Quartermaster John Smith

John Smith migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 6, p. 373)

Not the same as Capt. John Smith, of Watertown & Reading

Evidence needed to support as son of John Smith & Ann Tillotson

Not the husband of Mary Smith

Biography

Quartermaster John Smith was born in 1608 in England and died on 29 Apr 1678 in Dorchester, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, North America. He arrived on 23 May 1635 in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, North America. He was a quartermaster in the militia. His will is dated on 10 Dec 1767 and probated on 25 Jul 1678.

John Smith, Quartermaster, was born about 1606 in England.

He married Dorothy about 1628. (She definately was not a Mary Ryder.)

His first wife was not Mary, or Mary Ryder, and not the Mary (wife of a John Smith), who d in Boston 11 Jan 1658.[1]

John, Dorothy and daughter, Mary, sailed from Lancashire on the James on May 23, 1635, with Rev. Richard Mather.

He was made freeman in Dorchester on 7 December 1636.

He married second Katherine in late 1654 in Dorchester. Katherine died at Boston 17 July 1710.

She was not, as claimed in some genealogies, the daughter of Isaac Morrell; he did have a daughter Katherine who married a different John Smith (son of Francis Smith) in Roxbury in 1647.

On 18 December 1654 John Smith and his wife were excommunicated from the Dorchester church for "committing fornication before marriage which was found out by the birth of their child" and lying about it when questioned. On 22 February 1655 John Smith and his wife were received back into the church after having been excommunicated, and on 17 April 1655 their daughter Mary was baptized, the baptism having been deferred because of her parents' excommunication.[2]

He served in many capacities, herdsman, carpenter & maltster, in Dorchester, but was most often recorded as "quartermaster."

He died 29 April 1678 (aged 71–72) in Dorchester, Suffolk County, MA.[3]

In his will, dated 28 Dec 1676 and proved 25 Jul 1678, he made bequests or references to wife Katherine, son John, daughter Mary. A codicil dated 30 Dec 1676 suggests additional children ("brothers and sisters" of so John) and also distinguishes the two Mary's-- Mary Pelton and Mary Hinckley (formerly married to Nathaniel Glover).

Subsequent probate records name additional children Samuel, Deliverance, Sarah, Abigail ad Waitstill.

There is an extensive biography for John with details sorting out the various studies about him.[4]

Family

Disproved wife

He married first to Mary Ryder (1630 - 1703), second to Mary Unknown ( - ) and third to the widow Katherine Morrell (1620 - 1710).

Children with first wife Dorothy

1. Mary born about 1631 died 29 July 1703 age 73. m(1) Nathaniel Glover, son of John Glover. m(2) Thomas Hinckley son of Samuel Hinckley[4]

From 'Hinckley Ancestors' by John Fay Hinckley:
'Governor Hinckley was first married to Mary Richards, daughter of Thomas Richards of Weymouth, December 7, 1641. She died 24 June 1659, and he married for his second wife, Mary Glover, widow of Nathaniel Glover, of Dorchester, 16 March 1660. She was born in Lancashire, England in 1630, and was a daughter of Quartermaster John Smith of England, who died in Dorchester, Sept. 17, 1676. She died 29 July 1703, aged 73. Her friends were opposed to the marriage as she had two children and Mr. Hinckley eight, and they urged this against the marriage.[5]

Children with second wife Katherine

1. Mary bapt. Dorchester 17 June 1655, was deferred. m. Samuel Pelton 16 July 1673.[4]
2. John Smith bapt. 12 Oct. 1656. Dorchester.[4]
3. Waitstill Smith b. 11 Dec. 1658 Dorchester. m. by 1679 Charles Davenport, son of Thomas Davenport.[4]
4. Deliverance Smith b. 21 Jan. 1660/1 Dorchester. m. by 1698 Samuel Bailey[4]
5. Samuel Smith b. 26 Dec. 1662 Dorchester.[4]
6. Sarah smith b. 9 April 1665. Dorchester.[4]
7. Abigail Smith b. 31 August 1668 Dorchester.[4]
8. Joseph Smith b. 30 May 1671 died about a week later. Dorchester.[4]

   ---

Identity of Wives

https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:John_Smith_(421)

Source: Glover, Anna. Glover Memorials and Genealogies : An Account of John Glover of Dorchester, Massachusetts and His Descendants, with a Brief Sketch of, in a footnote on p. 165, suggests this John Smith had three wives: first the Mary Ryder who was listed as his wife in the passenger list of the James, then a second wife named Mary who was mother of "several sons and daughters", and third wife, widow Katherine Pelton. Under this scenario, it is impossible to tell which children go with which wife, the popular dividing line between Mary#2 and Katherine being between Waitstill in 1658 and Deliverance in 1661. Fortunately for our sanity, all of this spousal speculation is probably incorrect!

It should be noted that there are some fairly obvious inconsistencies in the Glover Genealogies which makes it a questionable source to start with. But some or all of this arrangements appears in many sources describing Quartermaster John Smith. A thorough analysis by Anderson[3] refutes most of it.

Note: none of the birth/baptism records give the name of the mother. In 1636, John and Dorothy Smith are named as members of a church, and the name Katherine is known from John's will and various probate documents. Other than this, there is no record of the name of John Smith's wives.

John and first wife are mentioned as immigrating with daughter Mary in 1635, so the existence of the first wife and approximate marriage time is confirmed, if not her name. It is known that John remarried about 1654 because of church records mentioning his recent marriage, and the baptism of another daughter named Mary would be unlikely if it wasn't a different wife.

Since church records clearly name John's wife as Dorothy in 1636, there is no choice but to assume that Richard Mather's mention of Mary in 1635 referred to the daughter. Thus the first wife was Dorothy, not Mary, and there wasn't ever any evidence given to support Ryder as a maiden name.

There is no evidence that the death record found in Boston (i.e., not Dorchester) for "Mary wife of John Smith" on 11 Jan 1658 applies to Quartermaster John. This is the only basis for thinking there was a second wife Mary.

The maiden name of Katherine is not known, and Pelton appears to be based on early assumptions that the younger of the two daughters named Mary that are mentioned in John's will must have been a step-daughter.

The above analysis represents the simplest interpretation of known facts. Many aspects of this presentation raise doubts and make it clear we don't have the whole picture yet. For example, the eldest daughter Mary was born 24 years before the second daughter Mary, with no known children inbetween. The most likely motive for naming two daughters Mary would seem to be having a second wife with that name.

References

1. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wmayo/backus/f282.htm#f1522
2. https://quinnbradleesancestors.fandom.com/wiki/John_Smith_(1608_-_1678)
3. https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:John_Smith_(421)
   1. Pope, Charles Henry. Pioneers of Massachusetts (1620-1650): A Descriptive List, Drawn from Records of the Colonies, Towns and Churches. (Boston: The Author, 1900) p. 421. John Smith came in the James from Bristol 23 May 1635 with wife Mary and settled at Dorchester. He d. 29 Apr 1678, Will dated 10 Dec 1676, probated 25 Jul 1678, names wife Katharine, daughter Mary Pelton, son John, other children and refers to daughter Mary Hinckley [Note: this source incorrectly identifies the wife Katharine as Katharine Morrel, d/o Isaac. The will of Isaac Morrel names his grandchildren proving she married John Smith of Reading/Chelsea, not this John Smith.]
   2. Boston (Massachusetts). Record Commissioners. A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston: Containing Dorchester Births, Marriages, and Deaths to the End of 1825. (Boston, Massachusetts: Rockwell and Churchill, city printers, 1890) p. 29. 1676. John Smith Died Sept'r 17th 76. 1678. Quarter M'r John Smith Died April 29th 1678. [The will cited by Pope proves the second date belongs to this John Smith. The first date belongs to the John Smith Jr. whose left a widow Miriam and six children: James, Mary, Anna, Miriam, Sarah and David (see Source:Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States. Dorchester Births, Marriages, and Deaths to the End of 1825, p. 192, p. 194).]
   3. "John Smith", in Anderson, Robert Charles; George F. Sanborn; and Melinde Lutz Sanborn. The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635. (Boston, Massachusetts: NEHGS, 1999-2011) 6:373-387 [Required reading for those interested in this person. This is a long entry because it attempts to sort out the often-wrong, definitely-confusing information that has been published by Quartermaster John Smith (particularly by Source:Noyes, Charles Phelps. Noyes-Gilman Ancestry). John Smith, "Origin: unknown", b. by 1606, d. Dorchester 29 Apr 1678, m. (1) by 1631 Dorothy ---, m. (2) "late 1654" Katherine ---.
4. WikiTree contributors, "John Smith (abt.1606-1678)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Smith-2030 : accessed 18 May 2024). cites
   1. Anderson, Great Migration...
   2. Records of the First Church at Dorchester, in New England, 1636-1734. Boston, MA: George H. Ellis, 1891. Page 164, 166-167.
   3. "Marriages, Births and Deaths in Dorchester, Massachusetts" NEHGR 16 (1862):156 Internet Archive.
   4. Anderson, Robert C. The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England 1634-1635 Vol. VI R-S (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Great Migration Study Project, Boston, 2009). John Smith p. 378-387. AmericanAncestors.org (with subscription)
   5. John Fay Hinckley: Hinckley Ancestors: 1928. pp. 3-4
   6. Early New England Families, 1641-1700. (Original Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2013. 7 pages (By Alicia Crane Williams, Lead Genealogist.)
   7. Find A Grave: Memorial #44834179 No stone, no burial information, bio.