Tag: Mary Cleveland Smith
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Smith family history: Part 22

Significant events 1888-1890 Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series At the conclusion of the previous post I referred to a series of events leading up to Robert Windsor Smith’s move to the village of Kirkwood. In forthcoming posts I will provide a little background history on Kirkwood, but first will now discuss the significant…
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Smith family history: Part 20

Gilded Age – 1877-1883 Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series Reconstruction had ended with the Compromise of 1877, and Georgia wasted little time in imposing Jim Crow laws like the 1877 statewide poll tax. The poll tax had existed in a previous form, but the 1877 poll tax required voters to also pay any…
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Smith family history: Part 19

Reconstruction era – 1874-1877 Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series The Scofield v. McNaught case was decided in the Georgia Supreme Court January term in 1874. I’m certainly no lawyer and will spare you my attempt to try and interpret the decision, but feel free to read through it yourself. It is interesting to…
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Smith family history: Part 18

Reconstruction era – 1871-1873 Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series In the early 1870’s Atlanta was still rapidly rebuilding, including the commercial and retail area of downtown. The (first) Kimball House hotel began construction in March 1870 and was still underway in October of that year. The Kimball House was an important symbol of…
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Smith family history: Part 17

Reconstruction era – 1870-1871 Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series Robert and Mary’s family was enumerated in the 1870 federal census on June 16, 1870. In addition to Robert, Mary (M C), son Eugene Everton (E E), and daughter Evelyn Alexander (E A) the census lists a 28 year old domestic servant, Lucia Turner,…
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Smith family history: Part 16

Reconstruction era – 1869 Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series In early 1869 Robert Windsor Smith and his wife Mary were living in Atlanta. Mary was pregnant with their third child. Their first had died after only 3 months in 1866 and their son Eugene had turned 1 in September of 1868. Robert was…
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Smith family history: Part 15

Reconstruction era – 1865-1868 Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series V. T. Barnwell’s “Atlanta City Directory and Strangers’ Guide” was published sometime in mid-1867. It includes a “Condensed History of Atlanta” section that describes the circumstances of Atlanta residents returning after Sherman’s forces had effectively razed the city. By those who returned to Atlanta…
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Smith family history: Part 12

Mary Cleveland Wright Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series As we saw in the last post, Robert became engaged to a “Mary W.” around three weeks after his father’s death in late July, 1861. Robert and Mary would eventually be married in March of 1864, despite the concerns Robert’s mother Eveline expressed in a…
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Smith family history: Part 11

Smith – McNaught correspondence highlights Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series As I mentioned in the last post, the Atlanta History Center has in its collection correspondence between the Smith family and William McNaught. Finding this correspondence was a true stroke of luck, and I think highlights what an invaluable resource the Kenan Research…
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Smith family history: Part 1

Where are we and how did we get here? If you haven’t read my introduction yet, please head over there first: Introduction Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series In order to set the stage I think it’s important to start with an initial look at Robert Windsor Smith’s home in Kirkwood and how the…
