| I
now know of at least 3 family history researchers of the Jesse Kirby
Smith line besides myself: Jerry Cleveland Smith, Sandra Jackson, and
now Richard Smith. Jerry descended from Dock Smith. Sandra
descended from Ella Smith Findley. Richard descended from John W.
Smith. We descended from Lillie Smith Blake. Some Smiths on
census records are obviously not ours like THIS ONE
from Alabama which some researchers claim was for Jesse Kirby Smith's
father. Kitty's suggestion for our Jesse Kirby Smith's census
record raises questions also but none that couldn't be overcome
with a little more research. Here, below, is what Kitty
found: |
Jessi Smith 1850 U.S. Census of
Macon, Bibb County, GA | This
1850 Census of Bibb County, Georgia (not Alabama), shows a "Jessi (sic)
Smith" living in Macon in a ritzy section of town very close to Elam
Alexander. More on Elam Alexander below. Jessi's family is
highlighted in Yellow. A possible relative next-door neighbor is
highlighted below him in blue.
The head
of hous is a female, "E Smith," age 60, whose property value is
$1200. This was no small amount in 1850 and showed that her
property was valued at 5 times the amount of some of her neighbors.
This
Jesse on this 1850 Bibb County, Georgia Census is shown as a
29-year-old [cotton] "Gin Maker." That would mean he was born
about 1821.
Jesse told the 1870 Bibb County, Alabama census
taker he was 52 which meant he was born about 1818. We are
certain that this is Jesse because (a) he was living in the house where
he was when he died and because (b) the names and birth years of
several of the children on the 1870 census match his known children.
This
same proven Jesse told the Bibb County, Alabama census taker in 1880
that he was 60 years old which meant he was born about 1820.
These birth dates shifting a year or two from 1870 to 1880 are
common for people living back then. This helps confirm that
the "Jessi" son of "E Smith" in Bibb County, Georgia in 1850 may be the
same person. | | Jessi Smith 1850 Census.txt | This
is a text file that gives more details about the "Jessi Smith" mentioned above.
It also discusses a non-related person, Elam Alexander, who is a
very wealthy neighbor. As mentioned above, there's more information about this man in the two links below. | | Elam Alexander 1850 Census Macon Bibb GA p158.jpg | On
the 1850 Bibb County, Georgia census one page prior to "Jessi Smith" is
Elam Alexander living in a home that would be considered a mansion
today. Alexander was a wealthy Georgia business man and
philanthropist whose gift helped establish several schools, some of
which are still there in Macon, GA. More on Elam Alexander below. | | Elam_Alexander(1796-1863) | This
is a printable PDF file that gives a biography of Elam Alexander.
I included it here only because he appears on the page previous
to the 1850 Census page that "Jessi Smith" is on. The fact that such a
wealthy man was neighbor to Jessi could make it harder to prove his our
Jesse Kirby Smith because our Jesse Kirby Smith was quite poor and this
"Jessi Smith" obviously lived in a ritzy part of town.
This,
however, is not that hard to accept since many fortunes were lost as a
result of the Civil War. Add this also to the fact that Jesse
Kirby Smith's wife, Frances Fulllman, was possibly a mulatto or part
black and part Native American. More research is needed to prove
this but evidence for it is building. As a side note, Elam
Alexander was not related to the Smiths, he was only a wealthy neighbor. |
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