BT-PER-00004
John Smith
Also recorded as: John Smith
Person shell created for research. Dates, places, and relationships are pending documentary research.
Derived likeness· Restored from Alma Smith Spearman's family historyDigitally restored from the photograph printed in Alma Smith Spearman's family history. It is a derived likeness, not an archival image.
Original photograph
The scanned page below is the record from which the derived likeness above was restored.
John Smith and Laura Tolliver Smith, married 1852 — page from Alma Smith Spearman's family history
Alma Smith Spearman · Authored family history, photographed page
Alma Smith Spearman's family history · supplied to the archive by the family
This page is the record of the photograph. The likenesses shown on the profiles of Laura and John are digital restorations of it, not archival images.
Overview
- Born
- Not yet documented
- Died
- Not yet documented
- Archive identifier
BT-PER-00004- Claims attached
- 7
Life Timeline
1880 census: the Smith household at Rose Hill, Union County, Kentucky
1880 · Census
1870 census: Laura and John Smith in Copiah County, Mississippi
1870 · Census
1900 census: the Smith household at Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi
1900 · Census
1910 census: the Smith household at Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi
1910 · Census
Marriage of John Smith and Laura Tolliver
about 1869 · Marriage
Family
- SpouseCorroborated
Married June 1870, recorded on both of their lines in the 1870 census of Copiah County as married within the year. The household is then carried forward in the censuses of 1880, 1900 and 1910 and in the Alma Smith Spearman family history.
Evidence for this relationship - ChildDocumented
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 - ChildFamily Tradition
The family history names Amanda 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.
Evidence for this relationship - ChildDocumented
Recorded from the 1870 census household: Monroe is entered on the line beneath John and Laura, within the same family number, as an infant born within the year.
- ChildDocumented
Recorded as a son in the same household in the 1880 federal census, Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi.
- ChildDocumented
Recorded as a son in the same household in the 1880 federal census, Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi.
- ChildDocumented
Entered as a daughter of the head of household in the 1910 U.S. census, Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi, ED 53, sheet 5A, dwelling 77.
- Adoptive childDocumented
Entered as "adopted son" of the head of household in the 1910 census, dwelling 77. The page states the adoptive relationship only; no birth parent is named.
- OtherDocumented
Entered as grandson of the head of household in the 1910 census, dwelling 77. The page does not name the child's parent, so no intervening parent-child link is asserted.
- ChildUnder Investigation
John H. Smith heads the next dwelling on the same page, with the same surname and a plausible age. The page states no relationship between the two households, and none is asserted here.
- OtherDocumented
Entered as "nephew" of the head of household in the 1910 census, dwelling 77. Which sibling of John or Laura was his parent is not stated on the page and is not asserted here.
Historical Connections
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.
View the full historical networkDocuments
- CensusDigital Image
BT-SRC-000361870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi
FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration
4 observations drawn from this source
SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.
- CensusDigital Image
BT-SRC-000371880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi
FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration
3 observations drawn from this source
SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.
- CensusDigital Image
BT-SRC-000381900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi
FamilySearch
2 observations drawn from this source
SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.
- CensusDigital Image
BT-SRC-000391910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi
FamilySearch
6 observations drawn from this source
SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.
- Vital RecordIndex
BT-SRC-00524Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County
FamilySearch online index
1 observation drawn from this source
Observations From the Record
John Smith appears in the same 1870 household.
1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi · p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773
John Smith is recorded as approximately age 26 in 1870.
1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi · p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773
John Smith is recorded as approximately age 36 in 1880.
1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi · p. 33A (penned), dwelling 288, family 288
John Smith is reported born July 1844.
1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi · p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150
John and Laura are reported as owning their home in 1900.
1900 U.S. Census — Mount Hope, Copiah County, Mississippi · p. 7B (penned), dwelling 147, family 150
John Smith is recorded as approximately age 66 in 1910.
1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi · p. 5A (penned), dwelling 77, family 77
John and Laura are reported as owning their home in 1910.
1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi · p. 5A (penned), dwelling 77, family 77
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 · p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 35
An infant named Monroe is entered on the line beneath John, with a fractional age and a mark in column 13, "If born within the year", written as May. He is the first child recorded in this household.
- Monroe | 1/2 | M | B | Miss | [born within the year] May
1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi · p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 36
John Smith is recorded as a Farmer, head of dwelling 288, family 288.
line 29 | Smith John | B | M | 36 | Farmer
1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi · p. 33A (penned), dwelling 288, family 288
John Smith is recorded as born in Mississippi, his father in Virginia and his mother in South Carolina.
line 29 | Miss | Va | S Ca
1880 U.S. Census — Rose Hill Precinct, Copiah County, Mississippi · p. 33A (penned), dwelling 288, family 288
The first line of the page, an adopted daughter named Eveline, age 4, carries no dwelling number and precedes the head of household. She belongs to the household continued from the previous sheet and is not counted here as a member of the Smith household.
— Eveline | Adopted Daughter | F | B | 4 | S
1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi · ED 53, sheet 5A, dwelling 77, family 77
John Smith is recorded as a farmer working on his own account on a general farm; the farm schedule number is 75. The home is entered as owned, mortgaged, and a farm.
Farmer | General Farm | Emp | O | M | F | 75
1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi · ED 53, sheet 5A, dwelling 77, family 77
John Smith is reported as able to read and able to write in 1910. Laura is reported as able to read and not able to write — the same split the compiled research carried, now read from the page itself.
yes yes / yes no
1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi · ED 53, sheet 5A, dwelling 77, family 77
The John Smith household at dwelling 77, family 77 is enumerated on eight consecutive lines: John (head), Laura (wife), Amanda E. and Ella (daughters), Frank (adopted son), Joseph Walker (boarder), Crosby Smith (grandson) and Joe E. Taliaferro (nephew).
Smith John — Head
1910 U.S. Census — Mayharris, Copiah County, Mississippi · ED 53, sheet 5A, dwelling 77, family 77
The entry gives the birthplace of George's father, John Smith, as Brook Haven, Lincoln County, Mississippi. This is the first birthplace of any kind entered for John Smith. It is informant testimony recorded in 1936 and is carried at that strength.
Father's Name: John Smith / Father's Birthplace: Brook Haven, [Lincoln], Miss.
Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, entry for George Smith, died 3 March 1936, Chicago, Cook County
Evidence
- Under Investigation
Did John and Laura Smith own an approximately 80-acre farm?
The 1900 and 1910 censuses reportedly record John and Laura as owning their home. Home ownership supports property ownership generally, but does not by itself establish acreage, boundaries, or any of the described buildings and improvements.
- Under Investigation
Did Laura and John Smith provide hospitality and support to Bishop C. H. Mason around 1897?
BEFORE TILL preserves this as a family account recorded by Alma Smith Spearman. The events themselves have not yet been independently corroborated inside the archive.
- Under Investigation
How many children did John and Laura Smith raise?
The 1900 and 1910 censuses report Laura as the mother of 11 children, nine then living. The family history describes nine biological children and three adopted sons. These statements do not necessarily contradict one another, because adopted children would not be counted among children born to Laura.
- Corroborated
Laura Tolliver and John Smith were husband and wife.
The marriage relationship itself is well supported: the family history names Laura as the wife of John Smith, and census enumerations place them in the same household as a married couple across multiple decades. The exact marriage date remains unresolved and is tracked separately.
- Documented
When did Laura Tolliver and John Smith marry?
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.
- 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.
- Family Tradition
Was Amanda Smith a daughter of John and Laura Smith?
The family history names Amanda 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.
Unresolved Questions
- Did John and Laura Smith own an approximately 80-acre farm?
- Did Laura and John Smith provide hospitality and support to Bishop C. H. Mason around 1897?
- How many children did John and Laura Smith raise?
Amberly's Notes
No research note has been published for this person yet.