A copy of the 1651 deposition "is printed in the REGISTER, vol. iv. pp. 23-4, furnished by the Rev. R. Manning Chipman, now of Lisbon, Ct." Can someone check the Register vol. 4:23-24 to see if the father mentioned in the deposition is a Thomas Smith or a Thomas Chipman?
A previous G2G question on this matter has been closed, so I am starting a new one. It was concluded that the 1651 deposition was by John Chipman, not John Smith. However, it apparently says he was about 37, which would match the 1614 birth year of John Smith (John Chipman, born 1621 would have only been 30 years old). And John Chipman did not come over 21 years before 1651 (i.e. 1630). The following appears in the biography of Rev. John Smith:
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."
P.S. I cannot tell if this John Smith is mentioned in The Great Migration Directory (the two John Smiths listed in Plymouth Colony have little information except references to other Great Migration reference books).
Rev. John Smith (Smith-6919)
John Chipman (Chipman-40)