Coleman Chisum Smith

Coleman Chisum Smith was born enslaved in Virginia in 1826. He is my husband’s 2nd great grandfather.

Coleman had to provide proof of his age to get his pension in July 1908, and by his own words, he said:
“In the year of 1838 my father was a contractor on the James River and Kanawha Canal, a big blast was put off there at the same time in June 1838 and two engineers were standing within four feet of my father making an estimate of the blast, at the same time two men were trying to lift up a big stone to put it in a cart, the stone seemed very heavy and after several attempt and failed they went off and left the stone. After the men had gone I commenced to work after the stone and finally succeeded in putting it into the cart. The engineers turning to my father said, how old is that boy? My father said he was twelve years old in April and from that time until now I have kept track of my age…”

Coleman was either freed, sold or escaped on the Underground Railroad, but he ended up working on steamboats that traveled up and down the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers from 1850 to 1862. His father is listed as Frank Staples on his death certificate. Frank Staples was an enslaver in Virginia.

He met and married Martha Virginia Devericks (not sure of spelling) in 1853. The deposition and the family Bible lists the place of marriage as Don Barton, Mississippi near Natchez. “Don Barton” is most likely Dunbarton Plantation in Mississippi. However, Coleman states in a questionnaire sent from the Department of Interior that he married Martha in 1864, in Columbus, Ohio and that they were married by a man named Squire Kyles.

He stated he worked as a carpenter for the government building barracks when he moved to Columbus, Ohio in 1863. In 1864, he enlisted in the Ohio 27th Regiment, Company D, USCT. His regiment was assigned to Virginia ironically. In December of 1864, Coleman was on picket duty and ended up being within firing distance by the Confederates. He recounted that he had to hide in a swamp where he had to stay through the night until he could be helped. In the meantime, his feet were frostbitten. In his deposition, he also contracted some type of paralysis the summer prior. It was determined he had contracted arthritis. These conditions affected him for the rest of his life.

Upon discharge, Coleman immediately went home to Columbus, Ohio to reunite with his wife. It was clear he could not continue as a carpenter, so he opened a shoe shop on Song Street. He stated this was a helpful occupation as it did not require him to be on his feet. He also had a leather shop located on South High Street in Columbus.

After a few years, he opened a grocery store. He had to employ clerks to help him run his store in Columbus due to his disability.
Eventually, he and Martha relocated to Richmond, Virginia in 1872. Coleman continued as a grocer in Richmond until his death on 3 April 1919.
His store was located at 1221 St. James in the historic Jackson Ward District of Richmond.

Coleman had a family prior to leaving Virginia as a young man. He had a wife, Susan Brown, and three children: Thomas, Nathan, and Nannie. Nathan would work with his father in his store in Richmond for several years. It was stated that Thomas’s daughter, Minnie, lived for a time with Coleman and Martha. Susan remarried to a man named Abram Timberlake and they had a family of their own. I don’t have much information on the dynamics of that relationship after 20 or so years later, but he must have reached out to his children at least.
Martha became ill in 1892 and required assistance. A friend of his, Cornelius Scott, suggested his wife’s niece, Nannie A. Robinson, could help. At that time, Nannie was 19 years old. She lived with the Smith’s and helped Martha until Martha passed away in August 1900.

The next year, Coleman married Nannie and they would go on to have five children. One of those children, Julia, would become my husband’s Great Grandmother.