UPDATED: This is the story of an American family, an African American family. In these pages, we tell the story of the Smith-Haywood family, descendants of Peter Rucker Smith and his wife Mary Anna Haywood Smith of Natchez, Mississippi.

Our story is told through our collection family photographs and memories dating back to the late 1800's, shortly after Reconstruction. Our family roots are planted in Natchez, the oldest community on the Mississippi river and former site of the second largest slave market in America, Forks of the Road. It also served as the gateway to freedom, led by members of the United States Colored Troops (USCT) who occupied Natchez during the Civil War.