Ok Smothers mail list can we help Anne out? Dear Noah I believe my Charles Smothers was born between 1790-1805, he was listed in the 1820 Rockingham County Census, where we believe he married Sina. Sina was born in 1799 in Caswell Co., NC. Apparently, Charles and Sina moved to Guilford County before the 1830 Census. It is believed that this family was of either Indian or African descent. From the pictures that I have, I suspect they were Indian, from what tribe - I do not know. However, in the 1850 Sina is listed as N heading a mulatto household with children Matilda and Robert. In the 1860 (Greensboro) & 1870 (Gilmer Twp.) census, she is listed as being white. Sinie Smothers is enumerated in Gilmer Twp. in the 1880 Census, living with her son Alfred. Charles and Sina had six children: 1) Charles Robert born in 1828 in Rockingham. He married 4 times. Julia Cook (1855, Forsyth), Sarah Gunner (September 09, 1858, Guilford), Anna McCoy (August 26, 1878, Gilmer Twp., d/o William) & Catherine Hall (1885, Gilmer Twp, d/o Peggy). Charles Robert and Sarah Gunner had two children, Emma & Mary. Charles was a carpenter in 1860 & registered to vote in Greensboro in 1867. 2) Matilda born 1827 or 1830 probably in Rockingham. It is unclear if the children listed in the 1860 Census - Mary and Ann - living in Sina's household were Matilda's children or Sina's ... However, Sina would have been 51 years old, when Mary was born & 58 years old when Ann was born. Therefore, I believe these children were Matilda's, yet I don't know if she ever married. Mary married Henry L. Holden in October 08, 1867, in Guilford Co., NC., he was the son of Solomon & Peny. 3) Elizabeth (Bettie A. or Betsy) was born either 1831 or 1838 in Guilford County (depending on Census info). Betsy married John Mitchell on September 10, 1863, in Guilford County. There were 3- John Mitchell's living in Guilford County - all in Greensboro - in the 1860 Census. In the 1880 Census, Elizabeth Mitchel is living in her brother, Alfred's home - no husband is mentioned. Later, for whatever reason, Elizabeth went back to using the Smothers' last name. She was living in Greensboro on Liberty St. in 1890. I believed she died sometime after 1907. No children. 4) Alfred S. was born in 1836 in Guilford County. Alfred S. married Sarah F. Pritchett (b 1846) on March 04, 1880, in Guilford Co., NC. She was the d/o William. They had one son, William T. born ca 1878 who married Johanna Lee Lewis in 1900, in Guilford, she was the d/o Charles & Joanna J. Lewis. Alfred S. was a factory worker in the 1880 Census. He was registered to vote in 1867 in Greensboro. 5) George W. (my relative) was born in 1839 in Guilford. George married Mary Elizabeth Watson on June 26, 1866 in Petersburg, VA. She was the d/o Francis E. Watson & Elizabeth S. Poland. And, the granddaughter of John Watson & Elizabeth Puckett. According to our family records, "George W. Smothers enlisted in the Confederate Army on Feb 22, 1862 from Guilford County, NC (listed as age 26. He served as a teamster through much of 1863, was captured at Petersburg on April 3, 1865, and imprisoned at Harts Island, NY, before being released on June 19, 1865, - going back to our family history -- ). He served in Co. E of the 22nd North Carolina Regiment of Pender's Brigade in General A. P. Hill's Division, having fought in many of the important battles in the Northern Virginia campaign, he was wounded and captured at Gettysburg. He was imprisoned as a prisoner of war in Auburn, NY, living on bread and water. After the war, he walked back to his home. On the way home he stopped at a farm outside of Petersburg, VA and knocked at the door and asked for breakfast. He was invited in and was given food by the Watson family. Mary, who was helping in the kitchen, asked him questions about himself and his experiences during the war. Upon leaving he asked for their address so that he could thank them for their kindness to him. He and Mary corresponded frequently. After arriving at his home he found that everything had been destroyed, his family gone and the carpetbaggers had taken whatever was left. He returned to Petersburg, married Mary Elizabeth Watson, and went to work on the railroad as a machinist." They had 2 children, Nancy Elizabeth & Thomas Andrew. George W. Smothers died August 31, 1891, in Petersburg & his wife died January 14, 1892, in Norfolk. I have a lot more information about this family, if you are interested. 6) Pinkney Smothers born about 1840 in Guilford. Pinkney was living in Guilford in 1860. He, along with his brother George, enlisted Feb 22, 1862 at the age of 22, as "Pinkney Smothers," listing his birthplace as Guilford rather than Rockingham (though his unit was Rockingham-based, Co. E, 22nd Regt.) He was discharged Feb 1, 1864 for a "physical disability." Pinkney was charged with bastardy on Sally Buchanan in 1864, his brother Robert Smothers paid the bond. Pinkney was registered to vote in 1867 in Greensboro. Pinkney purchased land "lot 9 of the Gillespie tract" on what is today known as McConnell Road on Jan 16, 1862. On Feb 7, 1862 he conveyed the land to J.W. Parker & W. Holt, and on April 14, 1864, these two men conveyed it to Sina Smothers. Note: There was a James Pinkney Smothers born in 1825 in Rockingham County, NC who married Elizabeth Wooleen and later married her sister Mary Eliza Woollen. How common is the name Pinkney? I find it interesting that your relative Thomas Randall Smothers is listed in Guilford in 1840-N w/8, FPC. In 1850, he is listed as being white. And, in 1860 listed as a "mulatto." Also the fact that Thomas Randall (who lived in Rockingham County) married Susan Mays in 1830 in Guilford County. Thomas Boyln Smothers married Ruth Remick. Thomas was a West Point educated Career Officer who died in 1945 in a Japanese prison. Ruth Smothers died in Jan 3, 1988 (of emphysema) in Santa Rosa, Sonoma, CA. She was born Jan 15, 1916. Her SS# 572-20-6692. Their son Thomas Smothers was born Feb 2, 1937 in NYC, he had learning disabilities. He married 3 times. In the first marriage, he had a son Tommy, born about 1967, his mother is a social worker in Arcata, CA. Tommy's second marriage ended in 1979. He then married Marcey Carriker and had a son and a daughter. Richard "Dick" Smothers was born November 20, 1939, (I thought in the Philippines). He attended Verduo Hills High School, Los Angeles, CA in 1953. He married Denby Franklin, she was born about 1951. There is a family legend that we are related to the Smothers Brothers. However, I have found no "actual" evidence. My grandmother did spend an evening with Tommy and Dick Smothers. Needless to say, she found them charming. I have also requested information from Tommy & Dick Smothers, without success. I have run out of time for today, as I must get ready for work. Please tell me more about the earlier Smothers! Sincerely, Anne Lyle