George Smith

Born

21 April 1881 (death record) or about 1872 (1880 census) - conflicting

Died

3 March 1936

Archive identifier

BT-PER-00266

Claims attached

5

No dated events have been documented for this person yet.

• ParentDocumented

  John Smith

  Recorded as a son, age 8, in the John Smith household in the 1880 federal census — Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi, dwelling 288, family 288.

  Evidence for this relationship
• ParentDocumented

  Laura Tolliver Smith

  Recorded as a son, age 8, in the John Smith household in the 1880 federal census — Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi, dwelling 288, family 288.

  Evidence for this relationship
• SpouseDocumented

  Clara Chess Smith

  Recorded as George Smith's spouse on his 1936 Illinois death record. No marriage record has been examined.

• ChildUnder Investigation

  Elizabeth Smith Wright

  Listed as a child of George Smith on Find a Grave memorial 92711754, maintained by contributor AR Jackson, accessed 14 October 2021. A contributor-maintained memorial is not a record of birth; no independent source has yet been examined for this link.

• ChildUnder Investigation

  Mamie J. Smith Hall

  Listed as a child of George Smith on Find a Grave memorial 92711754, maintained by contributor AR Jackson, accessed 14 October 2021. A contributor-maintained memorial is not a record of birth; no independent source has yet been examined for this link.

• ChildUnder Investigation

  Hosea Smith

  Listed as a child of George Smith on Find a Grave memorial 92711754, maintained by contributor AR Jackson, accessed 14 October 2021. A contributor-maintained memorial is not a record of birth; no independent source has yet been examined for this link.

• ChildUnder Investigation

  George P. Smith

  Listed as a child of George Smith on Find a Grave memorial 92711754, maintained by contributor AR Jackson, accessed 14 October 2021. A contributor-maintained memorial is not a record of birth; no independent source has yet been examined for this link.

• ChildUnder Investigation

  Cary P. Smith

  Listed as a child of George Smith on Find a Grave memorial 92711754, maintained by contributor AR Jackson, accessed 14 October 2021. A contributor-maintained memorial is not a record of birth; no independent source has yet been examined for this link.

• ChildUnder Investigation

  Studge G. Smith

  Listed as a child of George Smith on Find a Grave memorial 92711754, maintained by contributor AR Jackson, accessed 14 October 2021. A contributor-maintained memorial is not a record of birth; no independent source has yet been examined for this link.

• ChildUnder Investigation

  Rubin Smith

  Listed as a child of George Smith on Find a Grave memorial 92711754, maintained by contributor AR Jackson, accessed 14 October 2021. A contributor-maintained memorial is not a record of birth; no independent source has yet been examined for this link.

• ChildUnder Investigation

  Alma Smith Carthan Spearman

  Family knowledge places Alma Carthan as a daughter of George Smith, and Find a Grave memorial 92711754 lists Alma Smith Spearman (1902-1981) among his children. A contributor-maintained memorial is not an independent record, so this generation link remains under verification.

  Evidence for this relationship

Role-based connections drawn from the records. These are historical relationships only. None of them establishes kinship.

No historical association has been published for this person yet.

• BookAuthored NarrativeBT-SRC-00040

  Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman

  1 observation drawn from this source

  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.

• CemeteryIndexBT-SRC-00041

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

  Find a Grave (database and images), online

  3 observations drawn from this source

  RESEARCH LEAD / DERIVATIVE SOURCE. User-contributed memorial content. Not treated as proof of parentage or birthplace unless supported by a monument photograph, death certificate, obituary, or burial record.

• CensusDigital ImageBT-SRC-00037

  1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi

  FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration

  1 observation drawn from this source

  SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.

• Vital RecordIndexBT-SRC-00524

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

  FamilySearch online index

  6 observations drawn from this source

• 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

• A user-contributed online cemetery index records a George Smith with a birth of 21 April 1881, a death of 3 March 1936, burial at Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island, Illinois, and a mother given as Laura Taliaferro. No image of an original record accompanies the entry, and the archive has not verified the contributor's sources. The mother's name is the reason the entry is being followed; it is not the reason to accept it.

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

• George Smith is recorded as age 8, son, having attended school within the census year — consistent with a birth about 1872.

  line 32 | - George | B | M | 8 | Son | attended school

  1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi · p. 33A (penned), dwelling 288, family 288

• 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

• The same entry records George Smith as Black, male, age 54 at death, born 21 April 1881 in Mississippi, occupation janitor, residing in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

  Descriptors: Black, Male, 54 [1881] / Birth Date: 21 Apr 1881 / Birthplace: Mississippi / Occupation: Janitor / Residence Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois

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

• 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

• The entry records burial on 6 March 1936 at Lincoln Cemetery, Worth, Cook County, Illinois - the same cemetery given on the Find a Grave memorial.

  Burial Date: 06 Mar 1936 / Burial Place: Lincoln Cemetery; Worth, Cook, Ill.

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

• The death date and place - 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois - place George Smith in Illinois by 1936. The archive still has no record fixing when he left Mississippi, only that the move had happened by then.

  Event Date: 03 Mar 1936 / Event Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois

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

• The death record gives George Smith a birth of 21 April 1881. The 1880 Copiah County census enumerates George in the John Smith household as age 8, pointing to a birth about 1872 - nine years earlier. Both readings are recorded here. The census age was reported while the child was in the household; the 1881 date was supplied by an informant reporting on a man who had died. Neither is treated as settled.

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

• The memorial lists eight children for George Smith: Elizabeth Smith Wright (1900-1970), Mamie J. Smith Hall (1900-1967), Alma Smith Spearman (1902-1981), Hosea Smith (1906-1966), George P. Smith (1907-1968), Cary P. Smith (1911-1982), Studge G. Smith (1913-1989) and Rubin Smith (1918-1996). The family links on a memorial are entered by a contributor and are not part of any burial record.

  Family Members — Children: Elizabeth Smith Wright 1900-1970; Mamie J. Smith Hall 1900-1967; Alma Smith Spearman 1902-1981; Hosea Smith 1906-1966; George P. Smith 1907-1968; Cary P. Smith 1911-1982; Studge G. Smith 1913-1989; Rubin Smith 1918-1996

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

• A contributor note on the memorial reads that George was the great-grandfather of Emmett Till. This is recorded as a statement made on the memorial page; the archive establishes that pathway from its own records, not from this note.

  GEORGE WAS THE GREAT-GRANDFATHER OF EMMITT TILL.

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

• Documented

  Was George Smith a son of John and Laura Smith?

  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.

• Under Investigation

  Was Alma Smith Carthan a daughter of George Smith?

  Family knowledge places Alma Carthan as a daughter of George Smith. The archive holds no contemporary record for this link, so the generation is carried as under verification.

• Documented

  When was George Smith born, when did he die, and where is he buried?

  A user-contributed online cemetery index gives a birth of 21 April 1881, a death of 3 March 1936, burial at Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island, Illinois, and a mother named Laura Taliaferro. That entry is a research lead, not evidence: no original death certificate, cemetery register or obituary has been examined by this archive. The dates are shown here as an unverified lead and are not written onto George's record.

• Documented

  Who was George Smith's wife?

  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.

• Documented

  When did George Smith leave Mississippi?

  The family line begins in Copiah County, Mississippi and later appears in Illinois. The archive has not yet entered a record fixing when, or whether, George himself made that move. Any movement he made occurred within the broader period historians call the Great Migration; that context is not a statement about his motive, which no record in this archive establishes.

• Was Alma Smith Carthan a daughter of George Smith?

No research note has been published for this person yet.