Scope and arrangement
The Smiley-Polk family documents consist of nine holograph 19th-century documents relating to the emancipation of the ancestors of the Smiley-Polk family of New Jersey, and other items concerning the genealogy of this family.
Of interest are the freedom papers of Jim, Amey, and Judith Smellie (sic), later Smiley, attesting to their free emancipated status (1839) following the death of their master, Thomas Smelly, in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. There is one original copy and four court copies of Thomas Smelly's last will and testament stating that Smelly unconditionally emancipates Jim, Amey, and Judith, divides 100 dollars among them, and also grants freedom to their future issue (1839-1850). Another document, dated 1840, states that according to the laws of Virginia, any person who has been emancipated by his owner must leave the state within twelve months of the owner's death. It further attests to Amey's good character and recommends her to any community.
Additionally, there is an obituary written by Charles C. Smiley for Frances Ann White, a descendant of William and Frances Polk (1938). The printed material in the collection includes two addresses by Charles C. Smiley to the seventh and twenty-second family reunions held in New Jersey, 1921 and 1938, respectively, along with photocopies of two letters he wrote, 1934 and 1947. Photocopies of pertinent sections of a 1993 book Historical Notes on Isle of Wight County, as well as maps and a list of descendants of Jim Smiley, complete the collection.