Search for origins of Nehemiah Smith updates

Date: Apr 2023 [unknown]
Location: England, United Kingdom
Surname/tag: Smith

Hello all,

For the last couple years, I have contacted a wide range of people, historical societies, and libraries while joining a number of genealogical organizations in an attempt to find the origins in England of my ninth great grandfather, Nehemiah Smith,…so far to no avail. Apparently, Nehemiah is also a dead end for many of you as well. I’ve been asked by one respondent to cite my sources to avoid the duplication of efforts and at the same time, hopefully illicit suggestions of sources that could be checked. I realize that some of you have received bits of what I have included here, so I hope this more comprehensive list proves to be useful. I also hope we have some curious family members who like a good mystery!

The source I have most used is the book “A Genealogical History of the Descendants of the Rev.Nehemiah Smith of New London County, Connecticut with mention of his brother John and nephew, Edward 1638–1888” by H, Allen Smith, (a family member) Albany, New York, Munsell’s Publishers 1889. I was able to download this book at no charge. It contains a good deal of information and firsthand accounts about Nehemiah and his descendants as well as providing a chronology of family members up through 1888. Considering this book includes numerous branches of the family that have spread far and wide it is quite surprising that no one seems to know who Nehemiah’s parents were, or from where he migrated.

The next sources I have relied on are the family newsletters, “News of the Nehemiah Smith Clan”’, written by my great uncle, Walter, Burgess Smith, a noted and published genealogist. Walter was actively pursuing Nehemiah’s origins and preparing notes for his own book when he passed away in 1995. I have a good many of these letters, but the full collection can be found at the Stonington Historical Society who have agreed to be a repository of historic Smith family documents. In these letters Walter has left a number of clues about Nehemiah’s possible origins, but most importantly, he has debunked, one of the most widely cited origins of Nehemiah. In many family trees on Ancestry, MyHeritage, Find a Grave, etc., the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme is often listed as his birthplace. Not only did Walter work with a number of genealogists, some in England, but he also traveled to Newcastle himself, and found no evidence of this claim. The actual source of the confusion is in the H Alan Smith book I listed, which includes extensive discussion about a family coat of arms recognized in 1561 as that of John Smith, the mayor of New Castle. From that readers wrongly concluded that it must have been established that Nehemiah descended from the Smiths of Newcastle. I have also recently done the Big Y 700 DNA test through FamilyTree in the hopes that a combination of DNA results and overlapping family trees might solve the mystery. Unfortunately, the only family member who has a family tree that extends back to England cites as Nehemiah’s parents, the names Richard Smith 1573- 1621 of Stockport, Cheshire and Marjorie Williamson 1580-1622. I have found documentation that they existed, but have seen no evidence they had a son named Nehemiah. I have searched on Ancestry including Ancestry UK, MyHeritage, GeniUk, , the I-223 Y -Haplogroup, and just recently, the NewYork State DNA project. The closest find yet was a Nehemiah Smith who is baptized on 8 February 1617/8 at Saint Boltolph’s Church, in Sibson, county Leicester, son of William. He had a brother John and an eldest brother, Richard baptized 12 April 1608 who appears to be the Richard who had a son Edward baptized in October 1633 at Ashby de la Zouch, Leicester. This all fits nicely except that the birth year is 12 years off from Nehemiah’s which sources show was around 1605.

I have corresponded with Robert Charles Anderson, who is directing The Great Migration Project, which under the New England Historical Genealogical Society has been researching immigrantion to New England between 1620 and 1640. We know Nehemiah arrived in Plymouth around 1637, but even these folks list his origins as “unknown”. I have searched passenger lists on ships from England to Massachusetts (many are missing or incomplete) and found nothing.

I should mention that one other genealogist who was working with my uncle Walter claims she found a Nehemiah Smith born in 1605 in Kent, England, who might possibly have come over with a group led by the Rev. John Lathrop. It is all so interesting to note that Nehemiah’s wife, Ann Bourne (her full name may have been Sarah Ann or Sarann) was also from Kent.

It is interesting to see how history overlaps with our family and it seems Nehemiah’s brother John had land seized during the English Civil War of the 1640s. Through British History Online and gaining access to records at the National Archives in London I did indeed find some John Smith’s who had land confiscated… nearly a dozen at last count. I have the dates and numbers of files if anyone cares to follow up on these leads. The towns are listed which could narrow down the number of church records to search from which we might find mention of our Nehemiah. I have a list of these towns and would be glad to share with anyone who wants to follow up on this.

My wife and I recently visited the Smith Lake Cemetery in Groton (which includes among many Smiths the burial plot of both Nehemiah 2 and 3). Nearby is the Jabez Smith House rebuilt on the original foundation after the British burned the town in 1781. We then ventured south to Norwich visiting the Leffingwell House Museum, the Joseph Carpenter Silversmith Shop, and the founders grave in Norwich. The people at these museums know an awful lot about Nehemiah’s life (except, of course, about his origins!) and seeing the gravesite (not too easy to find) really is a must. I purchased the book “ History of Norwich Connecticut from its possession by the Indians to the year 1866” by Francis Manwaring Caulkins, a wonderful historian and family member. Again, Nehemiah and the other founders are richly described, but no origins are given. We plan to return to visit other family sites and local museums and it is always worth the time to visit Mystic (and have a nice dinner and a well-deserved gin and tonic on the coast!)

Just last night I was online digging through the “Ancient New Haven families vol 2”. which includes Nehemiah and his descendants, but again, nothing about his origins. And so, the search continues. I hope this list is helpful to those of you searching for our elusive ancestor and hopefully it will lead to new suggestions about how and where to proceed. My wife and I are traveling to England in May and I really hope to find out where my ancestors lived beforehand. This is certainly enough for now. I very much hope to hear from anyone who would like to continue to collaborate on this great family mystery. Cheers! Michael Hall Smith mrmhsmith@gmail.com

Ps. I have agreed to donate to FamilyTree as part of a deal to have my Big Y test done for a reasonable price. If anyone knows a family member (preferably one in England) who would be willing to do a DNA test I would see if my contribution can be directed to them.