Mrs. Pleasant indicated that her first husband had land holdings near Harper’s Ferry, now West Virginia. A man similarly named, who died in 1844, is found in West Virginia’s Probate Records. However, this man’s wife is listed as Elizabeth and their burials are nearby in Ridersville, Morgan County, West. Virginia. – Link.
Virginia state census records have a James W Smith in Fauquier County, just over fifty miles from Harper’s Ferry. However, this individual was married to a woman named Lavinia with a daughter named Mary Amelia. A James W Smith in Loudoun County, an area known for raising racing horses, has some interesting anecdotes related to 1851 legal proceedings involving his “lease” for 10 years of several individuals owned by Henry F. Luckett. Mr. Smith in turn subleased them to another person who died. Mr. Luckett sued for the enslaved to be returned so they could not be taken out of state. But no Loudoun County deed records shed light on land holdings for this James W Smith and the date of this lawsuit seems too late.
Additionally, Deed records have been searched in neighboring counties in West Virginia (Jefferson (Charles Town), Berkeley & Morgan); Maryland (Frederick & Montgomery); Virginia (Loudoun, Clarke, Fauquier, Prince William & Frederick). No likely candidates have been identified thus far. Given that MEP stated her second husband worked for her James W. Smith, John J Pleasant’s Virginia Free People of Color registrations in the 1840s are interesting. He is found working in Chesterfield County, just outside of Richmond, Virginia