The Dictionary of Virginia Biography is published online through a partnership with Encyclopedia Virginia. Biographies that do not also appear in the three print volumes (surnames Aaroe�Daniels) link to lists of sources consulted.
Sources consulted for the biography of:Robert M. Smith ( –d. 1923)
Biographical Information
- Biography with Mar. 6, 1844 birth date, middle name Marx, first marriage date, and portrait in Petersburg Lancet, Oct. 31, 1885.
- United States Census Schedules, Elizabeth City Co., 1870 (age twenty-seven) and 1880, (age thirty-seven), and 1900 (b. Mar. 1847 and age fifty-three), Hampton, 1910 (age sixty-two), and 1920 (age sixty-eight), all Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.
- Second marriage in Marriage Register, Richmond City, 1891 (age forty-seven), Bureau of Vital Statistics, Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Health, Record Group 36, Library of Virginia.
- Third marriage in Elizabeth City Co. Marriage Register 1 (1865–1908), age fifty-seven on May 4, 1904.
- Robert Armistead v. R. M. Smith, Elizabeth City Co. Chancery Cause, 1892-023.
- Robert M. Smith v. Lillie A. Smith, Elizabeth City Co. Chancery Causes, 1899-015 (with age forty-six on April 8, 1891) and 1901-001.
- Death Certificate, Hampton, with quotation, death date, and age "ab't 80," Bureau of Vital Statistics, Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Health, Record Group 36, Library of Virginia.
- Gravestone with death date and Mar. 14, 1847, birth date in Elmerton Cemetery, Hampton.
- Luther Porter Jackson, Negro Office-Holders in Virginia, 1865–1895 (1945), 39–40, who may have obtained information from his widow in the 1940s (with 1844 birth date and portrait on 77).
- Robert Francis Engs, Freedom's First Generation: Black Hampton, Virginia, 1861–1890 (1979).
Political Career
- Secretary of the Commonwealth, Election Records, 1776–1941, No. 10 (1875), No. 13 (1877), Record Group 13, Library of Virginia.
- Journal of the House of Delegates of the State of Virginia (1875–1876 sess.), 49, 245, 250, 252, 374.
- Journal of the House of Delegates of the State of Virginia (1876–1877 sess.), 101, 489.
Newspapers
- Norfolk Virginian, Nov. 5, 1875.
- Hampton Home Bulletin, June 20, 1885; Mar. 27, 1886; Apr. 10, 1886; Aug. 28, 1886; Sept. 4, 1886; Oct. 16, 1886; Oct. 23, 1886; Aug. 24, 1889; Aug. 31, 1889; Sept. 7, 1889; Dec. 7, 1889; Apr. 12, 1890.
- Newport News Daily Press, July 19, 1898; Sept. 10, 1898, March 13, 1908; Nov. 22, 1910.
Obituaries
- Washington, D.C., Evening Star, Feb. 13, 1923.
- Newport News Daily Press, Feb. 14, 1923; Feb. 15, 1923 (with middle name Marcus).
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