John Smith (abt. 1614 - 1710)

John Smith migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

See Research Notes for information about Rev. John Smith's origins & parents, which are unknown and errors explained.

"In 1688, the pastoral office of the Rev. John Smith, terminated at his own request. As the church records previous to the ordination of his successor are lost, it has been impossible to give, hitherto, full and authentic statistics of ecclesiastical proceedings. Mr. Smith had already continued to hold office one year since he first urged a request to be released; being pressed thereto by the advice of an ecclesiastical council. The church had not yet recovered from the sad state into which it had been thrown by the religious dissensions of the last thirty years. The active male members of the church being five..." ^[1]

• "He was now 74 years of age; and yet he survived many, we trust, happier and less perplexing. That part or the obituary record that mentions his decease, is so worn and mutilated that, for many yrs. the last figures of dates occurring near the margin of the pages are entirely illegible. "Mr. John Smith died Oct 2, 17 — ," is all that is recoverable. We think there is good reason, from the surroundings, to add a unit to the date which looks like 171-. He evidently died at a great age, and had probably been long disabled by the weight of years.^[1]

• [Caution: subsequently proven to be about John Chipman, not John Smith, see Research Notes section.] "Our attention has been called by J. Wingate Thornton Esq., of Boston — one of the most keen-sighted and accurate historical observers of the day — to a deposition taken for probate, which may be supposed to settle the question in respect to the origin and date of birth of this venerable Sandwich minister. It appears from this document, that the father of Rev. Mr. S. was Thomas Smith of Brinspittae, about 5 m. from Dorchester in Dorsetshire. The deposition is that of the son himself, "John, now, Feb. 8, 1651, in Barnstable, New Plymouth Colony. The sd. John, only son and heir, supposeth his age about 37, it being, next May, 21 yrs. since he came out from England." He, i. e. the sd. John, "had sisters in England, viz. Hannah and Tumson." He must, then, have come over in 1630, at the age of 16, having been b. in 1614.^[1]

He was in Barnstable early, for he was betrothed to Susanna Hinckley in 1642, and married in 1643. He joined the Barnstable church Oct. 13, 1644, and is first mentioned in the S. records in 1676. Rev John Smith joined the church in Barnstable in 1640. He was a Representative to the General Court in 1656 and 1657. In 1659, he was were permitted to visit the Quaker meetings and report his observances. His felt the best way to deal with them was to let them alone and not persecute or antagonize them, and recommended the colony reverse its harsh treatment of them and repeal the laws against them. His wife Susanna was the sister of Gov. Thomas Hinckley. John and Susanna were buried in the Old Town Cemetery in Sandwich, MA.^[1]

John Smith joined the church 13 Oct. 1644, and his wife Susanna daughter of the first Samuel Hinckley, joined 13 June 1652; but whether she was mother of all the ch. is not cert. but he had:

1. Samuel, born April, 1644.
2. Sarah, bap. 1645.
3. Ebenezer, b. Nov. 22, 1646, and died next month.
4. Mary, b. Nov. 1647.
5. Dorcas, b. Aug. 18, 1650.
6. John, b. Feb. 22, 1652, buried in two days.
7. Shubael, b. March 13, 1663.
8. John, Sept. 1656.
9. Benjamin, b. Jan. 1659.
10. Ichabod, Jan. 1661.
11. Elizabeth, Feb. 1663.
12. Thomas, Feb. 1665.
13. Joseph, Dec. 6, 1667. ^[2]

In 1659 being allow. by the Ct. to hear what the Quakers could say in their defence, was wise eno. with Isaac Robinson, s. of blessed John of Leyden, to advise repeal of the laws against them. He rem. to New York, but contin. there not long; was min. at Sandwich, and d. aft. 1690.

The Hoxie House, overlooking Shawme Pond in Sandwich, MA. - the oldest house on Cape Cod was built in 1675 for Reverend John Smith, his wife Susanna and their 13 children. In 1676 John moved back to New England and became 'teaching elder' of the church in Sandwich. John's name was added as a freeman to the Sandwich list in 1676. In 1688, at his own request his pastorate at Sandwich terminated, being then aged 74. He apparently lived to be over 90 years old and died about 1711. ^[3]

Mr. John Smith Oct 22d, "We think there is good reason from the surroundings to add a unit to the date which looks like 171-.", says Frederick Freeman, who saw the original page.^[1][4]

Rev. John Smith may have come to New England in the ship "White Angel." ( needs source)

He came to America between 1630 and 1631. Records conflict with regard to him becoming a freeman, with some claiming in 1639, 1640, or 1651. It is confirmed that he was living in Barnstable by 1640 and that he was a member of the local church by 1644. In 1643 he was a member of Lt. Thomas Dimmock's Company of Militia in Barnstable. He married Susanna Hinckley (1625-~1675), daughter of Samuel Hinckley and Sarah Soole, on 6/13/1643 in Sandwich, Massachusetts. In 1654 he was a Surveyor of Highways for Barnstable. He also was the Deputy of the General Court from 1656 to 1657. He was known to be a tolerant to the Quakers in the Colony. In 1657 he received official permission to attend Quaker meetings. In 1659 he requested that the laws against the Quakers be repealed. On 2/5/1661 a foreign Quaker, William Reap, was in the area and the local authorities told him to leave, but allowed him to stay at John’s house for the night. Later in 1661 he attempted to organize a church but the council did not approve the church. (Source)

Long Island and New Jersey

Because of the conflicts within the town, he left Massachusetts around 1663 or 1665 and settled somewhere in Long Island. In 1665 he was sworn into the Grand Enquest but a note states “for present respetted.” By 1669 he moved again and became an early settler of Piscataway, New Jersey (later named Woodbridge), where he was noted as “John Smith of Barnstaple.” There he received 512 acres of land and worked as a mill wright. He helped establish the first church in Woodbridge and became Constable of the town in 1669. He later became the Town Assistant from 1670 to 1671, and then in 1671 he served as the Town Clerk. Additionally, from 1671 to 1672 he was a member of the New Jersey Assembly. Lastly he served as an Assistant Judge in 1672. ^[5]

By 1675 he was called back to Barnstable and asked to be their pastor. By June of 1675 he was granted land located where Charles the indian use to live. Sometime after their return, Susanna died in 1675 and was buried possibly in Barnstable. In 1688 he terminated his pastorship due to his age and issues still in the congregation, but they convinced him to stay for another year. He remained in Barnstable until his death in October, 1710.

Other sources have him returning to New Jersey with sons Ichabod, Samuel and Jonathan after Susannah’s death in 1675, but having died in Barnstable. By 1676 at least Samuel was in New Jersey. ^{[citation needed]}

Research Notes

Disputed Parents & Origins:

What is the source for John's erroneous connection to parents Thomas Smith and Joan Doan?

Although the portions of the biography above by Frederick Freeman^[1] probably contain much correct information, the part about the birthplace of John Smith being Brinspittal, Dorsetshire, is incorrect. (He based his information in a footnote in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register printed before he wrote his book, but also before a correction was issued.) In a footnote in the Necrology for Rear Admiral Joseph Smith, U.S.N. in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register^[6], it states:

• "* The native place of John Smith, the emigrant ancestor of this family, is not known. The particulars given in a foot-note on page 68 of this volume, drawn from a document dated Feb. 8, 1651, relate to John "Chipman", and not to John Smith. Through the kindness of C. C. P. Waterman, Esq., of Sandwich, Mass., we have been permitted to examine the original of this document, and we find the name written plainly Chipman. The document is now owned by William C. Chipman, Esq., of Sandwich. A copy is printed in the REGISTER, vol. iv. pp. 23-4, furnished by the Rev. R. Manning Chipman, now of Lisbon, Ct. There are a few typographical errors there, which will be corrected in a future number of the Register. — Ed."

The full document was reprinted in the NEHGR (April 1881):127, correcting previous typographical errors. It clearly shows that the document relates to John Chipman, not John Smith.

The controversy and errors made in print in the NEHGR were fully addressed in an article appearing in The American Genealogist, The Reverend John Smith and Elder John Chipman of Sandwich: A confusion of Origins, by Russell A. Lovell Jr. ^[7] It again shows that a deposition incorrectly attributed to Rev. John Smith in fact pertained to John Chipman; it also corrected the date of this document from 8 Feb. 1651 to 8 Feb. 1657/8. The conclusions made from this correction are:

• The origins, birthplace and parents are unknown.
• He did not come from Briantspuddle (Brinspittell), Dorsetshire. This record belongs to John Chipman.
• He was not aged 37 in 1651. This record belongs to John Chipman who should be correctly called aged 37 in 1657/8.
• He did not immigrate in 1630. This record belongs to John Chipman who correctly should said to have been in New England 21 years in May 1658 (immigrated May 1637).
• He was not the son of Thomas Smith of Briantspuddle (and his supposed wife Joan Doan). John Chipman was the son of Thomas Chipman of Briantspuddle.
• He did not have sisters Hannah and Tamsen. These were the sisters of John Chipman.

DNA

Immigrant Ancestor of yDNA group NE09 John Smith-6919 (c1620 ENG - 1710 Sandwich, MA) m Susanna Hinckley-55. See SmithConnections Northeastern DNA Project.^[8] Space: SmithConnection.com_DNA_Project

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Freeman, Frederick, The History of Cape Cod, Vol. 2, Annals of the 13 Towns of Barnstable Co., (Piper & Co., Boston, MA: 1869) pages 69, 80, esp. footnote (Archive.org)
2. ↑ Savage, John. Genealogical Dictionary of First Settlers of New England.
3. ↑ Colonial Families of America," Vol. III, pages 248-252.
4. ↑ Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850 (subscription) Sandwich-V1 page 30
5. ↑ Freeman, History of Cape Cod, Vol. 1:248-9 (Archive.org).
6. ↑ NEHGR, 31(Oct 1877):437 (accessed 20 Nov 2016 at InternetArchive Internet Archive
7. ↑ Lovell, Russell A., Jr., "The Reverend John Smith and Elder John Chipman of Sandwich: A confusion of Origins," The American Genealogist vol. 61 no. 1 (January/April 1985):2-6. AmericanAncestors.org (by $ubscription).
8. ↑ SmithConnections Northeastern DNA Project, haplogroup Rb1 NE09 Rev. John Smith.

• See also:

• Massachusetts, Towns and Vital Records (subscription) Barnstable V1 page 60
• The history of Martha's Vineyard, Dukes County, Massachusetts, Vol. 3 by Charles Edward Banks, M.D., published by Dukes County Historical Society, 1966, page 448-456.
• Torrey's New England Marriages to 1700 (subscription) Vol 2 page 1394.
• yDNA group NE09 on SmithConnections Northeastern DNA Project. Rev. John Smith is the immigrant ancestor for this yDNA group.
• Crowell, Fred E. New Englanders in Nova Scotia Manuscript. (c1938) Page 6. R. Stanton Avery Special Collections, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org..) (subscription)
• Genealogical notes of Barnstable families. Reprint of the Amos Otis Papers, originally published in The Barnstable Patriot in 1888, written in 1861. Revised by C.F. Swift for publication by Cornell University Press. pp 235-7. Source is oddly numbered, it appears numerical, but is not. Scan to the near end of the document. https://archive.org/stream/cu31924028819212/cu31924028819212_djvu.txt
• Otis, Genealogical notes of Barnstable families (1888) Vol. 1, Pg. 332, 369, 379
• Otis, Genealogical notes of Barnstable families (1888) Vol. 2, Pg. 105, 236-37, 242

• Savage, A Genealogical Dictionary of The First Settlers of New England, Vol. 4, Pg. 119

• Pope, The Pioneers of Massachusetts (1900) Pg. 421
• NEHGR Vol. 10, Pg. 39
• NEHGR Vol. 65, Pg. 315
• Mayflower Descendant, Vol. 12, Pg. 154
• Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 2, Pg. 141
• Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 3, Pg. 50, 115, 204, 213, 200
• Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 4, Pg. 91
• Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 5, Pg. 171
• Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 7, Pg. 200, 207
• Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 11, Pg. 124
• Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 4, Pg. 91, 162
• Mackenzie, George Norbury, and Nelson Osgood Rhoades, editors. Colonial Families of the United States of America: in Which is Given the History, Genealogy and Armorial Bearings of Colonial Families Who Settled in the American Colonies From the Time of the Settlement of Jamestown, 13th May, 1607, to the Battle of Lexington, 19th April, 1775. 7 volumes. 1912. Reprinted, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1966, 1995.

• The American descendants of Rev. John Smith, who married 13 June 1643 Susanna Hinckley : McCourt, Martha F. (Martha Fletcher), 1926. archive.org. Accessed 26 Feb. 2024.