Alexander Smith (abt. 1631 - 1696)

Born about 1631 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Ann (Cocke) Smith — married [date unknown] in Of Lancaster, Virginia

Descendants

Died 1696 at about age 65 in Middlesex County, Colony of Virginia

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Biography

The wife of Alexander Smith is unknown from the records. He had a son Samuel who died young, May 5, 1687. In his will, dated January 5, 1696, and probated April 6, 1696, only two children are mentioned, John and Rachel. Rachel was then the wife of William Wyatt, Jr., of King and Queen County, son of William Wyatt who patented land in Gloucester County December 20, 1653 (William and Mary Quarterly, volume 10, page 260). John Smith, the son of Alex- ander, was a Lieutenant of Middlesex Militia, for in the Christ Church Vestry Book, page 74, December 5, 1693, he is given this title, and his will, dated February 8, 1696, and probated at the same time that his father's was, was marked, "Will of Lieutenant John Smith." Lieu- tenant John Smith married, about 1688, Jane, the daughter of Nicholas and Jane Cocke and widow of Rice Jones, Jr. Nicholas Cocke, though naturalized in 1673, was not a Dutchman but an Englishman who had lived in Holland, for his tomb in Middlesex bears the arms of the Cockes of Lancashire and Cornwall (Crozier's Virginia Heraldica, page 83). He married about 1661, Jane, the widow of Bartholemew Curtis, by whom he had two children, Jane and Maurice. Maurice married Elizabeth, the widow of Doodes Minor, and died childless. Jane Cocke had by her first husband, Rice Jones, Jr., three sons, John, Rice and Nicholas Jones. Rice Jones, Jr., had a sister Ann who married John Wyatt, brother of 'the William who had married Rachel Smith. This connection explains why John Wyatt is appointed guardian to the orphan children of Lieutenant John Smith.

Research Notes

• Colony of Virginia" - The colony existed briefly during the 16th century, and then continuously from 1607 until the American Revolution

[1]

Birth

Alexander Smith was probably born in about 1631 in England. He is identified by some researchers as a son of Joseph Smith of Bristol.^[1] Some researchers identify his mother as Jane Cowper.^{[citation needed]}

Emigration

He had emigrated to Virginia by 1 November 1653, when a headright was granted in York County to John Holding for Alexander's transportation to the Colony, along with seven other persons.^[2]

Later Life

Alexander Smith first appears among the tithables in Lancaster County, Colony of Virginia, in 1658. In 1661, he was appointed constable. In 1665, Cuthbert Potter deeded to Alexander Smith 700 acres in what later became Middlesex County^[3]. The deed for this land was recorded in 1713 in Middlesex Deed Book 1703-1720, p. 321, by his grandson John Smith.^[1]

Will

Alexander was living in Christ Church Parish, Middlesex County, Colony of Virginia, when he made his will on 5 January 1695/6. ^[4] In it, he names:

• his "only son" John
• his "daughter Rachel Wyatt"

Death

He died before the will was proved in Middlesex County on 6 April 1696.^[4]

Children

Children of Alexander Smith include:^[5][1][4]

1. Samuel, d. 5 May 1687
2. John
3. Rachel, m. William Wyatt

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} P.W. Hiden, "Smiths of Middlesex County, Virginia," William and Mary Quarterly, 10 (1930): 214-220, at 214; images, JSTOR, (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1921287 : accessed 20 Nov 2022).
2. ↑ Nell Marion Nugent, Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants 1623-1800, (Richmond, Va.: Dietz Printing Co., 1934), 254; images, Hathitrust, (https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uiuo.ark:/13960/t9p27xf8p : accessed 20 Nov 2022)..
3. ↑ Lancaster County Virginia Deeds and Will Books : Family Search film # 32130 Pg. 155 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PF-CSN8-F?i=207&cat=361771
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Middlesex County, Virginia, Wills A, image 449 of 627; image, FamilySearch, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99PH-Z9XR : accessed 20 Nov 2022); FHL 2024834, DGS 7644236.
5. ↑ "Families of Smith," William and Mary College Quarterly, 9 (1900): 42-47, at 46; images, JSTOR, (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1914845 : accessed 20 Nov 2022).