Laura Tolliver Smith

Laura Tolliver Smith was born about 1852 in Copiah County, Mississippi. Surviving post-Civil War records identify her as a formerly enslaved member of the family associated with H. G. D. Brown's Lucky Hit plantation. She later married John Smith and raised a large family. Some details preserved in family history — including a claim that she attended an institution called "Vicksburg College" and the family's relationship with Bishop C. H. Mason — remain subjects of ongoing research.

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

   Corroborated

   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.

   BT-CLM-00085 · High confidence

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

   Corroborated

   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.

   BT-CLM-00084 · High confidence

3. Laura Tolliver and John Smith were husband and wife.

   Corroborated

   Laura Tolliver Smith and John Smith are held by this archive as husband and wife.

   BT-CLM-00231 · High confidence

4. When did Laura Tolliver and John Smith marry?

   Documented

   Laura Tolliver and John Smith married in June 1870, in Copiah County, Mississippi.

   BT-CLM-00232 · High confidence

• 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

• Did Laura Tolliver attend "Vicksburg College"?

  Under Investigation

  What institution was remembered as "Vicksburg College", did Laura attend it, and do any of its records survive?

• Did John and Laura Smith own an approximately 80-acre farm?

  Under Investigation

  What do county deeds, tax rolls, plat maps, agricultural schedules, mortgage records, and probate files show?

• Did Laura and John Smith provide hospitality and support to Bishop C. H. Mason around 1897?

  Under Investigation

  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?

• How many children did John and Laura Smith raise?

  Under Investigation

  Which household, probate, guardianship, church, and family records can identify the children individually?

• What do census records indicate about Laura Tolliver Smith's literacy?

  Under Investigation

  What do the original census images show, and who reported the household's information in each year?

• · Identify educational institutions operating in Vicksburg and surrounding Mississippi communities during the relevant period. Investigate Reconstruction-era education available to formerly enslaved students. Search school catalogs, newspapers, Freedmen's Bureau educational records, institutional archives, and local histories. Do not conclude that no institution existed until research establishes it.
• · 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.
• · Review all four original census images inside BEFORE TILL and record what each column states.
• · Review the original register image inside BEFORE TILL. Search Brown estate, probate, tax, and Freedmen's Bureau labor contract 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.

1. 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

2. 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

3. 1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi

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

   Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00038

4. 1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi

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

   Digital image of original record · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00039

5. 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

6. 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

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

   Contributor AR Jackson (member 47847137), memorial maintainer · Find a Grave (database and images), online · Find a Grave Memorial ID 92711754 · Index

   Research lead — derivative source · Original image: Derivative source only · BT-SRC-00041

8. 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

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

   State of Illinois, Bureau of Vital Statistics (record); FamilySearch (index) · FamilySearch online index · Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947 · Index

   Derivative source · Original image: Citation entered — image review pending · BT-SRC-00524

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