The earliest Smith I have traced is John Douglas Smith, born 1802 in Culpepper County, Virginia. I don’t know who his parents are. In 1824 he married Mary Frances Singleton, also of Virginia. They had ten children: Martha Ann, Mary Emily, Ella Francis, James Henry, Ariana Adeline, William Randolph, Emmaretta Cook, Octavia Davis, John Douglas, and Narcissus.

Birth

Born in Culpeper, Virginia, in 1802.

Marriage

08 Dec 1824 to Mary Frances Singleton in Brunswick, Virginia.

Children

They had ten children.

1. Martha Ann Smith. Born 1825; married William Samuel Chew, a physician, June 15, 1842, Carroll Co., MS; died unknown. Children: Sarah Chew, Bessie Chew, Richard Chew, Sam Chew.
2. Mary Emily Smith. Born January 1, 1828, Paris, Henry, TN; married Nathaniel Wells, November 27, 1846, Carroll County, MS; died April 15, 1915, MS. Children: Annie Wells, Ruth, L. Wells, Caroline Elizabeth Wells, Thomas N. Wells, C.A. Wells, John Wells, M.E. Wells, Sallie W. Wells.
3. Ella Francis Smith. Born November 26, 1829, Paris, Henry, TN; married Jefferson George Pate; died September 17, 1881, Carroll County, MS, Rose Hill cemetery. Children: Sarah Pate, George Pate, Benjamin Pate, Fannie Pate, Bloom Pate.
4. James Henry Smith. Born June 19, 1833 in Paris, TN; died 1896. Children: Frederick Randolph Smith, Charles McClellan Smith, John Douglas Smith, William James Smith, Frank Morey Smith.
5. Ariana Adeline Smith. Born June 6, 1835, MS; married William Warder Young; died 1919.
6. William Randolph Smith. Born 1836, Holly Springs, MS; married Sallie Purnell; died 1900.
7. Emmaretta Cook Smith. Born December 22, 1838, Holly Springs, Marshall, MS; married William F. Walker; died 1928. Children: John Walker.
8. John Douglas Smith. Born 1840, Carroll County, MS; married Fannie Wells; died 1911.
9. Narcissus Smith. Born 1843, Carroll County, MS; married Dallas Peavey; died 1911.
10. Octavia Davis Smith. Born July 27, 1844, Carroll County, MS; married William Douglas Hughes; died 1904.

Residence

Douglas and his wife left the home of his parents in the part of Orange County that is now Culpeper County, traveled thru the Carolinas to Paris Landing Tennessee, where James was born. Then to Holly Springs, Ms. Then to Vaiden, Ms then to Hemingway, Ms.

1830

In 1830, Douglas was living in Paris, Henry County, Tennessee. A “Douglass” is found in the US census for this year with the following makeup of the household: one male aged 20 to 29; three females under the age of 5; and one female aged 20 through 29; for a total of five family members.

1831

In 1831 Douglas appeared on a Henry County, TN, tax list.

1840

John appears in the 1840 US federal census as “Douglass” Smith, living in Carroll, Mississippi, His household contains two boys under the age of 5; one boy between 5 and 9; one male aged 30 through 39 (presumably John, himself); one girl under the age of 5; two girls aged 5 through 9; two girls aged 10 through 14; and one female, aged 30 through 39 (presumably John’s wife, Frances).

There were two female slaves under the age of 10 and one female slave aged 10 through 23, perhaps the mother or older sister of the little ones.

Two people were “employed in agriculture.” The household totaled 13 people: 10 free white and 3 slaves.

1850

“Douglas” appears in the 1850 federal census in the Southern Division of Carroll County, MS, as a farmer with $1,000 of real estate owned. He and his wife Frances are recorded as being born in Virginia. Son James is recorded as being born in Tennessee and the younger siblings in Mississippi. Children in the household are: James, 18, working as a laborer; William, 14; Emmarretta, 12; John, 10; Octavia, 7; Narcisus, 5.

1860

“Douglass Smith” appears in the 1860 US census in Police District 4, Carroll County, Mississippi, using the Carrollton post office. He was 57 years old, born in Virginia, a farmer, with a real estate value of $2,200 and a personal estate of $2,000. Household members included F W Smith, 58; Octavia Smith, 16; and Narcissa Smith, 14.

1870

I haven’t found Douglas in the 1870 census.

1880

Douglas’s wife Mary died in 1876 so she doesn’t appear with him in the 1880 census. “Duglass” appears as a 79-year-old widower and farmer in this census. We learn that his parents were born in Virginia, which may be helpful in identifying them.

Life Events

Douglas apparently shot and killed a neighboring planter named Will McCarty around 1865 who had committed some transgression toward him. Accounts vary: either hogs or cattle were allowed to roam free over the Smith property or there was an argument regarding slaves.

Occupation

Douglas worked for a time as an overseer on a Delta plantation.
“On larger plantations, the planter’s direct representative in day-to-day management of the crops, care of the land, livestock, farm implements, and slaves was the white overseer. It was his job to work the labor force to produce a profitable crop. He was an indispensable cog in the plantation machinery. […] The overseer has usually been portrayed as an uncouth, uneducated character of low class whose main purpose was to harass the slaves and get in the way of the planter’s progressive goals of production. More than that, the overseer had a position between master and slave in which it was hard to win. Directing slave labor was looked down upon by a large number of people, North and South. He was faced with planter demands that were at times unreasonable. He was forbidden to fraternize with the slaves. He had no chance of advancement unless he left the profession. He was bombarded with incessant complaints from masters, who did not appreciate the task he faced, and slaves, who sought to play off master and overseer against each other to avoid work and gain privileges. […] The very nature of the job was difficult. The overseer had to care for the slaves and gain the largest crop possible. These were often contradictory goals.” (Richter, William L. (2009). “Overseers”. The A to Z of the Old South. The A to Z Guide Series. 51. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 258. ISBN 9780810870000. Retrieved 2016-11-29.)

Death

1888

Burial

Buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Gravel Hill, Carroll County, Mississippi, USA

Sources

• Dennis J. Mitchell, Mississippi Liberal: A Biography of Frank E. Smith (Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2001), pp. 11-12.
• An interview with Frank E. Smith, 1986 / interviewed by William Bonner (Bill) McCarty, Jr. See it offsite here.

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