Matthew Smith, of Charlestown

Biography

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Smith-80091

Matthew Smith[1] was born about 1595, some say in Sandwich, Kent Co, England, but the only association we have for Sandwich is the passenger list from Sandwich; it doesn't necessarily mean he was BORN there; only that he embarked from there

In 1637, he emigrated with wife Jane and four children. He settled in Charlestown, Massachusetts.

He was made freeman in 1645. He served as town crier in Charlestown in 1648/9 and 1657. He was town messenger in 1666.

He may have been a shoemaker by trade.[citation needed]

NOTE: There was another, different, Matthew Smith of Watertown, member of the Train-band there in 1652, and who drowned at Noddles Island 21 May 1658.

Children

The children's names were discovered in 1921 on passenger lists from Sandwich, England:

1. Matthew; granted administration of his father's estate in 1681. Served with his father as herdmen in 1649 and 1655.
2. John; no further record; died young?
3. Hanna; may have been the Hannah Smith who m 1653 Joseph Hills; if so, she died in Malden in 1674.
4. Elizabeth; may have been the Elizabeth Smith who m. at Boston May 17, 1658, John McDaniel. "Elizabeth Smiths were not numerous in Boston at that time, and the others are accounted for. NOTE: This information conflicts with the theory that she married (1) Thomas Grover and (2) Philip Atwood.

References

1. Volume Title: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Page 686. < AncestrySharing >
2. Unless otherwise cited, information here is from Edward Church Smith, "The Family of Matthew Smith of Charlestown, Mass.," in The American Genealogist, 19:203-
3. Find-A-Grave Virtual Cemetery memorial #118436537