BEFORE TILL archival sealBefore TillThe Living Evidence Archive

Research object · BT-CLM-00344

Who was George Smith's wife?

Documented· 1 sourceLast reviewed August 20, 2026
Research & Interpretation byAmberly R. Carter-Mills— Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist

The Claim

George Smith married a woman whose identity can be established from record evidence.

Public Summary

No spouse has been entered for George Smith, because no marriage record, census household or death record naming a wife has been examined. The archive will not import a spouse from an unsourced online tree.

Evidence Reviewed

  • SupportsModerate

    The entry gives George Smith's spouse as Clara, with the surname read uncertainly as "Chess". The bracketed question mark is the indexer's, and the surname should be treated as unread until the certificate image is examined.

    Spouse's Name: Clara [Chess?]

    Source: Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County · FamilySearch online index

    Names a wife for the first time; the surname is unread.

The Evidence Trail

Step 1 · Claim

Who was George Smith's wife?

Documented· 1 source

BT-CLM-00344

George Smith married a woman whose identity can be established from record evidence.

Step 2 · Evidence & Source

  1. Supports · Moderate weight

    The entry gives George Smith's spouse as Clara, with the surname read uncertainly as "Chess". The bracketed question mark is the indexer's, and the surname should be treated as unread until the certificate image is examined.

    “Spouse's Name: Clara [Chess?]”

    Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County · FamilySearch online index · Index

    BT-EVD-00527 ← BT-SRC-00524

    Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

    Names a wife for the first time; the surname is unread.

Step 3 · Conclusion

DocumentedVersion 2 · Current · Medium confidence

Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

George Smith's wife is named Clara on his 1936 death record. Her maiden surname is read there as "Chess" with a question mark and is treated as unread.

What is not known: Her maiden name, her birth family, her dates, and whether she and George had children.

What could change this: Search Chicago marriage records for a George Smith and a Clara, and check the 1920 and 1930 censuses for the household.

How the Evidence Sits Together

What supports the claim

Observations that carry the claim forward.

  • The entry gives George Smith's spouse as Clara, with the surname read uncertainly as "Chess". The bracketed question mark is the indexer's, and the surname should be treated as unread until the certificate image is examined.

    Spouse's Name: Clara [Chess?]

    Supports · Moderate weight

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

    Names a wife for the first time; the surname is unread.

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.

Research Conclusion

DocumentedVersion 2 · Current

George Smith's wife is named Clara on his 1936 death record. Her maiden surname is read there as "Chess" with a question mark and is treated as unread.

What is known: A wife named Clara survived or was living at the time the death record was made.

What is not known: Her maiden name, her birth family, her dates, and whether she and George had children.

Future research: Search Chicago marriage records for a George Smith and a Clara, and check the 1920 and 1930 censuses for the household.

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 marriage licence, census household, obituary or death certificate names George Smith's wife?

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.

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 sourceOriginal image: Citation entered — image review pendingA transcription, abstract or index standing in for a record BEFORE TILL has not yet examined directly.
Creator
Not recorded
Date created
Not recorded
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.

Submit a Lead

Do you hold a record, a photograph, or a family account bearing on this question? Submit it for review. A submission becomes a research lead; it does not change a published conclusion on its own.

Attach files (optional)

Scans, photographs, or a recorded account. Up to 5 files, 25.0 MB each — images, PDF, or audio. Attachments are stored privately and are never published without review.

Please do not send Social Security numbers, account or policy numbers, unredacted identification for living people, financial information, private medical records, or records about a living person who has not agreed to it. Everything you send is stored privately and reviewed before anything is published — nothing you submit appears on the site automatically. See the records and documents policy.