John Smith (bef. 1860)

Born before 1860 in Virginia, United States

Descendants

Biography

John Smith is a part of US Black heritage.

• John Smith's birth date is estimated and is based on his son James Garfield Smith's birth date. He is assumed to have been at least 18 when James was born in about 1877.
• John Smith's birth location is listed as Virginia on two of his son James Garfield Smith's census records (1910, 1930) and Washington, D.C. on another (1920). James was a boarder in the 1920 census, so Virginia seems more likely to be accurate.

Research Notes

• John Smith is named as the father in his son James Garfield Smith's marriage record,^[1] Social Security record,^[2] death certificate,^[3] and obituary.^[4] Those records say James's mother was Mary or Elizabeth Collier and his obituary says that they had 13 children. James's records say he was born about 1877 in either (a) Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia, (b) Hillsboro, Loudoun County, Virginia, or (c) Washington, D.C. Their family has not been identified in the 1880 or 1900 census records in any of those locations, searching Ancestry and FamilySearch on 17 Aug 2024. Those searches also did not result in any records for a couple named John Smith and Mary or Elizabeth Collier, except for their son James's records.

Sources

1. ↑ Son James's marriage record:
   Ohio, Licking County, Marriage Records, volume 10, page 257, #1702, James Garfield Smith & Mary E Jones, 24 Apr 1907; "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016," database with images, FamilySearch, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XDLM-LZG : accessed 17 Aug 2024).
2. ↑ Son James's Social Security Record:
   "United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6K3S-JMXR : accessed 17 Aug 2024), James Garfield Smith, born 10 Aug 1877 in Hillboro Low*, Virginia, United States.
3. ↑ Son James's death certificate:
   Ohio, Death Certificates, #66973, James Garfield Smith, 25 Nov 1945, Newark, Licking County, Ohio, USA; "Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953," database with images, FamilySearch, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X6N4-7X6 : accessed 17 Aug 2024).
4. ↑ Son James's Obituary:
   "James G. Smith," The Newark Advocate [Ohio], 26 Nov 1945, page 2, column 2; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-newark-advocate-obituary-for-james-g/110462791/ : accessed 17 Aug 2024).