History 5097 - Introduction

My name is Jaycie Smith Smith, meaning my maiden name is Smith and then I married a Smith. My dad, who passed his love of history on to me, says that my three children are “thorough-bred Smiths.” I think that’s right! My husband was born and raised in Northeast Louisiana while I am an East Texas girl through and through. 

I am a fourth generation Smith from Leagueville, Henderson County, Texas, and the great-great-great-granddaughter of Colonel Gaines Chisholm Smith of Tennessee. He was born in Giles County, Tennessee and resided just across the Tennessee/Alabama border in Limestone County, Alabama. He served first in the Mexican War in the 1840s and then in 1850 was a school teacher with a young family. Family lore has it that although Gaines C. Smith disagreed with secession, he sided with his state, Alabama, and served in the Civil War. Colonel Gaines C. Smith went on to lead the 9th Alabama and is said to have been as gallant a soldier as there ever was. He served under Maj. Gen. George Pickett at Gettysburg, but was wounded and taken prisoner on July 2, 1863, the day before the infamous Pickett’s Charge. He later lived to be age 88 and died in Athens, Alabama. I am proud to descend from this man, and along with several of his other descendants, continue the profession of school teacher. 

Interestingly, my great-great-grandfather, son of Col. Gaines C. Smith, married a woman who came from a slave-owning family. In 1850 the family owned 13 slaves, mostly older females and several teenage males. Later, in 1880, living with the family is a 60 year old black woman. I have no doubt that this family and their ancestors were slave owners and accustomed to black servants. So far in my genealogy research, this is the only slave-holding family I have come across, despite deep roots in the South. 

My paternal grandmother descends from the prominent Fulgham family. My great-great-great-grandfather’s name was Marquis de Lafayette Fulgham, Marcus for short. I believe his father, Edmond Fulgham, witnessed Gilbert du Montier, Marquis de Lafayette during his tour of the Southern United States in 1825. In Twiggs County, Georgia, there is a historical marker at an old grist mill that tells of Marquis de Lafayette’s generosity. There, Marquis de Lafayette noticed the settlers were eating flour that was unbolted. This means that debris was contaminating their flour. When Marquis de Lafayette reached a market, he sent to Twiggs County a piece of silk that could be used to bolt the settlers’ flour. Nineteen year old Edmond Fulgham lived just 13 miles away. Eleven years later and in honor of the generous Frenchman, Edmond Fulgham named his second son Marquis de Lafayette Fulgham. 

The maternal side of my family is no less interesting; my great-great-grandparents were both born in Poland. The couple immigrated to the United States and settled in East Texas, and are to my knowledge the only family in the United States with the unique surname of Mekalip. This family branch is very difficult to trace beyond my great-great-grandparents, as is true with most Polish ancestors. There is a road in Smith County, Texas named after this family.

After discovering the story of Marquis de Lafayette Fulgham five years ago, my passion for genealogy took off. I eagerly began researching each branch of my family in the United States census records. Most of my ancestors appear to have been poor farmers with very large families. I am eligible for membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution, although I’ve yet to pursue this. My two daughters are eligible for membership, both on their maternal and paternal sides. It’s given me great pleasure to research my mother-in-law’s family, as her mother died at an early age. If given the opportunity, I will discuss anyone’s genealogy, and probably go home and do more research. 

I have a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from UT Tyler and currently teach at Bullard High School. There, I teach three business classes. I try my best to incorporate history into my business classes and am still trying to legitimize a family history research project in these classes. My other teaching assignment is credit recovery. Credit recovery does not mean that I teach students about credit cards and bank accounts in the hopes of bettering the students’ credit scores; the purpose of my class is that when a student fails a core or elective class, they come to me to remediate, or recover, their credit. Many of my students are in my class not because they are unintelligent, but because the do not know how to behave in the classroom or have attendance issues. I’ve really learned how to work with a variety of temperaments from this teaching assignment. In most classes I have students working on several different subjects. It’s often that I have to answer questions and help with problems. I’m especially good at answering the history questions, and my students are always shocked that I’m a business teacher but yet know so much about history. I think it’s because I grew up around history and I read a lot, something they hate to do. 

This is my first class at Sam Houston State and my first semester of graduate school. Since being out of the college environment I have missed homework and assignments, so I’m eager to move forward throughout the semester. It looks like I’ll have plenty to keep me busy! In addition to working, I’ll also be spending time with my husband, five year old daughter, eighteen month old daughter and 6 month old son.