Before TillThe Living Evidence Archive

Case 001 · BT-PER-00031 · A living evidence case study

H. G. D. Brown

Named in Copiah County, Mississippi records as the enslaver associated with Lucky Hit plantation. BEFORE TILL holds no biographical research on him beyond what the cited records state.

Claims examined
2
Reached documented
2
Sources cited
3
Observations extracted
1
Family accounts preserved
3

Case 001 at a glance

H. G. D. Brown

Documented in this archive

  • 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.
  • 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".

Under investigation

  • No open question is currently recorded.

Research & interpretation

Amberly R. Carter-Mills

Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist

01

What the family remembers

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

Scanned page of Alma Smith Spearman's family history, showing a halftone photograph of John Smith and Laura Tolliver Smith above a typed biographical narrative, with the names of their children written in the margins.

John Smith and Laura Tolliver Smith, married 1852 — page from Alma Smith Spearman's family history

Alma Smith Spearman · Authored family history, photographed page

Supplied to the archive by the family. This page is the record of the photograph; the likenesses shown on the profiles of Laura and John are restorations of it.

  • 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

02

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.

Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation

BT-SRC-00035

Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · Digital Image

Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. Digital image of original recordOriginal image: Citation entered — image review pendingA photographic image of a contemporary record held by the repository named below.

  • The register associates the former enslaver with Lucky Hit plantation.

    BT-EVD-00049 · pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81

03

Where they conflict

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

No conflicting evidence has been recorded in this case.

04

Amberly's current conclusion

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

  • Laura Tolliver was formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown.

    Documented

    Version 1 · Current · High confidence · published August 8, 2026 · BT-CON-00090

    Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

    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.

    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.

05

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.

  • Laura Tolliver was formerly enslaved on H. G. D. Brown's Lucky Hit plantation.

    Where exactly was Lucky Hit plantation, and what land, tax, or estate records survive for it?

  • Laura Tolliver was formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown.

    Do additional Brown estate, probate, tax, or Freedmen's Bureau labor records name Laura or her family?

    Next: Review the original register image inside BEFORE TILL. Search Brown estate, probate, tax, and Freedmen's Bureau labor contract records.

Do you hold a record, a photograph, or a family account bearing on this question? Submit it for review.

06

Evidence trails

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

Step 1 · Claim

Laura Tolliver was formerly enslaved on H. G. D. Brown's Lucky Hit plantation.

Documented· 2 sources

BT-CLM-00085

Laura Tolliver was formerly enslaved on the plantation identified in the 1865 Freedmen's Bureau register as H. G. D. Brown's Lucky Hit.

Step 2 · Evidence & Source

  1. Supports · Strong weight

    The register associates the former enslaver with Lucky Hit plantation.

    Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81 · Digital Image

    BT-EVD-00049 ← BT-SRC-00035

    Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

    The plantation association comes from the same 1865 register that names Laura and her former enslaver.

  2. Supports · Strong weight

    The register identifies Laura as formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown.

    Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81 · Digital Image

    BT-EVD-00048 ← BT-SRC-00035

Step 3 · Conclusion

No conclusion has been published. This remains an open research question. Where exactly was Lucky Hit plantation, and what land, tax, or estate records survive for it?

Step 1 · Claim

Laura Tolliver was formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown.

Documented· 4 sources

BT-CLM-00084

Laura Tolliver was formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown of Copiah County, Mississippi.

Step 2 · Evidence & Source

  1. Supports · Strong weight

    The register identifies Laura as formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown.

    Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81 · Digital Image

    BT-EVD-00048 ← BT-SRC-00035

    Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

    This is the strongest named evidence in the case: the record identifies Laura by name and states the enslavement relationship directly.

  2. Supports · Moderate weight

    The register records Laura as age 12.

    Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81 · Digital Image

    BT-EVD-00045 ← BT-SRC-00035

    Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

    An age of 12 in an 1865-era record is consistent with a birth around 1852-1853.

  3. Supports · Strong weight

    The register identifies Laura by name.

    Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · pp. 10-11, image 7 of 81 · Digital Image

    BT-EVD-00043 ← BT-SRC-00035

  4. Contextualizes · Context Only weight

    An unnamed enslaved female approximately eight years old appears in H. G. D. Brown's 1860 slave schedule.

    1860 U.S. Census Slave Schedule — H. G. D. Brown Household, Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch · pp. 12-13 (penned), digital image 12 of 101 · Digital Image

    BT-EVD-00042 ← BT-SRC-00034

    Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

    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.

Step 3 · Conclusion

DocumentedVersion 1 · Current · High confidence

Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

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.

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.

What could change this: Review the original register image inside BEFORE TILL. Search Brown estate, probate, tax, and Freedmen's Bureau labor contract records.

07

Provenance, access and use

Every source this case rests on, with its provenance metadata and reuse terms.

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.

Register of Formerly Enslaved People — H. G. D. Brown / Lucky Hit Plantation

BT-SRC-00035
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. Digital image of original recordOriginal image: Citation entered — image review pendingA photographic image of a contemporary record held by the repository named below.
Creator
Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands
Date created
1865-era Freedmen's Bureau record
Repository
FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration
Collection
Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872
Record form
Digital Image
Source type
Freedmens Bureau
Accessed
Not recorded

Access and use

SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. The original image has not yet been independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.

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.

1860 U.S. Census Slave Schedule — H. G. D. Brown Household, Copiah County, Mississippi

BT-SRC-00034
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. 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
1860
Repository
FamilySearch
Collection
U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, slave schedule
Record form
Digital Image
Source type
Census
Accessed
Not recorded

Access and use

SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. The original image has not yet been independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.

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.

Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman

BT-SRC-00040
Evidentiary weight 2 of 4. 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.

09

Research history of this case

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

  1. August 8, 2026 · Record Found

    Identified Laura by name in an 1865-era Freedmen's Bureau register of former slaves.

    Named evidence of enslavement by H. G. D. Brown of Lucky Hit plantation.

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

For press, researchers & institutions

How to cite and verify Case 001

Subject
H. G. D. Brown
Persistent identifier
BT-PER-00031
Researcher of record
Amberly R. Carter-Mills, Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist
Publishing archive
BEFORE TILL: The Living Evidence Archive
Sources underpinning the case
3
Discrete evidence observations
1
Last reviewed
August 8, 2026
Stable URL
/case/h-g-d-brown

Safe to report as documented

  • · Laura Tolliver was formerly enslaved on H. G. D. Brown's Lucky Hit plantation.
  • · Laura Tolliver was formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown.

Must be attributed as unresolved

  • No open question is currently recorded.

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 standardRequest 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. H. G. D. Brown’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

  • Where exactly was Lucky Hit plantation, and what land, tax, or estate records survive for it?
  • Review the original register image inside BEFORE TILL. Search Brown estate, probate, tax, and Freedmen's Bureau labor contract records.
Support this researchContribute a record or lead