BEFORE TILL archival sealBefore TillThe Living Evidence Archive

Research object · BT-CLM-00347

Are Alma Smith Carthan and Alma Smith Spearman the same person?

Under Investigation· 0 sourcesNot yet reviewed
Research & Interpretation byAmberly R. Carter-Mills— Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist

The Claim

Alma Smith Carthan and Alma Smith Spearman are two different women.

Public Summary

Two women named Alma Smith appear in this family's research: Alma Smith Carthan, named in published accounts as Mamie Till-Mobley's mother, and Alma Smith Spearman, the family historian whose written history the archive cites. Nothing examined here indicates they are the same woman, and the archive keeps them as separate records. Evidence entered for one is never applied to the other.

Evidence Reviewed

No evidence has been reviewed into the archive for this claim yet.

The Evidence Trail

Step 1 · Claim

Are Alma Smith Carthan and Alma Smith Spearman the same person?

Under Investigation· 0 sources

BT-CLM-00347

Alma Smith Carthan and Alma Smith Spearman are two different women.

Step 2 · Evidence & Source

No evidence has been weighed into this claim yet.

Step 3 · Conclusion

Under InvestigationVersion 1 · Current · Medium confidence

Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

Alma Smith Carthan and Alma Smith Spearman are held as two separate people.

What is not known: The full vital details of each woman, which are what would make the separation demonstrable rather than procedural.

What could change this: Establish birth, marriage and death records for each Alma independently.

How the Evidence Sits Together

No evidence has been weighed for this claim yet.

Research Conclusion

Under InvestigationVersion 1 · Current

Alma Smith Carthan and Alma Smith Spearman are held as two separate people.

What is known: The archive holds two separate person records, and cites Alma Smith Spearman only as the author of a family history.

What is not known: The full vital details of each woman, which are what would make the separation demonstrable rather than procedural.

Future research: Establish birth, marriage and death records for each Alma independently.

Amberly's Research Notes

No research note has been published for this claim yet.

From the research notebook ofAmberly R. Carter-Mills— Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist

What We Still Need to Find

What records fix the birth, marriage and death of each Alma separately, so that neither can be collapsed into the other?

Provenance, Access and Use

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.

No source metadata has been published for this claim yet.

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