Joseph Smith (bef. 1625 - bef. 1673)

Born before 25 Dec 1625 in Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Lydia (Wright) Harris — married 1653 in Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut

Descendants

Died before 28 Aug 1673 at about age 47 in Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Bill Pease [send private message] and Paul Smith [send private message]

Joseph Smith was born in England.

Biography

Lydia Huit and Lydia Wright are often confused. They married different men named Joseph Smith in different towns. Lydia Huit m Joe of Hartford. Lydia Wright m Joe of Wethersfield.

It is easy to see how these Smith families got confused. On page 2349 of Families of MA, there is a good article about a Richard Smith family, but even this fine reference has these Smiths mixed up. It is only with yDNA testing that we have been able to unscramble some of the mis-connections.

On page 2349 of Families of MA, the Richard Smith line incorrectly goes to Sergeant Joseph, son of Joseph and Lydia Wright, when yDNA has shown us that Sergeant Joseph was the son of Joseph Smith and Lydia Huit (or Hewett) Smith of Hartford. I am looking for more published records to support this. I expect that the two family lines will look like this:

1 Richard Smith (b___ poss Beccles, Suff. Co. ENG - dpost 1669 Wethersfield CT) m Rebecca Buswell/ Boswell/ Bushwell = 3 Sons (his 3 Sons were Immigrants as well)
-2 Richard Smith (c1617 ENG - 1690 CT) m Mary Weed = 3 Sons
-2 Susannah Smith
-2 Anne Smith
-2 Joseph Smith (c1629 ENG - 1673 CT) m Lydia Wright = 3 Sons
-2 Mary Smith
-2 Abigail Smith
-2 Jonathan Smith (c1635 ENG-post 1711)m Hannah Adams &Martha Bushnell = 6 Sons

The other family has Joseph that was one of the four Smith brothers that came to New England around 1635 with their sister Mary and possibly their Uncle Arther. Their 8 descendant yDNA tests match and confirm brothers William, Simon and Joseph.
1 William Smith (c1615 ENG -pre Jan 1670 CT) m Elizabeth Standley (3 YDNA tests)
1 Simon Smith (c1619 ENG - 1688 CT) m Elizabeth Bateman (2 YDNA tests)
1 Joseph Smith (c1630 ENG – 1690 CT) m Lydia Huit = 7 Sons (3 YDNA tests)
-2 Joseph Smith (1657-1733) m Rebecca Dickinson = 5 Sons
-2 Samuel Smith (1658-1660) infant NO poss. yDNA
-2 Ephraim Smith (1659 -1751) m Rachel Cole = 3 Sons
-2 Lydia Smith
-2 Simon Smith (1662-post 1715) m Hannah Bliss Haley = 3 Sons
-2 Nathaniel Smith (1664-1711) m Ester Dickinson = 3 Sons
-2 Lydia Smith
-2 Susannah Smith
-2 Mary Smith
-2 Martha Smith
-2 Benjamin Smith (1671-1689) age 18 NO poss. yDNA
-2 Elizabeth Smith
-2 Sarah Smith
-2 Edward Smith (1677 –1726) m Mercy Mowatt
-2 Mercy Smith

Just yesterday I looked at a map. Hartford is north, Rocky Hill is south, and Wethersfield is half way in between them. So Rocky Hill is south of Wethersfield. -- kcs

Joseph Smith.^[1]

Joseph [son of Richard and Rebecca Smith].^[2]

Christening

b. ca. 1626 (aged 41 in August 1667).^[3]

25 Dec 1625, Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England.^[4]

Joseph Smith, bp. (Husbands Bosworth) 25 Dec. 1625.^[5]

Marriage

Lydia Wright, b. 1634, m. Joseph Smith of Wethersfield, Conn.^[6]

Death

d. at Wethersfield (Rocky Hill) before 28 Aug. 1673, the date of his inventory.^[7]

abt Nov 1673, Rocky Hill, Hartford County, Connecticut.^[8]

Vol. III, Prob. Ct., Hartford, Ct., held Nov. 25, 1673

Inv. ... of the Est. of Joseph Smith late of Rocky Hill was exh'd & Lydia Smith relict ...^[9]

Photographed Primary Sources

Joseph Smith, son of Richard and Rebecca Smith (later of Wethersfield, Connecticut, was baptized 25 Dec 1625 in Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England.^[10]

He resided in Middletown a few years before 1654/5. In 1665, recorded a homestead in Wethersfield. He removed to Rocky Hill, one of the first settlers there.^[11]

Probate 25 Nov 1673, Joseph Smith late of Rocky Hill, Inventory £441. 07.06. relict Lydia Smith granted administration. Sons to receive portion at 21 and daughter at present or on the day of her marriage as she chooses.^[11]

By 1687 Lydia remarried _____ Harris.^[11]

Children^[11]

1. Lydia b. c. 1654
2. Joseph b.c 1660
3. Jonathan b. c. 1663
4. Samuel b.c. 1666

Sources

1. ↑ Source: #S04 "Smith of Husbands Bosworth, Co. Leicester, and New England," (NEHGS, Jan 2004), 158:38. mrl
2. ↑ Source: #S01 "The Doubtful English Ancestry of Richard Smith of Wethersfield, Connecticut," NEHGS Jul 1989, 143:245. mrl
3. ↑ Source: #S01 "The Doubtful English Ancestry of Richard Smith of Wethersfield, Connecticut," NEHGS Jul 1989, 143:245. mrl
4. ↑ Source: #S04 "Smith of Husbands Bosworth, Co. Leicester, and New England," (NEHGS, Jan 2004), 158:38. mrl
5. ↑ Source: #S04 "Smith of Husbands Bosworth, Co. Leicester, and New England," (NEHGS, Jan 2004), 158:38. mrl
6. ↑ Source: #S03 "Genealogical and biographical notices of descendants of Sir John Wright," (Carthage, Mo.: unknown, 1915), page 79. mrl
7. ↑ Source: #S01 "The Doubtful English Ancestry of Richard Smith of Wethersfield, Connecticut," NEHGS Jul 1989, 143:245. mrl
8. ↑ Source: #S02 "The history of ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut," Genealogical Society of Utah, 1967, 1969, 2:645. mrl
9. ↑ Source: #S02 "The history of ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut," Genealogical Society of Utah, 1967, 1969, 2:645. mrl
10. ↑ "Isaac Busewell and Rebecca (Buswell) Smith." New England Historical and Genealogical Register Vol 158 page 39]
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3} Stiles, Henry Reed. Families of Ancient Wethersfield Connecticut; Consisting of the History of Ancient Wethersfield, Comprising the Present Towns of Wethersfield, Rocky Hill, and Newington; and of Glastonbury Prior to Its Incorporation in 1693, from Date of Earliest Settlement Until the Present Time, with Extensive Genealogies and Genealogical Notes on Their Families. Vol II. (1904) p. 645

New England Historical and Genealogical Register Vol 158 (subscription) Article entitled, Isaac Buswell and Rebecca (Buswell) Smith of Husbands Bosworth, Co. Leicester and England by Neil D. Thompson, pages 33-39.

The Doubtful English Ancestry of Richard Smith of Wethersfield Vital statistics. Please see New England Historical and Genealogical Register Vol 143 page 245.

The American Monthly Magazine, Volume 30 page 336 This article has the two Joe and Lydia's confused, but does list the inventory of Joseph Smith of Rocky Hill (that's this one) as Aug 28, 1673.

A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records: Hartford district, 1635-1700, Vol I edited by Charles William Manwaring; page 233 and 362

Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the ..., Volume 4 page 2349 edited by William Richard Cutter, William Frederick Adams

History of Ancient Wethersfield, CT Vol I by Sherman W. Adams and Henry R. Stiles; Page 298

History of Ancient Wethersfield, CT Vol II Sherman W. Adams and Henry R. Stiles

Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the State of Massachusetts, Vol II & IV by William Richard Cutter and William Frederick Adams

The History of Ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut by Sherman W. Adams and Henry R. Stiles

Source: S01 Harris, Gale Ion. The Doubtful English Ancestry of Richard Smith of Wethersfield, Connecticut. New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Jul1989), 143:245.

Source: S02 Adams, Sherman W. (Sherman Wolcott), and Henry R. (Henry Reed) Stiles. The history of ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut: comprising the present towns of Wethersfield, Rocky Hill, and Newington; and of Glastonbury prior to its incorporation in 1693, from date of earliest settlement until the present time. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1967, 1969), 2:645.

Source: S03 Wright, Curtis. Genealogical and biographical notices of descendants of Sir John Wright of Kelvedon Hall, Essex England, in America, Thomas Wright of Wethersfield, Conn., Samuel Wright, of Northampton, Mass., 1610-1670, 1614-1665. (Carthage, Mo.: unknown, 1915), page 79.

Source: S04 Thompson, Neil D. Isaac Buswell and Rebecca (Buswell) Smith of Husbands Bosworth, Co. Leicester, and New England. New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Jan 2004), 158:38.

Jacobus, Donald Lines. Richard Smith of Wethersfield, The American Genealogist (New Haven, Conn., 1949) Vol. 25, Page 128