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Richard Smith (abt. 1613 - 1692)

Richard "Bull" Smith aka Smythe
Born about in Englandmap [uncertain]
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married 1640 in Southampton, Suffolk, New York Colonymap [uncertain]
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 79 in Smithtown, Suffolk, New Yorkmap
Profile last modified | Created 6 Aug 2010
This page has been accessed 14,379 times.
The Puritan Great Migration.
Richard Smith migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 311)
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
Discuss: pgm

CAUTION
Richard "Bull" Smith, the Long Island patentee, was NOT the same Richard Smith who went to Taunton, Massachusetts, then settled in Rhode Island.

Contents

Biography

Puritan Great Migration
Richard Smith immigrated to New England between 1621 and 1640 and later departed for Smithtown, Suffolk, New York.

Richard Smith was born about 1613. Smith settled in Southampton and Smithtown, New York.[1]

Marriage

Sarah Hammond of Watertown before 1641.[2] Before their marriage, "Mr. Smith" and William Hammond were embroiled in some controversy over Smith's treatment of Hammond's daughter. William Paine of Ipswich and George Phillips of Watertown wrote letters to Governor John Winthrop concerning the matter.[3][4]

Occupation

1648 Patentee of Smithtown, Long Island, NY[5][6]

The Bull Story

Apparently, Richard Smith used a large bull as other people of the time used horses; as a personal conveyance.[7] From this he was known as "The Bull Rider", or Richard "The Bull" Smith. And his family from that point forward were known as the "Bull" Smiths, as other Smith families in the area were known as the "Rock" Smiths, or the "Tangier" Smiths.[8] There was also a story (that some attributed as myth) that says "he made an agreement with the Indians that he could have all of the land which he could encircle in one day riding on the back of a bull.[9][6]

Death

About 7 March 1691/2 in Smithtown, Suffolk, New York. His death was noted when his will was probated on 2 May 1693.[10] The Smith Family graveyard where some members of Richard Smith's are buried is located at 40.89985, -73.20380 in Nissequogue, Long Island, New York.

Will

Dated 5 March 1691, Richard's will was a joint will with his wife Sarah. The prelude says "I Richard Smith Senr fo Smithtown" only but statements are made "We", "our" They name their children: Jonathan Smith, our eldest son, sons Richard, Job, Adam, Samuel, Daniel, daughter Elizabeth Townley and daughter Lawrence. Sons Jonathan and Richard were named executors. Richard Smith and Sarah Smith signed the will. Sarah made a second will 20 Jan 1707/8.[11]

Children of Richard and Sarah

  1. Jonathan, born about 1641, married Sarah Brewster.
  2. Elizabeth, born about 1643, died in 1712, married (1) Captain William Lawrence; married (2) Governor Philip Carteret; married (3) Colonel Richard Townley.
  3. Richard, born probably in 1645, died about 1720, married (1)(?); married (2) Hannah Tooker.
  4. Job, born probably in 1647, died about 1719, married Elizabeth Thompson.
  5. Adam, born 1649, died 2 July 1726, married Elizabeth Browne.
  6. Obadiah, born March 1651, d. 20 Aug 1680 unmarried. Obadiah Smith’s body was found in the narrows of the Nissequogue River 20 Aug 1680. The casue of his death was not determined.
  7. Samuel, born 1654, d. 2 Apr 1717, married Hannah Perring.
  8. Daniel, born about 1656, married (1) Ruth Tooker; married (2) Mary Holton.
  9. Deborah, born about 1658, d. 28 March 1743, married William Lawrence, Jr.[12][5][13][14]

Research Notes

DNA

Immigrant of yDNA group NE50 Richard Smith-1208 (c1613 ENG-1692 NY) m Sarah Hammond-883. See SmithConnections Northeastern DNA Project.[15] Unsourced information:

Birth : 1613 Myreshaw, Bradford, Yorkshire, England
Parents are unknown. The Wethersfield, Connecticut, Richard had a son Richard but he married Mary Weed. Richard, the son of Richard Wickford, Rhode Island, married Esther. He died 16 March 1691 and will was probated in 1692, which would easily cause confusion.

Return to England and "Convincing" as a Quaker

Richard evidently returned to England in 1654.(unsourced) While there, he was reportedly "convinced" -- the term used by the Society of Friends in preference to "converted" -- to join the Quaker religion, influenced by his interaction with Quaker William Dewsbury. He returned to America in 1656 aboard the Speedwell; his new religious persuasion was however not yet a matter of public knowledge, for on the passenger list his name was not marked with the fateful letter "Q" as were the names of eight passengers known to be of the then-heretical (in the eyes of the Massachusetts Bay Puritan authorities) Quaker faith.[5][6][16][17][18] Had he publicized the change, he would -- like the eight -- have been jailed when the Speedwell arrived at Boston, and subsequently banished.[19]

While there evidently remains some debate whether Richard "The Bull" Smith is identical to the Quaker Richard Smith, considerable circumstantial evidence appears to support the identification. It was accepted by descendant Frederick Kinsman Smith in his extensively-researched 1967 genealogy "The Family of Richard Smith of Smithtown, Long Island: Ten Generations" (see Sources; limited availability via online loan through openlibrary.org).

Sources

  1. Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Directory. Immigrants to New England, 1620-1640. A Concise Compendium. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015.) p. 311
  2. Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). p 852. Subscription: AmericanAncestors.org
  3. Massachusetts Historical Society, et al.. Winthrop Papers. [Boston]: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1929. pp 230-232.
  4. Ancestry.com. U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2012, Genealogical Publishing Co.; Baltimore, MD, USA; Volume Title: Second Supplement To Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700, p. 59.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Smith, The Family of Richard Smith: p. 29-30
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Shiel, John, "The Bullrider's Other "First" Was Richard "Bull" Smith the first Quaker on Long Island??", first appearing the LI Forum, 1966, on Long Island Genealogy website.
  7. History of Long Island: Containing an Account of the Discovery and Settlement; with Other Important and Interesting Matters to the Present Time, The Town of Smithtown pp 304 & 305
  8. History of Long Island: Containing an Account of the Discovery and Settlement; with Other Important and Interesting Matters to the Present Time, The Town of Smithtown pp 305
  9. Shiel, John, "Richard Smith and The Bull Story", first appearing the LI Forum, 1966, on Long Island Genealogy website.
  10. Smith, The Family of Richard Smith: p. 25
  11. Smith, The Family of Richard Smith: p. 24+
  12. History of Long Island: Containing an Account of the Discovery and Settlement; with Other Important and Interesting Matters to the Present Time, The Town of Smithtown pp 304
  13. Quaker History, Volumes 3-4, Friends Historical Association, 1912 - Society of Friends, pp. 58-59; citing "'A True Discovery of the Ground of the Imprisonment of Francis Ellington, etc.', p. 2, London, 1655" [not found available online, Oct. 2020]; on googlebooks
  14. http://longislandgenealogy.com/RichardSmith.pdf
  15. SmithConnections Northeastern DNA Project, haplogroup Rb1 NE50 Richard Smith.
  16. Quaker History, Volumes 3-4, Friends Historical Association, 1912 - Society of Friends, pp. 58-59; citing "'A True Discovery of the Ground of the Imprisonment of Francis Ellington, etc.', p. 2, London, 1655" [not found available online, Oct. 2020]; googlebooks
  17. http://longislandgenealogy.com/RichardSmith.pdf
  18. Handwritten passenger list of the Speedwell, 1656, Catalogue of the Valuable Private Library of the Late William H. Whitmore, of Boston, Genealogist and Historian..., Part I..., by William Henry Whitmore · 1902; googlebooks
  19. The Holder Memorial Given to the Clinton Historical Society, by Francis T. Holder, 1905, pp. 57-60; [1] [scroll tp p. 57]

See also:





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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Richard by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Richard:

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.



Comments: 16

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Reverted recent change to birth and location.

If it is to be added to the profile, this requires reliable pre-1700 sources and sound analysis with collaboration.

Might others comment and assist? --Gene

posted by GeneJ X
In fact reading through the bio, I don't see any sources supporting the Bradford, Yorkshire location either. Great Migration Directory lists is origins as unknown, which suggests to me his birthplace should be simply "England."
posted by M Cole
In Long Island Genealogy, source #4, it says he went back to England and returned about 1656 with the first Quaker immigrants. At that time he helped establish Smithtown. Adding this information would clarify the timeline.

I changed the marriage location to Southampton, since Smithtown was not established until at least 1655.

posted by Ellen Gustafson
edited by Ellen Gustafson
Hi Ellen,

I found no source where it says he went to England then returned abt 1656. I looked here: link and here: link. (neither sources are really reliable)

Since neither Great Migration Begins nor Great Migration Directors mention this return to England then back here... I think it's best not to include this in the biography.

Comments?

Cheryl, the claim is made here: http://longislandgenealogy.com/QuakerSmith.html .

It is widely echoed on the 'net, most notably on sites focused on Quaker history, but this by itself of course does not prove the case -- so I am digging around for a reliable source. Stay tuned.

posted by Christopher Childs
edited by Christopher Childs
The best source I have found thus far (and have added, via a ref. tag) is:

Quaker History, Volumes 3-4, Friends Historical Association, 1912 - Society of Friends, pp. 58-59; citing "'A True Discovery of the Ground of the Imprisonment of Francis Ellington, etc.', p. 2, London, 1655" ; https://books.google.com/books?id=TmpjTMQXpSAC&pg=RA1-PA58&lpg=RA1-PA58&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false

The cited primary source, "A True Discovery...", I have not found available online.

I would consider the claimed events (1654 trip to England; conversion [the Quaker terminology would be "convinced" rather than "converted"]) to be probable, though not fully proven.

Subsequent edit: The claim also appears in " Far Distant from Friends", from "The 17th and 18th Century Quakers of Setauket, N.Y.", by Joyce Rosnel Weaver (see https://sites.google.com/site/quakerpages/home/joy-weaver), bolstered by the note that Richard "was a passenger on the Speedwell when it arrived in Boston" in 1656. This appears to be a well-researched piece and I think I would now regard the claim as "credible", and would recommend keeping it in the Biography but with the note that it is "probable", or the equivalent.

posted by Christopher Childs
edited by Christopher Childs
... And to conclude [I certainly hope]: the name "Richard Smith" does indeed appear on the handwritten passenger list of the Speedwell dating from 1656 -- a somewhat famous list as it includes the names of eight persons designated as Quakers by the placement of the letter "Q" next to their names.

In fact, even in truncated form (only about half the list is visible on the page I found), the list shows the name twice: one Richard is shown as age 28 (far too young to be the Richard of this profile); the other, however, is shown as age 43 -- exactly the right age for the Richard here in question. See the left column at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Catalogue_of_the_Valuable_Private_Librar/4k9FAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Richard%20Smith%22 .

A relatively modern secondary source -- 1967's "The Family of Richard Smith of Smithtown, Long Island", by Frederick Kinsman Smith -- cites the list, and repeats the claim that the Richard Smith shown as age 43 is indeed the Smithtown man. And I am now essentially persuaded that the original claim of the 1654-1656 sojourn to England, and presumably also the "convincing", is justified.

[Interestingly, neither Richard on the Speedwell list is among those bearing the (in)famous "Q" by their names. The elder Richard's "convincing" was evidently not yet a matter of public knowledge, and he was clearly not inclined to make it such. Had he done so, he would presumably have been jailed, and then sent back to England, which was the fate of the eight individuals branded with that "Q".]

posted by Christopher Childs
edited by Christopher Childs
Cheryl, do you want to add your "Beyond" Sticker.
posted by Anne B
sticker added............................................
Based on his arrival in 1639, it appears he should have the Puritan Great Migration template applied to his profile
posted by S (Hill) Willson
The 1967 book names no parents. Said parent should be detached. Objections?

In addition there is more information on Richard's life available in the 1967 Book "The Family of richard Smith" which can be borrowed at Archive

posted by Anne B
Is there a source for these parents? I'm pretty sure he's not the son of the attached Richard. Richard of Wethersfield's son Richard married a Weed. I'm still trying to figure out Elizabeth. If you have any knowledge please see theG2G discussion

Ron you added the pages from the 1967 book. Did it have any information on his parents? I'm on the waiting list.

posted by Anne B
The riding of the bull to claim the land is the story Im familiar with. I think it was a challenge in response to the amount of land he wanted and he tricked the indians by using the bull instead of walking.  :)
posted by Tamara Flora
Smith-1208 and Smith-6921 appear to represent the same person because: 6921 is just a stub. The need for a merge has become obvious with the merger of the spouse.
posted by Anonymous Hankins
There were 2 Richard Smiths conflated here. Richard "Bull" Smith, the Patentee, is not the Richard Smith who went to Rhode Island. I removed the Rhode Island info from this profile and added it to Smith-7477 .
posted by Carole Partridge