Last week we left the Smith family at the poor farm (see article here). Their entries on the poor house register hinted at their relationship, but like most records more questions were raised than were answered. This week we learn that there was more to the Smith family than their time spent at the poor farm.
The poor farm was only the beginning of our research. An exhaustive search of birth, marriage, death, census, probate, and court records for Mercer County, Illinois, was necessary to determine the family structure as accurately as possible. Noticeably lacking from the entries were any male members of the Smith family. This included Philip Smith, father of all the Smith children. While he was not admitted to the poor farm, Philip was the connection that the two women, Sarah Smith and Nancy Kile shared with all eight Smith children. But it did not begin at the poor farm.
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