Connecticut Family Patriarch — Richard Smith

B. about 1583 in Leicestershire, England¹
M. 13 Feb 1616 in Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England²
Wife: Rebecca Buswell
D. after 3 Jun 1669 in (probably) Wethersfield, Connecticut³

Richard Smith led a long life and founded a large family during Connecticut’s earliest years. He was born somewhere in England in about 1583,¹ with his exact origins uncertain. Of course the name Smith makes identifying him very difficult, but he was known to have lived much of his life in the village of Husbands Bosworth,² located in Leicestershire. It seems likely that he was either born there, or somewhere nearby. It should be noted that several notable people named Smith lived in Husbands Bosworth, including Erasmus Smith (1611-1691), and there may be a family connection, however this is impossible to verify.

Erasmus Smith of Husbands Bosworth.

The first time Richard appeared in records was in his marriage to Rebecca Buswell on February 13, 1615.² Rebecca was of a family from Husbands Bosworth, which is where the wedding took place. The couple settled there, and between about 1617 and 1638, they had eight children, of whom two died young.¹ Shortly after the youngest was born, they migrated to New England; it’s believed they lived for a couple of years in Hartford, Connecticut before moving to Wethersfield by 1646.⁵

Richard’s name was on a couple of property transactions in 1658 and 1662,⁵ but other than signing a petition to remove Wethersfield’s minister in August 1658,⁶ he was little mentioned in town records. Perhaps this was because his advanced age made him too old to hold any civic offices. He did serve on the jury of the court at Hartford in June 1648, December 1648, May 1650, and September 1650.⁷ Richard also brought a case against George Woolcott and his wife in May of 1651; the charge was “slander,” but no details about it survive. The court awarded him 28 pounds to be paid by Woolcott.⁷

Over the years, Richard had several contacts with Governor John Winthrop,¹ an unlicensed doctor who travelled around the colony giving treatment to patients.⁴ On February 21, 1653, Richard wrote to Winthrop describing the symptoms of his daughter-in-law, Lydia Wright Smith; modern analysis suggests she was suffering from a tapeworm. Richard himself was attended to by Winthrop on December 5, 1658, February 2, 1667, and June 3, 1669; the entry for the final treatment mentioned he had a fever. The was the last time Richard was known to be alive was on a list of freeman in Wethersfield dated October 1669, and he likely died within a few years of that date.³

Children:
1. Richard Smith — B. before 1 Jan 1617, Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England;² D. Jun 1690, Wethersfield, Connecticut;¹ M. Mary Weed (~1618-1704), 1639, Wethersfield, Connecticut⁵

2. Susannah Smith — B. before 30 May 1619, Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England;² D. 30 Nov 1692, Wethersfield, Connecticut;¹ M. Thomas Standish (~1612-1693), 1659, Wethersfield, Connecticut¹

3. Anne Smith — B. before 24 Feb 1622, Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England;² D. (probably) young

4. Joseph Smith — B. before 25 Dec 1625, Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England;² D. before 28 Aug 1673, Wethersfield, Connecticut;¹ M. Lydia Wright (1633-1689), 1653, Wethersfield, Connecticut¹

5. Mary Smith — B. before 11 Dec 1630, Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England;² M. (1) Matthias Treat (~1620-1662), about 1648, Wethersfield, Connecticut;¹ (2) Anthony Wright (~1625-1679), before 1666, Wethersfield, Connecticut;¹ (3) John Smith (~1625-1683), about 1680, (probably) Wethersfield, Connecticut⁵

6. Rebecca Smith — B. before 11 Dec 1630, Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England;² D. (probably) young

7. Jonathan Smith — B. before 4 Oct 1635, Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England;² D. after 24 Apr 1711, (probably) Connecticut;⁵ M. (1) Hannah Adams, before 13 Jun 1660, (probably) Connecticut;⁷ (2) Martha Bushnell (~1637-~1705), 1 Jan 1664, Saybrook, Connecticut¹

8. Abigail Smith — B. before 21 Jan 1638, Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire, England;² D. after 1683, Huntington, New York;¹ M. (1) John Adams (~1637-1670), 24 Aug 1657, Easttown, Westchester, New York;¹ (2) John Betts (1627-?), 13 Mar 1673, Connecticut¹

Sources:
1    “The Doubtful English Ancestry of Richard Smith of Wethersfield, Connecticut,” Gale Ion Harris, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, V. 143, Jul 1989
2    "Isaac Buswell and Rebecca (Buswell) Smith of Husbands Bosworth, Co. Leicester, and New England," NEHGR, V.158, Jan 2004
3    The public records of the Colony of Connecticut from 1675-1678. Vol. II, p. 520, J. Hammond Trumbull and Charles J. Hoadly, 1852
4    The New England Historical Society (website) 
5    “Richard Smith of Wethersfield,” Donald Lines Jacobus, The American Genealogist, V. 25, 1949
6    The History of Ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut, V. 1, p. 161, Sherman W. Adams & Henry R. Stiles, 1904
7    Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society, V. 12, 1928