Source record · Census

1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi

Name: BEFORE TILL: The Living Evidence Archive
Creator: Amberly R. Carter-Mills
License: https://beforetill.com/terms

United States Bureau of the Census · Enumerated 30 July 1870 · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration

18 observations6 claims touched9 transcribed1 images published

Read the record

The document and its words

The record

Handwritten 1870 census page listing forty households by name, age, sex, colour, occupation, birthplace, marriage within the year and literacy.

United States Bureau of the Census · 1870 · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · Public domain (U.S. federal record)

What the record says

Working transcription, page 109 (penned), Schedule 1 - Inhabitants in Townships 9 & 10, Copiah County, Mississippi, enumerated 30 July 1870 by O. H. Johnston, Ass't Marshal. Post Office: Hazlehurst.

Column headings: 1 Dwelling | 2 Family | 3 Name | 4 Age | 5 Sex | 6 Colour | 7 Occupation | 8 Real estate | 9 Personal estate | 10 Place of birth | 13 Born within the year | 14 Married within the year | 16 Cannot read | 17 Cannot write | 19 Male citizen 21 and up.

Dwelling 786, family 773 opens with the Hines household:
line 28 | Hines Lawrence | 49 | M | B | Farmer | 1000 | 500 | Va
line 29 | - Peggy | 40 | F | M | Keeping House | | | Va
line 30 | - Melissa | 19 | F | M | Teaching | | | Miss
line 31 | Alexander Wilson | 24 | M | B | | | | Miss

The Taliaferro and Smith lines follow, in this order:
line 32 | Talleferro Hilliard | 47 | M | M | Works on farm | | | Va
line 33 | - Bettie | 33 | F | M | Keeping House | | | Miss | cannot read, cannot write
line 34 | Smith Laura | 18 | F | M | | | | Miss | married within the year: June | one literacy mark
line 35 | - John | 26 | M | B | Works on farm | | | Miss | married within the year: June | cannot read, cannot write | male citizen
line 36 | - Monroe | 1/2 | M | B | | | | Miss | born within the year: May
line 37 | Talleferro Amanda | 13 | F | M | | | | Miss
line 38 | - Henry | 6 | M | M | | | | Miss
line 39 | - Joseph E | 2 | M | M | | | | Miss
line 40 | - Thomas | 25 | M | M | | | | Miss

Note on line 37: this thirteen-year-old Amanda Talleferro, born about 1857, is not Amanda Smith of the Amanda Smith branch of this archive. The two are held as different people.

Note on line 36: the age is written as a fraction. Read against the "born within the year - May" mark and a 30 July enumeration, the archive reads it as an infant of a few months rather than a half-year-old.

Transcribed as written, including spelling, abbreviation and error. Editorial additions appear in [brackets]; illegible words appear as [illegible].

Transcribed as written, including spelling, abbreviation and error. Editorial additions appear in [brackets]; illegible words appear as [illegible].

What was drawn from it

Observations

BT-EVD-00050Census Entryp. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773
Laura Smith appears in the household enumerated as the Lawrence Hines/Hinz household in the 1870 census of Copiah County, Mississippi.
No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this observation yet.
Not yet attached to a published claim.
BT-EVD-00051Census Agep. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773
Laura Smith is recorded as approximately age 18 in 1870.
No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this observation yet.
Not yet attached to a published claim.
BT-EVD-00052Census Entryp. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773
John Smith appears in the same 1870 household.
No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this observation yet.
Not yet attached to a published claim.
BT-EVD-00053Census Agep. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773
John Smith is recorded as approximately age 26 in 1870.
No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this observation yet.
Not yet attached to a published claim.
BT-EVD-00408Census Entryp. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 32
Hilliard Talleferro heads the group of lines, recorded as 47, male, mulatto, works on farm, born in Virginia - the only Virginia birthplace among the family lines.
“Talleferro Hilliard | 47 | M | M | Works on farm | Va”
Not yet attached to a published claim.
BT-EVD-00410Census Householdp. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 32-40
Hilliard, Bettie, Laura, John and the infant Monroe are enumerated on consecutive lines within dwelling 786, family 773 - one household, headed in the schedule by Lawrence Hines. Four further Talleferro lines follow: Amanda 13, Henry 6, Joseph E 2 and Thomas 25.
“Dwelling 786 | Family 773”
Not yet attached to a published claim.
BT-EVD-00409Census Entryp. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 33
Bettie is entered directly beneath Hilliard, recorded as 33, female, mulatto, keeping house, born in Mississippi, with both literacy columns marked.
“- Bettie | 33 | F | M | Keeping House | Miss”
Not yet attached to a published claim.
BT-EVD-00054Census Literacyp. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 34
The original page has now been read. Laura's line carries a single mark in the education columns, which the archive reads as column 17, "cannot write" - leaving column 16, "cannot read", unmarked. On the same page, Bettie's and John's lines each carry two marks. The reading is consistent with the compiled research report that Laura could read but could not write. The marks are small and faint, and the reading is the archive's transcription of the page rather than a certainty.
“Smith Laura | 18 | F | M | Miss | [one mark in the education columns]”
Partly supportsWhat do census records indicate about Laura Tolliver Smith's literacy?Unresolved againstDid Laura Tolliver attend "Vicksburg College"?
BT-EVD-00405Census Marriagep. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 34
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”
SupportsWhen did Laura Tolliver and John Smith marry?
BT-EVD-00406Census Marriagep. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 35
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”
SupportsWhen did Laura Tolliver and John Smith marry?
BT-EVD-00407Census Entryp. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 36
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”
Not yet attached to a published claim.
BT-EVD-00471Age Consistencyp. 109, line 38, dwelling 786, family 773
The 1870 page enters a Henry, aged 6, in the Taliaferro household. Ten years later a Henry aged 15 is enumerated as a son of Hilliard and Bettie in the same county. The ages are consistent within a year and the archive treats the two lines as the same person.
“— Henry 6 M M Miss”
Not yet attached to a published claim.
BT-EVD-00472Age Consistencyp. 109, line 39, dwelling 786, family 773
The 1870 page enters a Joseph E, aged 2, in the Taliaferro household. Ten years later a Joseph E. aged 12 is enumerated as a son of Hilliard and Bettie in the same county. The ages are consistent within a year and the archive treats the two lines as the same person.
“— Joseph E 2 M M Miss”
Not yet attached to a published claim.
BT-EVD-00155Named Entry
Bettie appears by name in the same 1870 census household.
No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this observation yet.
SupportsWere Hilliard and Bettie living together by 1870?
BT-EVD-00234Census Household
1870 census enumeration places Laura and John Smith in the same household in Copiah County, Mississippi.
No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this observation yet.
SupportsLaura Tolliver and John Smith were husband and wife.
BT-EVD-00156Named Entry
Hilliard appears by name in the 1870 U.S. Census for Copiah County, Mississippi.
No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this observation yet.
SupportsWere Hilliard and Bettie living together by 1870?
BT-EVD-00154Age
Hilliard's age is reported as approximately 47 and Bettie's as approximately 33 in 1870.
No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this observation yet.
SupportsWere Hilliard and Bettie living together by 1870?
BT-EVD-00153Household
Hilliard and Bettie appear in the Lawrence Hinz / Hines household. Peggy Hinz also appears in the household context; the census does not state a relationship between Peggy and Hilliard.
No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this observation yet.
SupportsWere Hilliard and Bettie living together by 1870?Gives context toCould Peggy Hinz have been Hilliard's sister?

Page by page

Which page each quotation came from

Every quoted line filed under the page it was read from, with the citation for that page, so any reader can check the wording against the original.

p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773

4 quotations

No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this reading yet.
Laura Smith appears in the household enumerated as the Lawrence Hines/Hinz household in the 1870 census of Copiah County, Mississippi.
BT-EVD-00050
No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this reading yet.
Laura Smith is recorded as approximately age 18 in 1870.
BT-EVD-00051
No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this reading yet.
John Smith appears in the same 1870 household.
BT-EVD-00052
No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this reading yet.
John Smith is recorded as approximately age 26 in 1870.
BT-EVD-00053

United States Bureau of the Census; 1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi; U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10 (Post Office Hazlehurst); Copiah County, Mississippi; p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773; image digital image 225 of 240; FHL film M593, roll 501; FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration; accessed 2021-10-14.

View the page image

p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 32

1 quotation

“Talleferro Hilliard | 47 | M | M | Works on farm | Va”
Hilliard Talleferro heads the group of lines, recorded as 47, male, mulatto, works on farm, born in Virginia - the only Virginia birthplace among the family lines.
BT-EVD-00408

United States Bureau of the Census; 1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi; U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10 (Post Office Hazlehurst); Copiah County, Mississippi; p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 32; image digital image 225 of 240; FHL film M593, roll 501; FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration; accessed 2021-10-14.

View the page image

p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 32-40

1 quotation

“Dwelling 786 | Family 773”
Hilliard, Bettie, Laura, John and the infant Monroe are enumerated on consecutive lines within dwelling 786, family 773 - one household, headed in the schedule by Lawrence Hines. Four further Talleferro lines follow: Amanda 13, Henry 6, Joseph E 2 and Thomas 25.
BT-EVD-00410

United States Bureau of the Census; 1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi; U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10 (Post Office Hazlehurst); Copiah County, Mississippi; p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 32-40; image digital image 225 of 240; FHL film M593, roll 501; FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration; accessed 2021-10-14.

View the page image

p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 33

1 quotation

“- Bettie | 33 | F | M | Keeping House | Miss”
Bettie is entered directly beneath Hilliard, recorded as 33, female, mulatto, keeping house, born in Mississippi, with both literacy columns marked.
BT-EVD-00409

United States Bureau of the Census; 1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi; U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10 (Post Office Hazlehurst); Copiah County, Mississippi; p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 33; image digital image 225 of 240; FHL film M593, roll 501; FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration; accessed 2021-10-14.

View the page image

p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 34

2 quotations

“Smith Laura | 18 | F | M | Miss | [one mark in the education columns]”
The original page has now been read. Laura's line carries a single mark in the education columns, which the archive reads as column 17, "cannot write" - leaving column 16, "cannot read", unmarked. On the same page, Bettie's and John's lines each carry two marks. The reading is consistent with the compiled research report that Laura could read but could not write. The marks are small and faint, and the reading is the archive's transcription of the page rather than a certainty.
BT-EVD-00054
“Smith Laura | 18 | F | M | Miss | [married within the year] June”
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.
BT-EVD-00405

United States Bureau of the Census; 1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi; U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10 (Post Office Hazlehurst); Copiah County, Mississippi; p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 34; image digital image 225 of 240; FHL film M593, roll 501; FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration; accessed 2021-10-14.

View the page image

p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 35

1 quotation

“- John | 26 | M | B | Works on farm | Miss | [married within the year] June”
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.
BT-EVD-00406

United States Bureau of the Census; 1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi; U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10 (Post Office Hazlehurst); Copiah County, Mississippi; p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 35; image digital image 225 of 240; FHL film M593, roll 501; FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration; accessed 2021-10-14.

View the page image

p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 36

1 quotation

“- Monroe | 1/2 | M | B | Miss | [born within the year] May”
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.
BT-EVD-00407

United States Bureau of the Census; 1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi; U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10 (Post Office Hazlehurst); Copiah County, Mississippi; p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, line 36; image digital image 225 of 240; FHL film M593, roll 501; FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration; accessed 2021-10-14.

View the page image

p. 109, line 38, dwelling 786, family 773

1 quotation

“— Henry 6 M M Miss”
The 1870 page enters a Henry, aged 6, in the Taliaferro household. Ten years later a Henry aged 15 is enumerated as a son of Hilliard and Bettie in the same county. The ages are consistent within a year and the archive treats the two lines as the same person.
BT-EVD-00471

United States Bureau of the Census; 1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi; U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10 (Post Office Hazlehurst); Copiah County, Mississippi; p. 109, line 38, dwelling 786, family 773; image digital image 225 of 240; FHL film M593, roll 501; FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration; accessed 2021-10-14.

View the page image

p. 109, line 39, dwelling 786, family 773

1 quotation

“— Joseph E 2 M M Miss”
The 1870 page enters a Joseph E, aged 2, in the Taliaferro household. Ten years later a Joseph E. aged 12 is enumerated as a son of Hilliard and Bettie in the same county. The ages are consistent within a year and the archive treats the two lines as the same person.
BT-EVD-00472

United States Bureau of the Census; 1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi; U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10 (Post Office Hazlehurst); Copiah County, Mississippi; p. 109, line 39, dwelling 786, family 773; image digital image 225 of 240; FHL film M593, roll 501; FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration; accessed 2021-10-14.

View the page image

Page not recorded

5 quotations

No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this reading yet.
Bettie appears by name in the same 1870 census household.
BT-EVD-00155
No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this reading yet.
1870 census enumeration places Laura and John Smith in the same household in Copiah County, Mississippi.
BT-EVD-00234
No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this reading yet.
Hilliard appears by name in the 1870 U.S. Census for Copiah County, Mississippi.
BT-EVD-00156
No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this reading yet.
Hilliard's age is reported as approximately 47 and Bettie's as approximately 33 in 1870.
BT-EVD-00154
No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this reading yet.
Hilliard and Bettie appear in the Lawrence Hinz / Hines household. Peggy Hinz also appears in the household context; the census does not state a relationship between Peggy and Hilliard.
BT-EVD-00153

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Where it lands

Claims this record bears on

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.
Supports
Follow the evidence trail
Documented
Were Hilliard and Bettie living together by 1870?
Co-residence in 1870 is documented. Co-residence alone does not establish a legal marriage.
Supports
Follow the evidence trail
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.
Supports
Follow the evidence trail
Under Investigation
What do census records indicate about Laura Tolliver Smith's literacy?
Three compiled census entries reportedly indicate that Laura could read but could not write; the 1900 entry reportedly indicates she could do neither. The original images have not yet been reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.
Partly supports
Follow the evidence trail
Under Investigation
Did Laura Tolliver attend "Vicksburg College"?
The family account is documented. Laura's attendance is not. BEFORE TILL preserves Alma Smith Spearman's statement as evidence that the family account exists, while the institution itself and Laura's attendance remain unverified.
Unresolved against
Follow the evidence trail
Under Investigation
Could Peggy Hinz have been Hilliard's sister?
A household association only. No relationship is recorded.
Gives context to
Follow the evidence trail

Provenance and citation

How to cite this record

1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi

BT-SRC-00036

Digital image of original recordOriginal image: Citation entered — image review pendingA photographic image of a contemporary record held by the repository named below.

Creator: United States Bureau of the Census
Date created: Enumerated 30 July 1870
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: 2021-10-14

Access and use

Public domain (U.S. federal record). SOURCE CITATION AVAILABLE. ORIGINAL IMAGE VERIFICATION NEEDED — not yet independently reviewed inside BEFORE TILL.

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.

View the record at the repository

Full citation

United States Bureau of the Census; 1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi; U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10; p. p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773; image digital image 225 of 240; FHL film NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 501; FamilySearch; Copiah County, Mississippi.

1870 U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10, p. 109 (penned), dwelling 786, family 773, Laura Smith in the Lawrence Hines/Hinz household, digital image 225 of 240, FamilySearch.org; citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 501.

Persistent identifier

Cite this page

Carter-Mills, Amberly R. "1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi." BEFORE TILL: The Living Evidence Archive. Version not yet assigned. Object BT-SRC-00036. Accessed 2026-09-24. /source/BT-SRC-00036.

Attribution: Amberly R. Carter-Mills, Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist.

What changed

Revision history for this record

No public revision has been logged against this record. When its citation, reading, or rights status changes, the change and its reason appear here.

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