John Smith and his mother as Laura Tatlefero. This is the first record entered in this archive that names both of George's parents. "Tatlefero" is one of the phonetic spellings of Taliaferro that appear across this family's records.
“Name: George Smith / Father's Name: John Smith / Mother's Name: Laura Tatlefero”
Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County · FamilySearch online index · Index
BT-EVD-00525 ← BT-SRC-00524
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
A death record naming both parents is the first document entered here that ties George to John and Laura by name.

Step 3 · Conclusion

DocumentedVersion 2 · Current · High confidence

Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

George Smith was a son of John Smith and Laura Taliaferro Smith. His 1936 Illinois death record names both parents - father John Smith, mother Laura Tatlefero - and gives Mississippi birthplaces for both that match the counties where John and Laura appear in this archive.

What is not known: The death certificate image itself has not been examined. The informant who supplied the parents' names is not identified.

What could change this: Order the certificate image from Cook County or the Illinois State Archives and read the informant line.

Step 1 · Claim

Was Alma Smith Carthan a daughter of George Smith?

Under Investigation· 1 source

BT-CLM-00279

Parent-child relationship between george-smith and alma-smith-carthan, held as a single generation link rather than as part of a lineage assertion.

Step 2 · Evidence & Source

Partially Supports · Weak weight
Family knowledge places Alma Carthan as a daughter of George Smith. The archive holds no contemporary record for this link, so the generation is carried as under verification.
Family knowledge supplied by Amberly R. Carter-Mills · BEFORE TILL research files · Authored Narrative
BT-EVD-00281 ← BT-SRC-00264
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Family knowledge and documentary verification are recorded separately. Both are shown; neither is presented as the other.

Step 3 · Conclusion

Under InvestigationVersion 1 · Current · Low confidence

Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

Family knowledge places Alma Carthan as a daughter of George Smith. The archive holds no contemporary record for this link, so the generation is carried as under verification.

What is not known: No contemporary record establishing this relationship has been examined by this archive and entered as an original.

What could change this: Locate and examine a census enumeration, birth record, death record naming parents, marriage record, obituary, Social Security application, church record or probate file.

Step 1 · Claim

When was George Smith born, when did he die, and where is he buried?

Documented· 4 sources

BT-CLM-00343

A George Smith born 21 April 1881, died 3 March 1936, and buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island, Illinois, with a mother recorded as Laura Taliaferro, is the same George Smith named in this family.

Step 2 · Evidence & Source

Partially Supports · Weak weight
A user-contributed online cemetery index records a George Smith with a birth of 21 April 1881, a death of 3 March 1936, burial at Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island, Illinois, and a mother given as Laura Taliaferro. No image of an original record accompanies the entry, and the archive has not verified the contributor's sources. The mother's name is the reason the entry is being followed; it is not the reason to accept it.
Find a Grave memorial 92711754 for George Smith (21 Apr 1881 - 3 Mar 1936), Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island, Cook County, Illinois · Find a Grave (database and images), online · Index
BT-EVD-00350 ← BT-SRC-00041
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
A derivative index entry naming a mother "Laura Taliaferro" is a strong reason to order the underlying records and a poor reason to accept the dates. It is carried as a lead until a death certificate, cemetery register or obituary is examined.
Supports · Strong weight
The same entry records George Smith as Black, male, age 54 at death, born 21 April 1881 in Mississippi, occupation janitor, residing in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.
“Descriptors: Black, Male, 54 [1881] / Birth Date: 21 Apr 1881 / Birthplace: Mississippi / Occupation: Janitor / Residence Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois”
Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County · FamilySearch online index · Index
BT-EVD-00526 ← BT-SRC-00524
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Gives the death date, age, birth date and residence.
Supports · Strong weight
The entry records burial on 6 March 1936 at Lincoln Cemetery, Worth, Cook County, Illinois - the same cemetery given on the Find a Grave memorial.
“Burial Date: 06 Mar 1936 / Burial Place: Lincoln Cemetery; Worth, Cook, Ill.”
Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County · FamilySearch online index · Index
BT-EVD-00528 ← BT-SRC-00524
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Fixes the burial place and date.
Contradicts · Moderate weight
The death record gives George Smith a birth of 21 April 1881. The 1880 Copiah County census enumerates George in the John Smith household as age 8, pointing to a birth about 1872 - nine years earlier. Both readings are recorded here. The census age was reported while the child was in the household; the 1881 date was supplied by an informant reporting on a man who had died. Neither is treated as settled.
Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County · FamilySearch online index · Index
BT-EVD-00532 ← BT-SRC-00524
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
The 1881 birth date conflicts with the 1880 census age. Recorded as an open conflict.

Step 3 · Conclusion

DocumentedVersion 2 · Current · High confidence

Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

George Smith died 3 March 1936 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, and was buried 6 March 1936 at Lincoln Cemetery in Cook County. He was working as a janitor and living in Chicago at the time. His birth date is not settled: the death record gives 21 April 1881, while the 1880 census points to a birth about 1872.

What is not known: Which birth year is right. A man enumerated at age 8 in 1880 cannot also have been born in 1881, and the archive does not choose between the two readings here.

What could change this: Examine the death certificate image and look for a Chicago-area record - marriage, draft registration, or a later census - that gives George's own reported age.

Step 1 · Claim

Who was George Smith's wife?

Documented· 1 source

BT-CLM-00344

George Smith married a woman whose identity can be established from record evidence.

Step 2 · Evidence & Source

Supports · Moderate weight
The entry gives George Smith's spouse as Clara, with the surname read uncertainly as "Chess". The bracketed question mark is the indexer's, and the surname should be treated as unread until the certificate image is examined.
“Spouse's Name: Clara [Chess?]”
Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County · FamilySearch online index · Index
BT-EVD-00527 ← BT-SRC-00524
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Names a wife for the first time; the surname is unread.

Step 3 · Conclusion

DocumentedVersion 2 · Current · Medium confidence

Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

George Smith's wife is named Clara on his 1936 death record. Her maiden surname is read there as "Chess" with a question mark and is treated as unread.

What is not known: Her maiden name, her birth family, her dates, and whether she and George had children.

What could change this: Search Chicago marriage records for a George Smith and a Clara, and check the 1920 and 1930 censuses for the household.

Step 1 · Claim

When did George Smith leave Mississippi?

Documented· 1 source

BT-CLM-00345

George Smith moved from Mississippi to Illinois at a date that can be established from record evidence.

Step 2 · Evidence & Source

Partially Supports · Moderate weight
The death date and place - 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois - place George Smith in Illinois by 1936. The archive still has no record fixing when he left Mississippi, only that the move had happened by then.
“Event Date: 03 Mar 1936 / Event Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois”
Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County · FamilySearch online index · Index
BT-EVD-00531 ← BT-SRC-00524
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Establishes an end point for the move, not a date of departure.

Step 3 · Conclusion

DocumentedVersion 2 · Current · Medium confidence

Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

George Smith had left Mississippi and was living in Chicago by 1936, when he died there. The year he left is still unestablished.

What is not known: The year of departure, the route, and who he moved with.

What could change this: Trace George in the 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 censuses to bracket the departure year.

Historical context and how researchers read it

The world these records were made in, and the reasoning used to interpret them. Kept apart from the evidence on purpose: nothing in this section proves anything about this family, and nothing here can change the status of a claim.

Provenance, access and use

Every source this case rests on, with its provenance metadata and reuse terms. Compiled web pages, derivative transcriptions, oral histories and original records are labelled separately and never flattened together.

Source creator: Varies by record — see each source; Who made the original record.
Researcher of record: Amberly R. Carter-Mills — Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist; Located, transcribed, weighed and interpreted the evidence.
Publishing archive: BEFORE TILL: The Living Evidence Archive; Holds the object, its identifiers and its revision history.

Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman

BT-SRC-00040

Authored family historyOriginal image: Publication details pendingA descendant-authored account. Evidence that the account exists; not automatically contemporary proof of the events it describes.

Creator: Alma Smith Spearman
Date created: Not recorded
Repository: Not recorded
Collection: Not recorded
Record form: Authored Narrative
Source type: Book
Accessed: Not recorded

Access and use

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.

BEFORE TILL publishes description, transcription and analysis. Reuse of the underlying record is governed by the holding repository. Cite this archive by its persistent identifier when quoting our reading of the record.

Find a Grave memorial 92711754 for George Smith (21 Apr 1881 - 3 Mar 1936), Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island, Cook County, Illinois

BT-SRC-00041

Research lead — derivative sourceOriginal image: Derivative source onlyCompiled or user-contributed content. Used to direct research, not as proof.

Creator: Contributor AR Jackson (member 47847137), memorial maintainer
Date created: Undated online memorial; accessed 14 October 2021
Repository: Find a Grave (database and images), online
Collection: Find a Grave Memorial ID 92711754
Record form: Index
Source type: Cemetery
Accessed: 2021-10-14

Access and use

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.

1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi

BT-SRC-00037

Digital image of original recordOriginal image: Citation entered — image review pendingA photographic image of a contemporary record held by the repository named below.

Creator: United States Bureau of the Census
Date created: Enumerated 25 June 1880
Repository: FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration
Collection: 1880 U.S. census population schedules (NARA T9, roll 645)
Record form: Digital Image
Source type: Census
Accessed: 2021-10-14

Access and use

Public domain (U.S. federal record). SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.

Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County

BT-SRC-00524

Derivative sourceOriginal image: Citation entered — image review pendingA transcription, abstract or index standing in for a record BEFORE TILL has not yet examined directly.

Creator: State of Illinois, Bureau of Vital Statistics (record); FamilySearch (index)
Date created: 3 March 1936 (death); index entry undated
Repository: FamilySearch online index
Collection: Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947
Record form: Index
Source type: Vital Record
Accessed: Not recorded

Access and use

No rights statement has been recorded for this source. Verify rights with the holding repository before republication.

Family knowledge supplied by Amberly R. Carter-Mills

BT-SRC-00264

Primary oral history — for the intervieweeOriginal image: Transcript verification pendingA first-person account, primary evidence for the speaker's own life. It is not evidence about another person unless that person is named in it.

Creator: Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Date created: 2026
Repository: BEFORE TILL research files
Collection: Not recorded
Record form: Authored Narrative
Source type: Oral History
Accessed: Not recorded

Access and use

Family knowledge, recorded as such. It is evidence of what the family carries, and it is not a substitute for a contemporary record.

Research history of this case

Every logged research action against this case, in the order it happened. Conclusions supersede; they are never quietly overwritten.

August 12, 2026 · Source Reviewed
Reviewed a user-contributed online cemetery index for a George Smith and recorded it as a derivative research lead rather than as evidence of birth, death or parentage.
Lead recorded; original death certificate and cemetery register requested.
August 12, 2026 · Claim Created
Opened Branch Project 001, the George Smith Branch: every generation between John and Laura Smith and Emmett Louis Till entered as its own claim with its own status.
Four generation links published with current conclusions; seven research questions opened.

The archive-wide audit trail, including corrections, is in the research ledger.

For press, researchers & institutions

How to cite and verify Case

Subject: George Smith
Persistent identifier: BT-PER-00266
Researcher of record: Amberly R. Carter-Mills, Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist
Publishing archive: BEFORE TILL: The Living Evidence Archive
Sources underpinning the case: 5
Discrete evidence observations: 11
Last reviewed: August 20, 2026
Stable URL: /case/george-smith

Safe to report as documented

· Was George Smith a son of John and Laura Smith?
· When was George Smith born, when did he die, and where is he buried?
· Who was George Smith's wife?
· When did George Smith leave Mississippi?

Must be attributed as unresolved

· Was Alma Smith Carthan a daughter of George Smith?

BEFORE TILL does not describe any finding as “proven” or as “fact.” Statuses are Documented, Corroborated, Family Tradition, Under Investigation and Corrected, and each is defined on the methodology page. Please carry the status with the finding.

Research brief (printable)Evidence standard Request verification or interview

Why this case matters

One life, reconstructed to a standard

For most people enslaved in the United States, the surviving record is a line in someone else’s ledger: an age, a sex, no name. George Smith’s case shows that a life can still be reconstructed from those fragments without inventing a single detail — and that the gaps, the conflicts and the family memory can be carried forward honestly alongside what the records prove.

This is slow work. Every observation on this page was located, transcribed, weighed and attributed by hand. Support pays for archive access, image orders, repository travel and the research hours that turn a name into a documented life.

What further support unlocks next

Order the certificate image from Cook County or the Illinois State Archives and read the informant line.
Locate and examine a census enumeration, birth record, death record naming parents, marriage record, obituary, Social Security application, church record or probate file.
Examine the death certificate image and look for a Chicago-area record - marriage, draft registration, or a later census - that gives George's own reported age.
Search Chicago marriage records for a George Smith and a Clara, and check the 1920 and 1930 censuses for the household.
Trace George in the 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 censuses to bracket the departure year.

Support this research Contribute a record or lead

George Smith

Documented in this archive

Under investigation

What the family remembers

The eighty-acre place

Laura attended "Vicksburg College"

Bishop C. H. Mason in the Smith home

The five-year separation

Choctaw ancestry in Bettie's line

Shawnee ancestry in Hilliard's line

What the records actually say

Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman

Find a Grave memorial 92711754 for George Smith (21 Apr 1881 - 3 Mar 1936), Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island, Cook County, Illinois

1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi

Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County

Where they conflict

When was George Smith born, when did he die, and where is he buried?

Amberly's current conclusion

Was George Smith a son of John and Laura Smith?

Was Alma Smith Carthan a daughter of George Smith?

When was George Smith born, when did he die, and where is he buried?

Who was George Smith's wife?

When did George Smith leave Mississippi?

What could change this

Evidence trails

Was George Smith a son of John and Laura Smith?

Was Alma Smith Carthan a daughter of George Smith?

When was George Smith born, when did he die, and where is he buried?

Who was George Smith's wife?

When did George Smith leave Mississippi?

Historical context and how researchers read it

Provenance, access and use

Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman

Find a Grave memorial 92711754 for George Smith (21 Apr 1881 - 3 Mar 1936), Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island, Cook County, Illinois

1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi

Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County

Family knowledge supplied by Amberly R. Carter-Mills

Research history of this case

How to cite and verify Case

Safe to report as documented

Must be attributed as unresolved

One life, reconstructed to a standard

What further support unlocks next