unknown father of Richard "Bull" Smith

From "Town Historian Bradley Harris On Smithtown's Founder Richard Smythe" Smithtown Matters, MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2014 AT 12:18AM

Richard Smythe, the founder and patentee of Smithtown, remains an elusive historical figure….

... "There are a host of other questions for which we have no answer.  The facts of his birth are not really known, and his parentage, background and education are only guessed at.  We don’t know why Richard Smith came to America, where he settled in the Boston area, how he met his wife, what her maiden name was, and when and where they were married. ....
"Dr. Smith believed that Richard Smythe returned to England for a visit sometime in 1655 when he was 42.  Why he chose to make this visit is not known.  Perhaps he wanted to see his aging parents to try to persuade them to join him in America.  According to Ancestors.com, [sic: Ancestry.com?] both of his parents did eventually emigrate to America.  His father, Richard Smith, born in Leicestershire in England in 1589, died in Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut in 1667.  His mother, Joan Barton, born in Gloucestershire, England in 1599, died in Narragansett, Washington, Rhode Island in 1664.  ..."