Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman

• BT-EVD-00075Family History

  Alma Smith Spearman's published family history states that Laura Tolliver was a student at an institution identified as "Vicksburg College" at the time of her marriage to John Smith. This documents that the family account exists; it does not by itself document attendance.

  “Laura Tolliver, while yet a student of Vicksburg College, was given in marriage to John Smith, a country farmer.”

  Partly supportsDid Laura Tolliver attend "Vicksburg College"?
• BT-EVD-00076Family History

  Alma Smith Spearman's family history describes John and Laura as raising nine biological children and three adopted sons.

  No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this observation yet.

  Gives context toHow many children did John and Laura Smith raise?
• BT-EVD-00077Family History

  Alma Smith Spearman's family history reports that Laura's Baptist faith and the family's religious life contributed to John and Laura welcoming Bishop C. H. Mason around 1897.

  No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this observation yet.

  Partly supportsDid Laura and John Smith provide hospitality and support to Bishop C. H. Mason around 1897?
• BT-EVD-00078Family History

  Alma Smith Spearman's family history reports that Bishop C. H. Mason was welcomed into the Smith home and that John and Laura extended an ongoing invitation for him to stay when he was in the area.

  No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this observation yet.

  Partly supportsDid Laura and John Smith provide hospitality and support to Bishop C. H. Mason around 1897?
• BT-EVD-00079Family History

  Alma Smith Spearman's family history reports that the Smiths' son Joe Smith cared for Bishop Mason's horse and buggy.

  No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this observation yet.

  Partly supportsDid Laura and John Smith provide hospitality and support to Bishop C. H. Mason around 1897?
• BT-EVD-00080Family History

  Alma Smith Spearman's family history reports that the Smiths' oldest grandson, Mason Harrison Smith, was named for Bishop Mason.

  No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this observation yet.

  Partly supportsDid Laura and John Smith provide hospitality and support to Bishop C. H. Mason around 1897?
• BT-EVD-00081Family History

  Alma Smith Spearman's family history describes John and Laura as acquiring approximately 80 acres including a house, barns, livestock, a blacksmith shop, wells, orchards, pastures, streams, gardens, trees, and poultry. These descriptive elements are recorded as the family account, not as independently proven property details.

  No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this observation yet.

  Partly supportsDid John and Laura Smith own an approximately 80-acre farm?
• BT-EVD-00233Family Account

  The family history authored by Alma Smith Spearman identifies Laura Tolliver as the wife of John Smith.

  “Laura Tolliver, wife of John Smith.”

  SupportsLaura Tolliver and John Smith were husband and wife.
• BT-EVD-00238Family Account

  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.”

  Partly supportsWhen did Laura Tolliver and John Smith marry?
• BT-EVD-00276Relationship Statement

  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.

  No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this observation yet.

  SupportsWas George Smith a son of John and Laura Smith?
• BT-EVD-00293Relationship Statement

  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.

  No verbatim wording has been transcribed for this observation yet.

  SupportsWas Amanda Smith a daughter of John and Laura Smith?

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.

• 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.

  Supports

  Follow the evidence trail
• 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.

  Partly supports

  Follow the evidence trail
• 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.

  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.

  Partly 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
• 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.

  Partly supports

  Follow the evidence trail
• 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.

  Gives context to

  Follow the evidence trail
• 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.

  Partly supports

  Follow the evidence trail

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