| John Smith migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm |
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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 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:
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)
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]
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 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:
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
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John is 23 degrees from Herbert Adair, 20 degrees from Richard Adams, 16 degrees from Mel Blanc, 21 degrees from Dick Bruna, 17 degrees from Bunny DeBarge, 29 degrees from Peter Dinklage, 18 degrees from Sam Edwards, 15 degrees from Ginnifer Goodwin, 21 degrees from Marty Krofft, 13 degrees from Junius Matthews, 13 degrees from Rachel Mellon and 16 degrees from Harold Warstler on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
This is surely the father of Maria/Moriah Smith-7676. I added a direct ref to Ipswich VR (on Archive) to her profile. I'll work on a search through these sibs to see if any are connected to the same father John Smith, who clearly is not Smith-6919 (he was in other places through this period), so that we don't start another duplicate.
I am related to Rev John Smith married to Susannah Hinckley. There is a book about Rev Thomas Smith and also about Rev John Smith. Title Is "A Memorial of Rev Thomas Smith & his Descendants. A full Genealogical record 1707 - 1895" Author is Susan Augusta Smith. The book will show that Rev Thomas Smith was the son of Rev John Smith. Enjoy. answered 16 hours ago by Donald Praast
As far as I can find, there is no source identifying John Smith's parents or other family. Please set the notes I have added to the profile. Shall we disconnect the parents?