Born about 1583 in Leicester, England

Husband of Rebecca (Buswell) Smith — married 13 Feb 1615 in Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England

Descendants

Died after 3 Jun 1669 in Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut

Profile managers: Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message], Michelle Brooks [send private message], and Mitchell Watson [send private message]

Richard Smith Sr. migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Author Gale Ion Harris in the article "The Doubtful English Ancestry of Richard Smith of Wethersfield," ^[1] says this Richard and Rebecca may have also had children Anne Smith bp 24 Feb 1621; and Rebecca bp 11 Dec 1630 that probably died young as there is no record of them in New England.

Disputed Origins

Per directions at Disputed Parentage:

Author Gale Ion Harris states with a careful analysis that his parents were unknown. ^[1] Vol 143 page 240.

Disconnected the parents John Smith-3649, Alice Walker-950, John Smith-7466, and Mary Browning-71; and wife Rebecca Taylor for lack of documentation. Please provide a substantial source and post your proof here before reconnecting these profiles.

Who was Richard Smith that died c1644?

Birth

Born abt 1583.^[1][2]

Born abt. 1589^[3]

... Richard Smith, b. say 1583 [footnote: Aged "about 84 years" on 2 February 1666/7 ("Medical Records of John Winthrop," Manuscript, 701, ... cited by Gale Ion Harris^[1] [footnote: See Jacobus, "Richard Smith of Wethersfield", The American Genealogist 25:126, for the 1669 reference to him "come 80 years."].^[2]

Harris, in the Register article cited, indicates that the 1669 entry actually reads 'above 80 y', and uses a birth year of about 1583, based on the 1666/7 reference giving his age as 84.^[2]

Rebecca Buswell, christening 23 Apr 1595, Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England.^[2]

Family

In 1949 Donald Lines Jacobus identified the wife of Richard Smith of Wethersfield, Connecticut as Rebecca Buswell ^[3]. Roderick Bissell Jones, "The English Ancestry of Richard Smith of Wethersfield," published in NEHGR 128:136-139, identified Richard Smith as the man baptized 16 November 1585 at Stratford-on-Avon, co. Warwick, and traced family relationships for that man. Later Dr. Gale Ion Harris cast doubt on this identification in "The Doubtful English Ancestry of Richard Smith of Wethersfield, Connecticut," NEHGR 143:240-246. Thompson's research has confirmed that Richard Smith of Wethersfield was married and had children baptized not at Stratford-on-Avon, but in Husbands Bosworth, co. Leicester, where his wife's family lived. Richard Smith's ancestry remains to be established.^[4]

Richard married Rebecca Buswell,^[5] daughter of Roger Buswell and Margaret Unknown (Buswell), on 13 Feb 1614/15 in Leicester, Eng.^[6][7] (Rebecca Buswell was born in 1593 in Leicester, Eng.^[8][9] and died about 1667 in Wethersfield, Hartford Co., CT.^[10])

Marriage 13 Feb 1615/16, Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England to Rebecca Buswell.

Marriage 13 Feb 1615. Parish, Leicestershire, , England. ^[11]

Smith, Richard (ca 1589-1669+) & Rebecca [?Buswell] (-1667+); b 1617; Wethersfield, CT.^[12]

Children: ^[13]

1. Richard Smith, (1616/17 - 1690), c: 1 JAN 1616/1617 in Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England.
2. Susanna Smith, (1619 -), c: 30 MAY 1619 in Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England.
3. Anne Smith, (1621/22 -), c: 24 FEB 1621/1622 in Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England.
4. Joseph Smith, (1625 - abt 1673), c: 25 DEC 1625 in Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England.
5. Mary Smith, (1630 - aft 1684), c: 11 DEC 1630 in Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England.
6. Rebecca Smith, (1630 -), c: 11 DEC 1630 in Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England.
7. Jonathan Smith, (1635 - 1711), c: 4 OCT 1635 in Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England.
8. Abigail Smith, (1637/38 - aft 1683), c: 21 JAN 1637/1638 in Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England.

Documented events in his life were

Emigrant Ancestor; 1648; Wethersfield, Hartford Co., CT.^[14]

Jury Duty; 15 May 1650; Hartford, Hartford Co., CT.^[15]

Jury Duty; 5 Sep 1650; Hartford, Hartford Co., CT.^[16]

Donald Lines Jacobus, “Richard Smith of Wethersfield,” ^[3]. On 21 February 1652[/3], Richard Smith wrote from Wethersfield to John Winthrop Jr. in New London describing the strange symptoms of “[m]y sons wife Lidia Wright,” who was suffering from an ailment modernly diagnosed as pulmonary echinococcosis (Malcolm Freiberg, ed., Winthrop Papers, Volume VI, 1650–1654 [Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1992], 251–52, note 3). The editor unfortunately followed confused and superseded accounts in Henry R. Stiles, The History of Ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut, 2 vols. (New York: Grafton Press, 1904; repr. Somersworth, N.H.: New England History Press, 1987), 1:299, 2:645, for remarks about the identity of this Richard Smith.

Lawsuit; 14 May 1652; Hartford, Hartford Co., CT.^[17] Richard Smith plt Contra Georg Woollcott and his wife defendts in an Action of Slaunder to the damage of 100£. In the Action betweene Rich: Smith plt and Geo: Woolcott and his wife defendts the Jury findes for the plt damages 28£ and Costs of Courte: Execution dd the 22th of July 1651.

Marriage - Granted Permission; 26 Aug 1657; Hartford, Hartford Co., CT.^[18] A Coppy of a Certificate vndr the names of these subscribed: These are to certify to any to whom it may come, that our children John Addams & Abigail Smith haue our full consent to be marryed together, & wee know not engagemt of either party to any other, as wittnesse our hands. Rich: Smith Jer: Addams

Aug 1658, A Petition from several of the inhabitants of Wethersfeild*

• Richd Smith Sen.^[19]

Medical; 5 Dec 1658; Wethersfield, Hartford Co., CT.^[20] Treated by John Winthrop Jr.: Smith, Richard Sen.

Living

Rebecca Buswell, living Oct 1668, Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut.^[2]

Richard Smith, living 1669, Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut.^[21]

Death and Legacy

Death: AFT. 3 JUN 1669 in Wethersfield, Hartford Co., Connecticut.^[3]

Died after 1669 in Wethersfield, Hartford Co., CT.^[22][23]

Revolutionary War descendants

• Asa Smith (1761 CT-1834 IN) m Sarah/Abigail Goodrich (Pension S32528)
• Daniel Smith (1722-1814 NY) m Mary & Liz Rich, Mary Blinn
• David Smith (1764 CT-1837 VT) m Olive Talcott
• Isaac Smith (1735 -1796 CT) m Ruth Hollister

DNA Search

Immigrant Ancestor, Richard Smith-40488 (abt. 1583 - aft. 1669 Connecticut) and Rebecca Buswell-5. See SmithConnections Northeastern DNA Project. (No yDNA group yet.)^[24]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Harris, Gale Ion. "The Doubtful English Ancestry of Richard Smith of Wethersfield," (NEHGS, Jul 1989), 143:244. http://www.americanancestors.org/databases/new-england-historical-and-genealogical-register/image/?pageName=240&volumeId=11712&rId=235394753
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Thompson, Neil D.. "Isaac Buswell and Rebecca (Buswell) Smith of Husbands Bosworth, Co. Leicester, and New England". New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Vol 158 (Jan 2004), p 38. Subscription$
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Donald Lines Jacobus, "Richard Smith of Wethersfield," The American Genealogist, Vol. 25, 1949, 126-139 pg. 126.
4. ↑ Evelyn Beran, "Sanford-Shulsen Family" World Connect 7 NOV 2012, http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=sanford-shulsen&id=I38819
5. ↑ Source: #S10 Ancestors of Corey Ryan Spangler, (David Christian Beck~ 10445 Bonneville Street~ Riverside, California 92505 ).
6. ↑ Source: #S06 Ancestors of Harold Monroe Jr. Walden, (Harold Monroe Walden, 30214 Briarcrest Drive, Georgetown, TX 78628-1149, ).
7. ↑ Source: #S07 Edgar Waterman, Richard Smith of Wethersfield, (The American Genealogist, Vol 25, No 1, Jan 1949, p 126-139).
8. ↑ Source: #S06 Ancestors of Harold Monroe Jr. Walden, (Harold Monroe Walden, 30214 Briarcrest Drive, Georgetown, TX 78628-1149, ).
9. ↑ Source: #S10 Ancestors of Corey Ryan Spangler, (David Christian Beck~ 10445 Bonneville Street~ Riverside, California 92505 ).
10. ↑ Source: #S10 Ancestors of Corey Ryan Spangler, (David Christian Beck~ 10445 Bonneville Street~ Riverside, California 92505 ).
11. ↑ Source: #S-903584337 Genealogical Publishing Co.; Baltimore, MD, USA; Volume Title: New England Marriages Prior to 1700
12. ↑ Source: #S01 "New England Marriages Prior to 1700," pg 687.
13. ↑ "Isaac Busewell and Rebecca (Buswell) Smith." New England Historical and Genealogical Register Vol 158 page 39]
14. ↑ Source: #S05 J. Devlin, "Descendants of Richard Smith," http://dunhamwilcox.net/source_files/smith_3.htm
15. ↑ Source: #S08 Records of The Particular Court of Connecticut, 1639-1663, (Hartford, 1928). p 82.
16. ↑ Source: #S08 Records of The Particular Court of Connecticut, 1639-1663, (Hartford, 1928). p 86.
17. ↑ Source: #S08 Records of The Particular Court of Connecticut, 1639-1663, (Hartford, 1928). p 99-100.
18. ↑ Source: #S08 Records of The Particular Court of Connecticut, 1639-1663, (Hartford, 1928). p 182.
19. ↑ Source: #S13 "The public records of the Colony of Connecticut ... " page 319.
20. ↑ Source: #S09 John Winthrop, Jr., Winthrop Medical Journal, (Transcribed from microfilms of the original by Pam; on line at http://www.pamsgenealogy.net/SS/Winthrop.htm [9 Nov 2000]). p 334.
21. ↑ Source: #S02 Harris, Gale Ion. "The Doubtful English Ancestry of Richard Smith of Wethersfield," (NEHGS, Jul 1989), 143:244.
22. ↑ Source: #S06 Ancestors of Harold Monroe Jr. Walden, (Harold Monroe Walden, 30214 Briarcrest Drive, Georgetown, TX 78628-1149, ).
23. ↑ Source: #S07 Edgar Waterman, Richard Smith of Wethersfield, (The American Genealogist, Vol 25, No 1, Jan 1949, p 126-139).
24. ↑ SmithConnections Northeastern DNA Project.

See also:

• History of MA (post 1904) p. 817-818 online

• A baptism record for a "Richard Smith sonne to Thomas Smith" on 21 March 1583. "The registers of Stratford-on-Avon : in the county of Warwick Page 37 https://archive.org/stream/registersofstrat06stra#page/37/mode/1up . In the same book, there is a baptism of "Richardus filius Johannis Smith" on 16 November 1595. I wonder if either of these are this Richard that married Rebecca Buswell. https://archive.org/stream/registersofstrat06stra#page/57/mode/1up on page 57

• George Lathrop Cooley and Clara Elizabeth Hall : their ancestors and descendants by Harl Preslar Aldrich, Jr., 2001. Page 204 on slide; 191 on "paper" page.

• "Richard Smith of Wethersfield" in American Genealogist Vol 25 (1949) p.126-139 and Vol 34 (1958) p.159-160 http://www.americanancestors.org/PageDetail.aspx?recordId=134936711

• "Genealogies of Massachusetts Families Vol IV" by William Richard Cutter; Page 2349 (This book lists Joseph m Rebecca Dickinson as a descendant. DNA has proven this Joseph was a son of Joseph Smith m Lydia Huit, resided in Hartford, CT.) Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the State of Massachusetts

• George Lathrop Cooley & Clara Elizabeth Hall. . . Allied Lines from Immigrants Richard Seymour, Richard Smith allied family by Harl Preslar Aldrich, Jr

• The English Ancestry of Richard Smith of Wethersfield, Conn., By Roderick Bissel Jones. Article from "The New England Historic Genealogical Register, April 1974, pp. 136-139

• NEHGR Vol. 164, July 2010

• "Genealogical and Personal Memoirs relating to the Families of the State of Massachusetts, Vol. 4" by William Richard Cutter (Page 2349 & 50).

• New England Marriages Prior to 1700, Page 687

• The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, NEHGS, 2004 - New England, Vols. 37-52 (1883-98) include section: Genealogical gleanings in England, by H. F. Waters. Page 38, Page 38b, Page 38c.

• Donald Lines Jacobus, The American Genealogist, Volumes 25-26, D.L. Jacobus, 1949 - Genealogy, pg 126a, pg 126c.

• Find-A-Grave Memorial #157393648 in Wethersfield Village Cemetery, Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut, USA

Research Links

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

• Savage, James, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, showing three generations of those who came before 1692 (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1860-62.), 4:129-130.

• Adams, Arthur, "Jeremy Adams of Hartford, Conn., and Some of His Descendants," NEHGR 59:3 (Jul 1905) (New England Historic, Genealogical Society.), p. 316.

• Jacobus, Donald Lines, Hale, House and Related Families: Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1978.), p. 459, Family History Library, 929.273 H135j 1978.

• Jones, Roderick Bissell, "Harris-Hamlin-Smith," The American Genealogist 46:3 (Jul 1970), p. 137.

• Harris, Gale Ion, "The First Wife of Ralph Keeler of Hartford and Norwalk, Connecticut," The American Genealogist 80:3 (Jul 2005), p. 178.

• Jones, R., TAG 46:3, p. 135.

• S01 Clarence Almon Torrey, Elizabeth Petty Bentley, "New England Marriages Prior to 1700," Genealogical Publishing Com, Jan 1, 1985 - Reference - 1009 pages, (Google eBook)

• S05 J. Devlin, "Descendants of Richard Smith," http://dunhamwilcox.net/source_files/smith_3.htm
• S06 Ancestors of Harold Monroe Jr. Walden, (Harold Monroe Walden, 30214 Briarcrest Drive, Georgetown, TX 78628-1149, ). Cited by #S05
• S07 Edgar Waterman, Richard Smith of Wethersfield, (The American Genealogist, Vol 25, No 1, Jan 1949, p 126-139). Cited by #S05
• S08 Records of The Particular Court of Connecticut, 1639-1663, (Hartford, 1928). Cited by #S05
• S09 John Winthrop, Jr., Winthrop Medical Journal, (Transcribed from microfilms of the original by Pam; on line at http://www.pamsgenealogy.net/SS/Winthrop.htm [9 Nov 2000, link updated 23 Aug 2013]). p 334. Cited by #S05
• S10 Ancestors of Corey Ryan Spangler, (David Christian Beck~ 10445 Bonneville Street~ Riverside, California 92505 ). Cited by #S05
• S11 John Winthrop, Jr., Winthrop Medical Journal, (Transcribed from microfilms of the original by Pam; on line at http://www.pamsgenealogy.net/SS/Winthrop.htm [9 Nov 2000, link updated 23 Aug 2013]). p 326. Cited by #S05
• S13 The public records of the Colony of Connecticut ... transcribed and published, (in accordance with a resolution of the General assembly) ... Published 1850 by Brown & Parsons. in Hartford. Covers years 1636-1776. Vols. 1-3 edited by J. H. Trumbull; v. 4-15, by C. J. Hoadly. archive.org
• U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Yates Publishing Publication: Ancestry.com Operations Inc
• Find A Grave: Memorial #157393648 Wethersfield Village Cemetery. No source. No photo. Wrong death date. No value.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to all who have contributed to this profile.

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