Thomas Smith (1702 - 1795)

Born 10 Mar 1702 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah (Tyng) Smith — married 12 Sep 1728 in Dunstable, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 25 Mar 1795 at age 93 in Portland, Cumberland, Maine, United States

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Biography

Rev. Thomas Smith performed Patriotic Service in Massachusetts in the American Revolution.

Thomas Smith is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A106001.

• On June 18, 1757, Smith noted that he received 198 pounds as “my part of scalp money.” It was a hefty sum, considering his annual pastor’s salary was 800 pounds.[1]

Member of Committee of Correspondence, Falmouth, Massachusetts "Peter Thacher Smith's father, born March 10, 1702, became on March 8, 1727, the first minister of the first church in Portland when that community, then known as Falmouth Neck, consisted of no more than forty families. He continued in the ministry for the unusual period of sixty-eight years, preaching in turn until the close of the year 1784, and officiating in a portion of the services of the Sabbath until within two years of his death on May 25, 1795."

"The Reverend Thomas Smith was three times married. HIs first wife, Susan Tyng, who bore his eight children, died October 1, 1742. she was a woman of admirable qualities, loved and admired by all who knew her.... On March 1, 1744, he married a widow, Mrs. Olive Jordan (d. 3 Jan 1763), whose husband had died two months after Mr. Smith's first wife. Mr. Smith's third wife was the widow Elizabeth Wendell whom he married on August 12, 1766, and who survived him. She was the mother of the wife of his son, Peter Thacher Smith, and Mr. willis notes that she was a lady of fine manners, good education and dignified deportment." ^[1]

The reverend was called to the First Parish congregation in 1827. He was given a salary that equaled 1/3 of the town's budget in addition to a house that was considered the finest in town, 3 acres that were fenced in, and free firewood. In exchange, he pastored the church for over 60 years. The parish was large; he served not only religious needs, but also the medical needs of the people. It was said that he was known for his money-making schemes that included buying old land titles — this might be how he came to own the land that included the now Eastern Cemetery. The reverend swatted requests by the town to sell the property and it was forced to create "Funeral Lane" as a way to get to the grounds from Congress Street. It wasn't until he was on his death bed that Mr. Smith gave up the property. The deed read, "... convey all the land I now own, possess or claim, on the southeast side of Smith [Congress] Street, between the stone wall of the neck." to the town of Falmouth. The Reverend Thomas Smith passed away 19 days later on May 25, 1795.- Provided by Spirits Alive

Town Notes: The oldest musical instrument in town was a spinet made in London in 1390 (prob 1690 - refer https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/500560) by Thomas Hitchcock. It was formerly owned by the widow Wendall, the third wife of Rev. Thomas Smith. It is now owned by Mrs Lucy Anderson, wife of Abraham Anderson and daughter of the late Rev. Peter T Smith. ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Old-Time New England, Volume 48, Number 170, Fall 1957; Author: Nellie D. Spiller (broken link)
2. ↑ Page 32 A historical address, delivered on the fourth of July, 1839, at the centennial anniversary of the settlement of Windham. By Thomas L Smith 1840, Portland. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/21742/images/dvm_LocHist007580-00017-0?pId=31

• Birth Record for Thomas, Boston, Massachusetts: Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988; Ancestry.com
• Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed January 19, 2021), "Record of Thomas Smith", Ancestor # A106001.
• Family Record, NEHGR (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1848) Vol. 2, Page 146.
• Burial: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/101709788/thomas-smith: accessed 12 October 2022), memorial page for Rev. Thomas Smith (1701–23 May 1795), Find A Grave: Memorial #101709788, citing Eastern Cemetery, Portland, Cumberland County, Maine, USA; Maintained by Scott Leonard (contributor 47229103) .