BEFORE TILL archival sealBefore TillThe Living Evidence Archive

Research object · BT-CLM-00232

When did Laura Tolliver and John Smith marry?

Documented· 3 sourcesLast reviewed August 20, 2026
Research & Interpretation byAmberly R. Carter-Mills— Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist

The Claim

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.

Public Summary

Laura Tolliver and John Smith married in June 1870, as recorded on both of their lines in the census taken the following month. The family account of an 1852 marriage is preserved as a family statement that the record contradicts.

Evidence Reviewed

  • Partially SupportsWeak

    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.

    Source: Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman

    Preserved as a documented family account. The date itself conflicts with Laura's approximate birth year and is held as unresolved.

  • SupportsStrong

    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

    Source: 1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration

    A "married within the year" mark reading June, on a page enumerated 30 July 1870.

  • SupportsStrong

    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

    Source: 1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration

    A "married within the year" mark reading June, on a page enumerated 30 July 1870.

The Evidence Trail

Step 1 · Claim

When did Laura Tolliver and John Smith marry?

Documented· 3 sources

BT-CLM-00232

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

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

How the Evidence Sits Together

What supports the claim

Observations that carry the claim forward.

  • 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.

    Partially Supports · Weak weight

    Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman

    Preserved as a documented family account. The date itself conflicts with Laura's approximate birth year and is held as unresolved.

  • 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

    Supports · Strong weight

    1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi

    A "married within the year" mark reading June, on a page enumerated 30 July 1870.

  • 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

    Supports · Strong weight

    1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi

    A "married within the year" mark reading June, on a page enumerated 30 July 1870.

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 1 · Current

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.

Future research: 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.

Amberly's Research Notes

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

What We Still Need to Find

What is the earliest documented date for the marriage of Laura Tolliver and John Smith?

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.

Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman

BT-SRC-00040
Evidentiary weight 2 of 4. Authored family historyOriginal image: Publication details pendingA descendant-authored account. Evidence that the account exists; not automatically contemporary proof of the events it describes.
Creator
Not recorded
Date created
Not recorded
Repository
Not recorded
Collection
Not recorded
Record form
Authored Narrative
Source type
Book
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.

1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi

BT-SRC-00036
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. Digital image of original recordOriginal image: Citation entered — image review pendingA photographic image of a contemporary record held by the repository named below.
Creator
Not recorded
Date created
Not recorded
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
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.