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Mary Alef (Cooper) Smith was born in Duplin County, North Carolina, the daughter of a wealthy merchant named John Cooper. She married Joseph Pearson Smith on May 1, 1836. The couple resided in Wadesboro, North Carolina. In 1858, the couple moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina. Mary educated the twin girls, Millie and Christine McKoy, whom her husband had purchased some time in the 1850s intending to profit from their celebrity. After his death in 1862, she assumed "ownership" of the two girls. After Emancipation, she took guardianship over the girls until a date unknown. Frances "Fanny" Smith references meeting her and the twin girls while in Washington, DC, in her 1866 diary.

Citations

Biography and Citation Information:
Biography: 

Mary Alef (Cooper) Smith was born in Duplin County, North Carolina, the daughter of a wealthy merchant named John Cooper. She married Joseph Pearson Smith on May 1, 1836. The couple resided in Wadesboro, North Carolina. In 1858, the couple moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina. Mary educated the twin girls, Millie and Christine McKoy, whom her husband had purchased some time in the 1850s intending to profit from their celebrity. After his death in 1862, she assumed "ownership" of the two girls. After Emancipation, she took guardianship over the girls until a date unknown. Frances "Fanny" Smith references meeting her and the twin girls while in Washington, DC, in her 1866 diary.

Citation Type: 
Book or Book Chapter
Book or Monograph Title: 
Family tree book: genealogical and biographical, listing the relatives of General William Smith and of W. Thomas Smith
Author(s) or Editor(s): 
William Alexander Smith and W. Thomas Smith
Publisher Location: 
Los Angeles, CA
Publisher Name: 
W. Thomas Smith
Year: 
1922
Start Page: 
248
End Page: 
249
Citation Notes: 
https://archive.org/details/familytreebookge00insmit/page/248/mode/2up?q=alef
Citation for Birth Info:
Citation Type: 
Website
Citation URL: 
Ancestry.com
Title of Webpage: 
Ancestry.com
Website Viewing Date: 
Monday, October 10, 2022 - 11:45
Website Last Modified Date: 
Monday, October 10, 2022 - 11:45
Citation Notes: 
Source Citation Year: 1860; Census Place: Spartanburg, Spartanburg, South Carolina; Roll: M653_1226; Page: 314; Family History Library Film: 805226 Source Information Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
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Citation Notes: 
https://archive.org/details/familytreebookge00insmit/page/88/mode/2up?q=%22joseph+pearson+smith+jr%22
Citation for Death Info:
Citation Type: 
Website
Citation URL: 
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41855437/mary-alef-smith
Title of Webpage: 
Mary Alef Smith - Find A Grave
Website Viewing Date: 
Monday, October 10, 2022 - 11:45
Website Last Modified Date: 
Monday, October 10, 2022 - 11:45