Ann, I have checked the Birth Record Sangamon County, Illinois 1860-1878 book and found no mention of Minnie Mae Smith. It is possible that there was no record made of her birth as the state of Illinois did not require birth records to be kept until 1916. There was a law that was not always enforced which came into existance in 1877 but was not always followed by every county in the state of Illinois. The only vital records which were kept with some regularity were marriage records usually starting when the county was formed. Hope this helps. Sincerely, Dan Dixon Sangamon County Genealogical Society PO Box 1829 Springfield, Illinois 62705-1829 Dbutton2@aol.com