BEFORE TILL archival sealBefore TillThe Living Evidence Archive
← Back to the full case

BEFORE TILL: The Living Evidence Archive · Research brief

Hilliard Taliaferro / Tolliver

Case 002 · BT-PER-00001 · about 1823 — about 1900

Researcher of record
Amberly R. Carter-Mills, Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist
Publishing archive
BEFORE TILL: The Living Evidence Archive
Brief generated
September 24, 2026
Stable URL
/case/hilliard-tolliver

Summary

Hilliard Taliaferro, later also recorded as Tolliver, was born about 1823 and lived through slavery and emancipation. Estate and probate records from Copiah County, Mississippi, document him by name as an enslaved person in the Taliaferro estate. Records later trace his transfer to Arkansas, his sale in 1856, and his association with H. G. D. Brown. By 1865, a Freedmen's Bureau register identified Hilliard by name as a formerly enslaved field laborer. In 1870 he is enumerated in Copiah County with Bettie and Laura, and in 1880 he heads his own household at Rose Hill Precinct in the same county — a farmer of 60, with Bettie and five children, Henry, Joseph E., Hiram, Sallie and Emma, and two grandsons, Hilliard Jr. and Leon M.

Documented findings

  1. Hilliard was enslaved in the William Q. Taliaferro estate by 1840.

    Documented

    The 1840 estate inventory names Hilliard and assigns him a monetary value of $800, directly documenting his enslaved status within the William Q. Taliaferro estate.

    BT-CLM-00161 · High confidence

  2. Hilliard remained in Taliaferro estate proceedings through 1855.

    Documented

    Two separate 1855 court documents name Hilliard and record a valuation of $1,000.

    BT-CLM-00162 · High confidence

  3. Hilliard was transferred through the William Q. Taliaferro estate division to Susan and George Read in 1855.

    Documented

    The 18 October 1855 estate division names Hilliard, reports his age as approximately 36 and his value as $1,000, and allots him within Share 2 to Susan and George Read. The document records the transfer of legal claim; it does not record physical movement.

    BT-CLM-00163 · High confidence

  4. Hilliard was sold in 1856 for $1,200.

    Documented

    The estate settlement records a sale of Hilliard in 1856 for $1,200. The surviving settlement documents establish the transaction but do not, by themselves, establish the buyer's motive or Hilliard's personal experience of the sale.

    BT-CLM-00165 · High confidence

  5. Hilliard was formerly enslaved by H. G. D. Brown.

    Corroborated

    An 1865 Freedmen's Bureau register names Hilliard as a formerly enslaved field laborer, approximately 45 years old, formerly held by H. G. D. Brown and associated with the Lucky Hit plantation. This is a named federal record, not an inference.

    BT-CLM-00167 · High confidence

  6. Were Hilliard and Bettie living together by 1870?

    Documented

    Co-residence in 1870 is documented. Co-residence alone does not establish a legal marriage.

    BT-CLM-00168 · High confidence

  7. Hilliard and Bettie were living in Union County, Kentucky by 1880.

    Documented

    Mississippi and Kentucky are both documented as places of residence. The route and timing between them are not documented.

    BT-CLM-00169 · High confidence

  8. Hilliard accumulated taxable personal property after emancipation.

    Documented

    Personal property is recorded in tax rolls. No entered tax record lists land, and none establishes landownership.

    BT-CLM-00170 · Medium confidence

Preserved family accounts (not proof)

  • The eighty-acre place

    “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 · BT-TRD-00097

  • Laura attended "Vicksburg College"

    “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 · BT-TRD-00098

  • Bishop C. H. Mason in the Smith home

    “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 · BT-TRD-00099

  • The five-year separation

    “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 · BT-TRD-00195

  • Choctaw ancestry in Bettie's line

    “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 memory identifies Shawnee ancestry in the ancestry of Hilliard Taliaferro, born about 1823 in Virginia.”

    Earliest known teller: Not recorded · BT-TRD-00605

Unresolved and under investigation

  • Can the reported separation of Hilliard and Bettie after Hilliard was sold away be documented?

    Family Tradition

    Can the reported separation of Hilliard and Bettie after Hilliard was sold away be documented?

  • Who were Hilliard's parents?

    Under Investigation

    Who were Hilliard's parents?

  • Did Bettie and a grandson named Joelie later live with John and Laura Tolliver Smith?

    Family Tradition

    Does a census, church, or school record place Bettie and a grandson named Joelie in the Smith household?

  • Was Hilliard separated from Bettie after a sale?

    Under Investigation

    What record documents a separation of Hilliard from Bettie following a sale?

  • Was Hilliard moved to Chicot County, Arkansas after the 1855 estate division?

    Under Investigation

    What record directly establishes Hilliard's presence in Arkansas? Candidate sources: Arkansas county deeds, probate, tax lists, slave records, Read family records, correspondence, and bills of sale.

  • Was H. G. D. Brown the buyer of Hilliard in the 1856 sale?

    Under Investigation

    Does a bill of sale, deed, note, or estate voucher identify the purchaser of Hilliard in 1856?

  • Could Peggy Hinz have been Hilliard's sister?

    Under Investigation

    What Freedmen's Bureau, probate, marriage, death, church, census, estate, or descendant DNA evidence could establish whether Peggy Hinz was Hilliard's sister?

  • Who was C. A. Talliferro?

    Under Investigation

    Who was C. A. Talliferro, and what connected this person to Hilliard at Spencers Mill in 1884?

  • Hilliard died about 1900.

    Family Tradition

    Can Hilliard's death date and burial place be documented through a death record, cemetery record, probate file, or church register?

  • Did the separation last approximately five years?

    Under Investigation

    What records would fix the start and end of any separation?

  • Was Hilliard taken to Arkansas during the separation?

    Under Investigation

    What Arkansas record would place Hilliard in the state during this period?

  • Did Bettie's enslavers repurchase Hilliard?

    Under Investigation

    Does a bill of sale, note, or estate account record a later purchase of Hilliard?

  • Was any repurchase motivated by Bettie's grief?

    Under Investigation

    Is there correspondence, testimony, or a contemporaneous account that speaks to motive?

  • A Hillyard and an Agnes in the same Virginia estate, 1831

    Under Investigation

    Can the people in Richard H. Taliaferro's 1831 estate be traced through the estate division into the households of his heirs, and from there into the William Q. Taliaferro estate?

What could change these conclusions

  • · Trace the 1856 purchaser, search Arkansas county records for 1856–1865, and look for any later purchase record returning Hilliard to Bettie's enslavers.
  • · Locate earlier Taliaferro estate, deed, and tax records that may name Hilliard or his parents before 1840.
  • · Search Arkansas county records, Read family papers, and Mississippi tax lists for a record placing Hilliard after October 1855.
  • · Locate a bill of sale, note, deed, or voucher naming the 1856 purchaser.
  • · Search Brown estate, tax and deed records for an acquisition record between 1856 and 1865.

Sources cited (24)

  1. William Q. Taliaferro Estate Inventory — Hilliard Listed as Enslaved Property

    Copiah County, Mississippi, County Court · FamilySearch (digital images of county court records) · Copiah County, Mississippi, County Court probate records · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00112

  2. 1840 U.S. Census — William Q. Taliaferro Household, Copiah County, Mississippi

    United States Bureau of the Census · National Archives and Records Administration (via digital image provider) · 1840 U.S. Census population schedules · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00113

  3. William Q. Taliaferro Estate Petition Naming Enslaved People, March 1855

    Copiah County, Mississippi, County Court · FamilySearch (digital images of county court records) · Copiah County, Mississippi, County Court probate records · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00114

  4. William Q. Taliaferro Estate Appraisal of Enslaved People, 23 March 1855

    Copiah County, Mississippi, County Court · FamilySearch (digital images of county court records) · Copiah County, Mississippi, County Court probate records · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00115

  5. Notice of Estate Ownership Dispute Concerning Enslaved People

    Gallatin Argus · Repository pending confirmation · Gallatin Argus · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00116

  6. William Q. Taliaferro Estate Division of Enslaved People

    Copiah County, Mississippi, County Court · FamilySearch (digital images of county court records) · Copiah County, Mississippi, County Court probate records · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00117

  7. William Q. Taliaferro Estate Final Administrator's Settlement (records the 1856 sale of Hilliard)

    Copiah County, Mississippi, County Court · FamilySearch (digital images of county court records) · Copiah County, Mississippi, County Court probate records · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00118

  8. 1874 Personal Property Tax Entry — Hilliard Tolliver (two mules)

    County tax assessor (jurisdiction confirmation pending) · Repository pending confirmation · Personal property tax rolls · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00119

  9. 1874 Personal Property Tax Entry — Hilliard Tolliver (two mules and one wheeled vehicle)

    County tax assessor (jurisdiction confirmation pending) · Repository pending confirmation · Personal property tax rolls · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00120

  10. 1883 Personal Property Tax Entry — Hilliard Tolliver, Spencers Mill

    County tax assessor (jurisdiction confirmation pending) · Repository pending confirmation · Personal property tax rolls · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00121

  11. 1884 Personal Property Tax Entry — Hilliard Talliaferro, Spencers Mill

    County tax assessor (jurisdiction confirmation pending) · Repository pending confirmation · Personal property tax rolls · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00122

  12. 1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi

    United States Bureau of the Census · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10 (Post Office Hazlehurst) · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00036

  13. 1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi

    United States Bureau of the Census · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · 1880 U.S. census population schedules (NARA T9, roll 645) · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00037

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

    Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872 · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00035

  15. Copiah County, Mississippi — Largest Slaveholders from 1860 Slave Census Schedules

    Transcribed by Tom Blake · RootsWeb (website) · Largest slaveholders transcription project · Transcription

    Derivative transcription — contextual · Original image: Original image review pending · BT-SRC-00242

  16. 1860 U.S. Census Slave Schedule — H. G. D. Brown Household, Copiah County, Mississippi

    United States Bureau of the Census · FamilySearch · U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, slave schedule · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00034

  17. 1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi (Taliaferro household, p. 24)

    H. H. Barlow, enumerator · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · United States Census, 1880 · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00455

  18. Appraisement of the enslaved people in the estate of Richard H. Taliaferro

    Virginia. County Court (Orange County) · Virginia. County Court (Orange County) · "Orange, Virginia, United States records," images, FamilySearch · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00560

  19. Will of Richard H. Taliaferro, Orange County, Virginia

    Virginia. County Court (Orange County) · Virginia. County Court (Orange County) · "Orange, Virginia, United States records," images, FamilySearch · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00559

  20. Appraisement of the personal estate of Richard H. Taliaferro

    Virginia. County Court (Orange County) · Virginia. County Court (Orange County) · "Orange, Virginia, United States records," images, FamilySearch · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00561

  21. Aggregate appraisement and return to court, estate of Richard H. Taliaferro

    Virginia. County Court (Orange County) · Virginia. County Court (Orange County) · "Orange, Virginia, United States records," images, FamilySearch · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00562

  22. Orange County estate sale, 1825 — Taliaferros as purchasers

    Virginia. County Court (Orange County) · Virginia. County Court (Orange County) · "Orange, Virginia, United States records," images, FamilySearch · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00563

  23. Will of John Taliaferro of Orange County, Virginia

    Virginia. County Court (Orange County) · Virginia. County Court (Orange County) · "Orange, Virginia, United States records," images, FamilySearch · Digital Image

    Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00564

  24. Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman

    Alma Smith Spearman · Authored Narrative

    Authored family history · Original image: Publication details pending · BT-SRC-00040

44 discrete observations were extracted from these sources for this case.

Suggested citation: Amberly R. Carter-Mills, “Case 002: Hilliard Taliaferro / Tolliver,” BEFORE TILL: The Living Evidence Archive, BT-PER-00001, /case/hilliard-tolliver (accessed September 24, 2026).

BEFORE TILL does not describe findings as “proven” or as “fact.” Statuses are Documented, Corroborated, Family Tradition, Under Investigation and Corrected. Reuse of the underlying records is governed by the holding repositories named above.