Case · BT-PER-00004 · A living evidence case study
John Smith
Person shell created for research. Dates, places, and relationships are pending documentary research.
Claims examined
7
Reached documented
3
Sources cited
6
Observations extracted
16
Family accounts preserved
6
Case at a glance
John Smith
Documented in this archive
■That Laura and John lived as a married couple across several decades and were named as such in the family history.
■That Laura, aged 18, and John, aged 26, were enumerated as a married couple in dwelling 786, family 773, on 30 July 1870, and that both were marked as having married within the year, in June.
■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.
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
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.
1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi
BT-SRC-00036
United States Bureau of the Census · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · Digital Image
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. ■■■□Digital image of original record◔Original image: Citation entered — image review pendingA photographic image of a contemporary record held by the repository named below.
John Smith appears in the same 1870 household.
BT-EVD-00052 · p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773
John Smith is recorded as approximately age 26 in 1870.
BT-EVD-00053 · p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773
John Smith's line carries the same column 14 mark, written as June, on the line immediately beneath Laura's. Both halves of the couple are recorded as married within the year.
“- John | 26 | M | B | Works on farm | Miss | [married within the year] June”
BT-EVD-00406 · p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 35
An infant named Monroe is entered on the line beneath John, with a fractional age and a mark in column 13, "If born within the year", written as May. He is the first child recorded in this household.
“- Monroe | 1/2 | M | B | Miss | [born within the year] May”
BT-EVD-00407 · p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 36
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
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. ■■■□Digital image of original record◔Original image: Citation entered — image review pendingA photographic image of a contemporary record held by the repository named below.
John Smith is recorded as approximately age 36 in 1880.
BT-EVD-00057 · p. 33A (penned), dwelling 288, family 288
John Smith is recorded as a Farmer, head of dwelling 288, family 288.
“line 29 | Smith John | B | M | 36 | Farmer”
BT-EVD-00424 · p. 33A (penned), dwelling 288, family 288
John Smith is recorded as born in Mississippi, his father in Virginia and his mother in South Carolina.
“line 29 | Miss | Va | S Ca”
BT-EVD-00425 · p. 33A (penned), dwelling 288, family 288
1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi
BT-SRC-00038
United States Bureau of the Census · FamilySearch · Digital Image
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. ■■■□Digital image of original record◔Original image: Citation entered — image review pendingA photographic image of a contemporary record held by the repository named below.
John Smith is reported born July 1844.
BT-EVD-00060 · p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150
John and Laura are reported as owning their home in 1900.
BT-EVD-00065 · p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150
1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi
BT-SRC-00039
United States Bureau of the Census · FamilySearch · Digital Image
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. ■■■□Digital image of original record◔Original image: Citation entered — image review pendingA photographic image of a contemporary record held by the repository named below.
John Smith is recorded as approximately age 66 in 1910.
BT-EVD-00068 · p. 5A (penned), dwelling 77, family 77
John and Laura are reported as owning their home in 1910.
BT-EVD-00073 · p. 5A (penned), dwelling 77, family 77
The first line of the page, an adopted daughter named Eveline, age 4, carries no dwelling number and precedes the head of household. She belongs to the household continued from the previous sheet and is not counted here as a member of the Smith household.
“— Eveline | Adopted Daughter | F | B | 4 | S”
BT-EVD-00501 · ED 53, sheet 5A, dwelling 77, family 77
John Smith is recorded as a farmer working on his own account on a general farm; the farm schedule number is 75. The home is entered as owned, mortgaged, and a farm.
“Farmer | General Farm | Emp | O | M | F | 75”
BT-EVD-00502 · ED 53, sheet 5A, dwelling 77, family 77
John Smith is reported as able to read and able to write in 1910. Laura is reported as able to read and not able to write — the same split the compiled research carried, now read from the page itself.
“yes yes / yes no”
BT-EVD-00503 · ED 53, sheet 5A, dwelling 77, family 77
The John Smith household at dwelling 77, family 77 is enumerated on eight consecutive lines: John (head), Laura (wife), Amanda E. and Ella (daughters), Frank (adopted son), Joseph Walker (boarder), Crosby Smith (grandson) and Joe E. Taliaferro (nephew).
“Smith John — Head”
BT-EVD-00504 · ED 53, sheet 5A, dwelling 77, family 77
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
Evidentiary weight 2 of 4. ■■□□Derivative source◔Original image: Citation entered — image review pendingA transcription, abstract or index standing in for a record BEFORE TILL has not yet examined directly.
The entry gives the birthplace of George's father, John Smith, as Brook Haven, Lincoln County, Mississippi. This is the first birthplace of any kind entered for John Smith. It is informant testimony recorded in 1936 and is carried at that strength.
“Father's Name: John Smith / Father's Birthplace: Brook Haven, [Lincoln], Miss.”
BT-EVD-00530
03
Where they conflict
Conflicts are preserved, not resolved by preference. Supporting, complicating and contextual readings are shown side by side.
Alma Smith Spearman's family history reports that the Smiths' oldest grandson, Mason Harrison Smith, was named for Bishop Mason.
Partially Supports · Weak weight
Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman
A naming practice recorded in family history. Independent documentation of Mason Harrison Smith's name and relationship is still needed.
Alma Smith Spearman's family history reports that the Smiths' son Joe Smith cared for Bishop Mason's horse and buggy.
Partially Supports · Weak weight
Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman
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.
Partially Supports · Moderate weight
Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman
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.
Partially Supports · Moderate weight
Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman
What complicates or contradicts it
Kept in view rather than discarded.
Nothing in this column for this claim.
What only provides context
Consistent, but not identifying or probative on its own.
Nothing in this column for this claim.
What this evidence supports
The family account exists and is attributed to Alma Smith Spearman.
What it does not prove
□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.
□Still unanswered: 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?
The family history names Amanda 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.
Supports · Weak weight
Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman
Family knowledge and documentary verification are recorded separately. Both are shown; neither is presented as the other.
What complicates or contradicts it
Kept in view rather than discarded.
Nothing in this column for this claim.
What only provides context
Consistent, but not identifying or probative on its own.
Nothing in this column for this claim.
What this evidence supports
The family history names Amanda 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.
What it does not prove
□No contemporary record establishing this relationship has been examined by this archive and entered as an original.
□Still unanswered: Was Amanda Smith a daughter of John and Laura Smith?
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.
Did John and Laura Smith own an approximately 80-acre farm?
Under Investigation
Version 1 · Current · Low confidence · published August 8, 2026 · BT-CON-00095
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
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.
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.
Did Laura and John Smith provide hospitality and support to Bishop C. H. Mason around 1897?
Under Investigation
Version 1 · Current · Unresolved confidence · published August 8, 2026 · BT-CON-00094
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
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.
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.
How many children did John and Laura Smith raise?
Under Investigation
Version 1 · Current · Medium confidence · published August 8, 2026 · BT-CON-00093
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
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.
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.
Laura Tolliver and John Smith were husband and wife.
Corroborated
Version 1 · Current · High confidence · published August 11, 2026 · BT-CON-00239
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Laura Tolliver Smith and John Smith are held by this archive as husband and wife.
What is known: That Laura and John lived as a married couple across several decades and were named as such in the family history.
What is not known: The date and place of the marriage, and whether any civil or church marriage record survives.
When did Laura Tolliver and John Smith marry?
Documented
Version 1 · Current · High confidence · published August 20, 2026 · BT-CON-00414
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Laura Tolliver and John Smith married in June 1870, in Copiah County, Mississippi.
What is known: That Laura, aged 18, and John, aged 26, were enumerated as a married couple in dwelling 786, family 773, on 30 July 1870, and that both were marked as having married within the year, in June.
What is not known: The exact day, the officiant, and the place of the ceremony. No Copiah County marriage return for them has been located. The family statement of an 1852 marriage remains unexplained; it may record a different event, a different couple, or an error of transcription in the written family history.
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 Amanda Smith a daughter of John and Laura Smith?
Family Tradition
Version 1 · Current · Medium confidence · published August 12, 2026 · BT-CON-00292
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
The family history names Amanda 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.
What is known: The family history names Amanda 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.
What is not known: No contemporary record establishing this relationship has been examined by this archive and entered as an original.
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.
Did John and Laura Smith own an approximately 80-acre farm?
What do county deeds, tax rolls, plat maps, agricultural schedules, mortgage records, and probate files show?
Next: Search county deeds, tax rolls, plat maps, agricultural schedules, mortgage records, and probate files.
Did Laura and John Smith provide hospitality and support to Bishop C. H. Mason around 1897?
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?
Next: Search COGIC institutional records, Mason biographies and itineraries, church minutes, and local newspapers.
How many children did John and Laura Smith raise?
Which household, probate, guardianship, church, and family records can identify the children individually?
Next: Reconstruct the household across all available censuses; search probate, guardianship, church, and cemetery records.
Laura Tolliver and John Smith were husband and wife.
Is the spouse relationship between Laura Tolliver and John Smith supported by more than one independent record?
Next: Search Copiah County, Mississippi and Union County, Kentucky marriage records, and church registers for the same period.
When did Laura Tolliver and John Smith marry?
What is the earliest documented date for the marriage of Laura Tolliver and John Smith?
Next: Search Copiah County marriage records and Freedmen's Bureau marriage registers for June 1870, and re-examine the written family history for the origin of the 1852 date.
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 Amanda Smith a daughter of John and Laura Smith?
Was Amanda Smith a daughter of John and Laura 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.
06
Evidence trails
Follow any claim from the claim itself, through each observation and its source, to the conclusion it produced.
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.
Step 2 · Evidence & Source
Partially Supports · Moderate weight
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.
Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman · Authored Narrative
BT-EVD-00081 ← BT-SRC-00040
Partially Supports · Moderate weight
John and Laura are reported as owning their home in 1910.
1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch · p. 5A (penned), dwelling 77, family 77 · Digital Image
BT-EVD-00073 ← BT-SRC-00039
Partially Supports · Moderate weight
John and Laura are reported as owning their home in 1900.
1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch · p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150 · Digital Image
BT-EVD-00065 ← BT-SRC-00038
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Home ownership corroborates property ownership generally. It does not establish acreage or any specific improvement.
Step 3 · Conclusion
Under InvestigationVersion 1 · Current · Low confidence
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
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.
What is not known: The acreage, boundaries, date of acquisition, and whether the described blacksmith shop, orchards, and outbuildings existed.
What could change this: Search county deeds, tax rolls, plat maps, agricultural schedules, mortgage records, and probate files.
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.
Step 2 · Evidence & Source
Partially Supports · Weak weight
Alma Smith Spearman's family history reports that the Smiths' oldest grandson, Mason Harrison Smith, was named for Bishop Mason.
Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman · Authored Narrative
BT-EVD-00080 ← BT-SRC-00040
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
A naming practice recorded in family history. Independent documentation of Mason Harrison Smith's name and relationship is still needed.
Partially Supports · Weak weight
Alma Smith Spearman's family history reports that the Smiths' son Joe Smith cared for Bishop Mason's horse and buggy.
Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman · Authored Narrative
BT-EVD-00079 ← BT-SRC-00040
Partially Supports · Moderate weight
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.
Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman · Authored Narrative
BT-EVD-00078 ← BT-SRC-00040
Partially Supports · Moderate weight
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.
Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman · Authored Narrative
BT-EVD-00077 ← BT-SRC-00040
Step 3 · Conclusion
Under InvestigationVersion 1 · Current · Unresolved confidence
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
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.
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.
What could change this: Search COGIC institutional records, Mason biographies and itineraries, church minutes, and local newspapers.
Census returns and the family history describe the size of John and Laura Smith's family in different terms.
Step 2 · Evidence & Source
Contextualizes · Moderate weight
Alma Smith Spearman's family history describes John and Laura as raising nine biological children and three adopted sons.
Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman · Authored Narrative
BT-EVD-00076 ← BT-SRC-00040
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
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.
Supports · Moderate weight
Nine of Laura's children are reported living in 1910.
1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch · p. 5A (penned), dwelling 77, family 77 · Digital Image
BT-EVD-00072 ← BT-SRC-00039
Supports · Moderate weight
Laura is reported as the mother of 11 children in 1910.
1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch · p. 5A (penned), dwelling 77, family 77 · Digital Image
BT-EVD-00071 ← BT-SRC-00039
Supports · Moderate weight
Nine of Laura's children are reported living in 1900.
1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch · p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150 · Digital Image
BT-EVD-00064 ← BT-SRC-00038
Supports · Moderate weight
Laura is reported as the mother of 11 children.
1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch · p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150 · Digital Image
BT-EVD-00063 ← BT-SRC-00038
Step 3 · Conclusion
Under InvestigationVersion 1 · Current · Medium confidence
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
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.
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.
What could change this: Reconstruct the household across all available censuses; search probate, guardianship, church, and cemetery records.
Laura Tolliver Smith and John Smith are recorded together as a married couple in the family history authored by Alma Smith Spearman and are enumerated as husband and wife in successive federal census households across several decades.
Step 2 · Evidence & Source
Supports · Moderate weight
The family history authored by Alma Smith Spearman identifies Laura Tolliver as the wife of John Smith.
“Laura Tolliver, wife of John Smith.”
Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman · Authored Narrative
BT-EVD-00233 ← BT-SRC-00040
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
A derivative family account, and the earliest surviving statement of the relationship. It is not relied on alone.
Supports · Strong weight
1870 census enumeration places Laura and John Smith in the same household in Copiah County, Mississippi.
1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · Digital Image
BT-EVD-00234 ← BT-SRC-00036
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Contemporary enumeration of the couple in one household.
Supports · Strong weight
1880 census enumeration records Laura and John Smith in the same household at Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi.
1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · Digital Image
BT-EVD-00235 ← BT-SRC-00037
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Contemporary enumeration of the couple in one household a decade later.
Supports · Strong weight
1900 census enumeration records Laura and John Smith in the same household at Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi.
1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch · Digital Image
BT-EVD-00236 ← BT-SRC-00038
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Contemporary enumeration of the couple in one household.
Supports · Strong weight
1910 census enumeration records Laura and John Smith in the same household at Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi.
1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch · Digital Image
BT-EVD-00237 ← BT-SRC-00039
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Contemporary enumeration of the couple in one household.
Step 3 · Conclusion
CorroboratedVersion 1 · Current · High confidence
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Laura Tolliver Smith and John Smith are held by this archive as husband and wife.
What is not known: The date and place of the marriage, and whether any civil or church marriage record survives.
What could change this: Search Copiah County, Mississippi and Union County, Kentucky marriage records, and church registers for the same period.
The 1870 census of Copiah County records both Laura and John as married within the year, in June. The census was taken 30 July 1870, placing the marriage in June 1870. The family history separately preserves a statement that they were "Married 1852" - a date incompatible both with Laura's approximate birth year of 1852 and with this record.
Step 2 · Evidence & Source
Partially Supports · Weak weight
The family history carries a statement that Laura and John were married in 1852. Laura's own approximate birth year is also about 1852, so the date as written cannot be correct as a marriage year.
“Married 1852.”
Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman · Authored Narrative
BT-EVD-00238 ← BT-SRC-00040
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Preserved as a documented family account. The date itself conflicts with Laura's approximate birth year and is held as unresolved.
Supports · Strong weight
Laura Smith's line carries a mark in column 14, "If married within the year", written as June. The census was taken 30 July 1870, so the mark records a marriage in June 1870.
“Smith Laura | 18 | F | M | Miss | [married within the year] June”
1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 34 · Digital Image
BT-EVD-00405 ← BT-SRC-00036
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
A "married within the year" mark reading June, on a page enumerated 30 July 1870.
Supports · Strong weight
John Smith's line carries the same column 14 mark, written as June, on the line immediately beneath Laura's. Both halves of the couple are recorded as married within the year.
“- John | 26 | M | B | Works on farm | Miss | [married within the year] June”
1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 35 · Digital Image
BT-EVD-00406 ← BT-SRC-00036
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
A "married within the year" mark reading June, on a page enumerated 30 July 1870.
Step 3 · Conclusion
DocumentedVersion 1 · Current · High confidence
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Laura Tolliver and John Smith married in June 1870, in Copiah County, Mississippi.
What is not known: The exact day, the officiant, and the place of the ceremony. No Copiah County marriage return for them has been located. The family statement of an 1852 marriage remains unexplained; it may record a different event, a different couple, or an error of transcription in the written family history.
What could change this: Search Copiah County marriage records and Freedmen's Bureau marriage registers for June 1870, and re-examine the written family history for the origin of the 1852 date.
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.
Parent-child relationship between john-smith and amanda-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 Amanda 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-00293 ← 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.
Step 3 · Conclusion
Family TraditionVersion 1 · Current · Medium confidence
Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills
The family history names Amanda 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.
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.
07
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.
09
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.
1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi
BT-SRC-00036
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. ■■■□Digital image of original record◔Original 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 30 July 1870
Repository
FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration
Collection
U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10 (Post Office Hazlehurst)
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.
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.
1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi
BT-SRC-00037
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. ■■■□Digital image of original record◔Original 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.
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.
1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi
BT-SRC-00038
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. ■■■□Digital image of original record◔Original 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
1900
Repository
FamilySearch
Collection
U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mount Hope
Record form
Digital Image
Source type
Census
Accessed
Not recorded
Access and use
SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet 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.
1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi
BT-SRC-00039
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. ■■■□Digital image of original record◔Original 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
1910
Repository
FamilySearch
Collection
U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Mayharris
Record form
Digital Image
Source type
Census
Accessed
Not recorded
Access and use
SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet 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.
Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County
BT-SRC-00524
Evidentiary weight 2 of 4. ■■□□Derivative source◔Original 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.
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 history◔Original 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.
11
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 11, 2026 · Correction
Relationship integrity audit performed. John Smith was no longer resolving as Laura Tolliver Smith's spouse.
No duplicate person records were found: Laura (BT-PER-00003) and John (BT-PER-00004) are canonical and the spouse record between them was intact. The relationship was unsupported in the data (family tradition, unresolved, no claim attached) and the profile view did not name the other spouse. The relationship has been raised to corroborated with evidence attached, a marriage claim published, and the marriage date held separately as unresolved.
The archive-wide audit trail, including corrections, is in the research ledger.
For press, researchers & institutions
How to cite and verify Case
Subject
John Smith
Persistent identifier
BT-PER-00004
Researcher of record
Amberly R. Carter-Mills, Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist
Publishing archive
BEFORE TILL: The Living Evidence Archive
Sources underpinning the case
6
Discrete evidence observations
16
Last reviewed
August 20, 2026
Stable URL
/case/john-smith
Safe to report as documented
· Laura Tolliver and John Smith were husband and wife.
· When did Laura Tolliver and John Smith marry?
· Was George Smith a son of John and Laura Smith?
Must be attributed as unresolved
· Did John and Laura Smith own an approximately 80-acre farm?
· Did Laura and John Smith provide hospitality and support to Bishop C. H. Mason around 1897?
· How many children did John and Laura Smith raise?
· Was Amanda Smith a daughter of John and Laura 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.
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. John 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
→Search county deeds, tax rolls, plat maps, agricultural schedules, mortgage records, and probate files.
→Search COGIC institutional records, Mason biographies and itineraries, church minutes, and local newspapers.
→Reconstruct the household across all available censuses; search probate, guardianship, church, and cemetery records.
→Search Copiah County, Mississippi and Union County, Kentucky marriage records, and church registers for the same period.
→Search Copiah County marriage records and Freedmen's Bureau marriage registers for June 1870, and re-examine the written family history for the origin of the 1852 date.
→Order the certificate image from Cook County or the Illinois State Archives and read the informant line.
