We have documents that trace our family as far back as 1800s with Ben and Abby Smith. We worked backwards on the family tree with help from The Addlestone Library at College of Charleston. This process took us to the family documents of the Right Rev. Robert Smith, the first Bishop of South Carolina and first president of the College of Charleston. He arrived in Charleston in 1757. From three marriages (Elizabeth Paget, Sarah Shubrick, Anna Maria Tilghman), he had two sons (Robert Smith (1786), William Mason Smith, Sr. (1788)) before his death in 1801.

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Both brothers married relatives from the Pringle family and gave birth to seven children:

• Robert Pringle Smith (1811; died young);

• Susan Julia Mary (1813; died young);

• John Julius Pringle Smith (1816 - 1894);

• William Mason Smith, Jr. (1818 - 1851);

• Anna Tilghman Smith (1820-1840);

• Susan Pringle Smith (1822 - 1900); and

• Emma Clara Pringle Smith (1825 - 1879).

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William Mason Smith, Jr. inherited Ben and Abby along with 46 other enslaved people when his uncle, Robert Smith, died in 1847. Documents read as if he and JJ Pringle Smith worked together to manage the plantations in Combahee (present day Colleton County) and Beech Hill (present say Savannah River). Rice and indigo were cash crops from the Lowcountry, so it is not surprise that both plantation locations were on the coast.

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William Mason and JJ Pringle moved and sold the enslaved a few times. Documents should the Ben was sold between the family members along with sixteen other enslaved people for $6,485 in 1847, then again with a list of 29 others in January 1848 for $3,938. 

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Ben and Abby were not able to legally marry until the end of the Civil War in 1865; however their union began well before emancipation. Ben and Abby gave birth to a son named Joshua Smith in 1832. Military records show that Joshua Smith was born in St. Johns Parish, SC (present day Colleton County that includes the sea islands between Stono and South Edisto Rivers - John's Island, Edisto, Wadmalaw, Seabrook and Kiawah). He joined the 21st Regiment of the US Colored Infantry on March 6, 1865 under Captain Sharp. He was 32 years old standing 5'10" and working as a carpenter.

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The 21st Regiment was apart of the Union Army charged with fighting the Confederate Army in the South. Joshua could have been introduced to these soldiers during their time in Charleston. The 1st Separate Brigade is responsible for winning the battle that freed the enslaved people of Charleston occupying the city on February 18,  1865. The soldiers remained on duty in Charleston until August 1865, and at various locations in South Carolina and Georgia until October 1866. The troops were "mustered out" (or discharged) on October 7, 1866.

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While in the military, Joshua was one of the first African Americans to open a bank account in July 1866 (Depositor #215). The US Freedman's Bank (or Freedman's Savings and Trust Company) was established in 1865 for the nearly 4M people that were formerly enslaved, African American veterans and their families. He listed his age (34), his complexion as light brown, and his parents as Ben (deceased) and Abby. He also listed his wife, Nancy Smith, and children Isaiah, Catherine, Peter, Joshua Jr. and Abraham (decreased). 

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Sometime between 1866 and 1880, the town of Adams Run was established within Colleton County. This was Joshua and Nancy's home with their children according to the 1880 US Federal Census. Joshua Sr. was working as a brick layer.  Joshua Sr. died around the age of 68 in 1900 leaving his Civil War pension to his widow, Nancy. Joshua Jr. was about 21-years old at the time. US Social Security application shows that he was born on May 14, 1881.

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Joshua Jr. and Hester Bennett were married in 1901. He and Hester were only a year apart in age. By 1910, the couple still lived in Adams Run, owned their home, and Joshua was working as a cotton farmer but was not able to read or write. By this time, Adams Run became apart of St. Paul's Parish and stretched as far as present day Julep Town. Joshua and Hester's land is still in our family today. The house was built in Julep Town presently where Aunt Estelle Walters house remains. 

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Joshua and Hester had six children:

• Arthur "At" (July 15, 1899);

• Joshua Jr. "Josh" (abt 1911; married Ella Edwards);

• Christopher (abt 1912; married Catherine Jamerson);

• Lucille (abt 1914; married Robbie Gilliard);

• Robbie (abt 1917; married Miriam Smith (?)); and 

• Joseph (abt 1922; married Mary Jane Holmes).

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Arthur "At" Smith married Rebecca "Big Mama" Mitchell on July 16, 1924. Rebecca was the twin daughter of Isaac Washington and Diana Mitchell. They gave birth to Rebecca and her twin brother, Isaac Jr., on May 10, 1904. Diana became ill (physically, mentally) and could no longer care for her children. Her sister, Mary Mitchell Wright ("Ma Mary"), and her husband William Wright ("Pa") raised the twins with their children: Florrie Mitchell, Thomas Ancrum, Herbert Ancrum and Larry Welcome.

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Arthur and Rebecca welcomed nine children: 

• Dorothy "Gal" Smith Frazier (March 7, 1928 - September 12, 1955)

• Oliver "Little Boy" Smith (April 10, 1926 - January 19, 1973)

• Sarah Smith Mungin (July 14, 1929)

• Juliann Smith White (July 24, 1931)

• Celeb Smith (May 2, 1935 - DATE)

• Clearence Lee "Clance Lee" Smith (October 2, 1936 - February 12, 1992)

• Albert "Buddy" Smith, Sr. (January 12, 1939 - August 14, 1998)

• William Smith (July 8, 1942 - DATE)

• Vera Mae Smith Mitchell (December 15, 1945)

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Arthur died on December 13, 1956. Rebecca followed two decades later on September 27, 1978. She did not remarry.

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To learn more about each of At and Big Mama's children, use the links under "Our Story". Family artifacts used to create this story can be found in the picture gallery.