The “Smith” Folder ~ from our Family History Section
Review published June 2012
About the “Smith” Folder
Many “Family History” books are bound and compiled by a single individual. The “Smith” Folder is a bit different.
The Nichols Library has a whole section of Family History books comprised of research & writings of people who have researched their families and wish to share that information with others. Often such volumes contain information you won’t find anywhere else. Along with that comes a major caveat – often such volumes do not document their findings which lowers any data from primary to a secondary or even tertiary source.
Such published papers were how people shared before the Internet or when it was “young”. And that’s the nature of The “Smith” Folder which is comprised of one Smith Sagas (March 1978) and nine Smith Papers (1985-1988).Each Smith Papers has a Table of Contents, includes an index of all Smith’s via their first or first/middle names as well as an index of all other surnames. The Smith Sagasvolume has no index but does have a Table of Contents. The Sagas and the Papersare NOT associated with each other which was made very clear by the Smith Papers in their No. 19, Summer 1986 publication (see p. 27).
Do you have a Smith in your ancestry? Challenging to research, aren’t they? One of the great pluses of such published newsletters is the sharing reached far & wide.
Smith Sagas, Volume IV, Number 1, March 1978
Published by Mrs. Betty L. Pennington, P.O. Box 466, Moreno, CA 92360The Smith Papers
© M. Sims, 1985, Sacramento, California – Library of Congress ISSN 0278-3134
M. Sims, SIMS PUBLISHING, P.O. Box 9576, Sacramento, CA 95823
- No. 17, Fall 1985
- No. 18, Spring 1986
- No. 19, Summer 1986
- No. 20, Fall 1986
- No. 21, Spring 1987
- No. 22, Summer 1987
- No. 23, Fall 1987
- No. 24, Spring 1988
- No. 25, Summer 1988
NOTE from Smith Papers No. 19 Summer 1986, p. 27: “… Smith Sagas [are] NOT associated with Smith Papers“. It further states the Smith Sagas no longer in publication.
No. 17 Smith Papers – page 8:
“William Smith, born Oct. 17, 1771, died June 16, 1856. Came to Autauga County, Alabama, from North Carolina in 1820. He married Elizabeth Williamson who was born Feb. 17, 1774, died Oct. 20, 1857.” One of his sons was the John Smith who married Lucinda Lewis…
No. 25 Smith Papers 1988 – page 12: “From Cherokee Citizenship files in the Indian Archives, Oklahoma City, OK. Excerpt from a letter there dated 18 Mar 1882 from Robt. F. Wyly, Maysville, ARK to Chief Bushyhead. Isaac N. SMITH, a white man married the dau of James P. Audrain in Jan 1869. Smith & Audrain had been declared “intruders” but applied for & received certificates of citizenship. Recently when Smith’s wife died, he obtained letters to Administer her estate. Audrain now asks these be revoked on grounds SMITH had a living wife at time of 1869 marriage & there had been no divorce.
A later transcript found in Texas records shows Smith was divorced from his 1st wife in 1873 (after the 1869 marriage).”
The “folder” is in the Family History section at the Nichols Memorial Library. Although SMITH PAPERS is copyrighted, permission is given for extractions for review or individual research. It is copyrighted to prevent entire reprint for commercial profit.
THIS BOOK AND MANY OTHERS LIKE IT ARE AVAILABLE FOR YOU TO RESEARCH ONSITE AT THE NICHOLS MEMORIAL LIBRARY.
