Holbrook line: Edward Smith of Rhode Island, Immigrant 1633-1693

Edward Smith was one of the younger children of Christopher and Alice Gibbs Smith.  He was christened on March 17, 1633 at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire, England.  He was one of at least 9 children.  Some of the siblings settled in Rhode Island and others settled in Hartford, Connecticut, for reasons that are not yet evident. 

Christopher was in Providence, Rhode Island by 1649, and possibly sooner.  He was a Quaker according to John Osborne Astin's Genealogical Record of Rhode Island, because during King Philips War he and the family went to Newport, which was not attacked.  At that time Quakeer records call him "an ancient Friend of Providence".  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Edward came to Providence with his parents and some siblings, and on August 26, 1656 he was granted common equal to other townsmen, and was to have a vote with inhabitants.  He was a hayward (kept stray animals out of fields) in 1656, a freeman on May 12, 1638, and a juryman in 1639.  He must have handled his early responsibilities well, because he was a town sergeant (not sure about this-watchman, maybe?- in 1662 and was to be paid 20 shillings in "peage".  "Peage" was also known as wampum, and was treated as legal tender in the colonies, as cash was in short supply. 

His marriage intention, to Amphillis Angell, was recorded on May 9, 1663 but there doesn't seem to be a record of the marriage.  Nevertheless, the marriage is accepted by genealogists.  He participated in a division of lands in 1665, and ten years later, just before King Philip's War broke out, he asked for an accommodation of difficulties-basically an arbitration.  It had to do with the division of lands with his neighbors. 

He was 7 times a deputy and 9 times a town council member.  In 1688. about 25 years after he was married, he was taxed on 5 cows, 4 three year olds, 2 two year olds, 4 yearlings, 2 oxen, 2 horses, 1 1/2 shares of meadow, 5 acres tilage, 4 acres pasture, 5 acres wild pasture, and 140 acres of woods.  The number of cattle is a bit surprising, as it is a larger herd than many in that location had. 

Edward and Amphillis had at least seven children together, and some stayed in Providence.  I would like to know whether his children stayed in the Quaker meeting, or whether they changed religion at some point. 

  It isn't know what kind of relationship Edward had with his Connecticut siblings.  I wonder whether perhaps there was a religious difference, and the Connecticut siblings were Puritans whereas Edward and his father remained Quaker.  That is just my speculation.

Edward died shortly before January 2, 1694, when administration of the estate was granted to Amphillis and his son Edward.  I have as yet not found the estate papers, inventory, or will, but I do have a case number which may help me track it down. 

Edward's record shows him to be a well respected man of principle, a good provider and a good citizen.  We can be proud of him and honor his memory with respect. 

The line of descent is: 

Edward Smith-Amphillis Angell
Amphillis Smith=Zechariah Eddy
Elisha Eddy-Sarah Phetteplace
Enos Eddy-Sarah Brown
Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine
Joseph Eddy-Susan Lamphire
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: Christopher Smith, Immigrant

Christopher Smith's biography has recently changed.  I guess I'm glad I haven't written about him yet, because now I don't have to go back and do an update.  There are some important facts missing about him, but still, we have more information about him now than we have about many of our immigrant ancestors. 

Christopher Smith was born about 1591 in goodness knows where.  Much information says he was born on March 18, 1593 in Lancashire, England, but I'm not sure this is the correct Christopher Smith.  He was married on May 1, 1616 in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire.  The distance between these two localities is 140 miles, which makes it somewhat unlikely that the Christopher Smith of Lancashire is the Christopher Smith of Warwickshire.  More research is needed to prove or disprove this theory.  What is known is that his wife was Alice Gibbs or Gibes and that she became our Christopher's widow a little over 60 years later. 

The Smiths had 9 proven children, starting in 1617 and ending in 1633, all baptized in the church their parents were married in.  Four of the Smith sons and one daughter went to Hartford, Connecticut, probably before their father came to America.  Our Smiths were in Providence, Rhode Island by 1649.  Hartford was Puritan and Providence was more tolerant, which was a good place for a Quaker like our Christopher to live.  It would be interesting to know when the religions of some of the children split from those of their parents, or when Christopher split from them.  More needs to be researched about his like in England.  Was he ever harassed or jailed for his Quaker beliefs?

We don't know what Christopher did for a living, but we do know that he was given land in Providence in 1649 and in 1650 was taxed there.  He became a freeman in 1655 and the same year served as a juryman.  In 1656 he was granted a share of meadow in lieu of land he'd previously had, and he received more land in 1665.  He and his wife Alice sold land in 1665 and in 1672.  It's hard to get  sense of what he did for a living but he did have shares in meadow land so must have owned at least enough farm animals for family subsidence. 

He took an oath of allegiance in 1667, which makes one wonder whether he had given up his Quaker beliefs, or whether he actually affirmed instead of taking an oath.  We know that he was a Quaker at the end of his life because when he died at Newport in 1676 he was noted in the Society of Friend records as being an "ancient Friend of Providence, RI."  He died in Newport because he had gone there to take refuge from the natives who burned so much of Providence during King Philip's War. 

I've not yet found his will, if there was one.  He was at least 83 years old and probably older when he died, so he'd lived a good long life.  He spent 27 years in Rhode Island, building a home and a future for his family.  For this alone, we owe him honor.  I hope to learn more about Christopher in the future, but for now this will at least mark him as "one of ours".

The line of descent is
Christopher Smith-Alice Gibbs
Edward Smith-Amphyllis Angell
Amphillis Smith-Zachariah Eddy
Elisha Eddy-Sarah Phettiplace
Enos Eddy-Sarah Brown
Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine
Joseph Brown Eddy-Susan Lamphire
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: Thomas Angell 1618-1689 Immigrant

Thomas Angell walked and talked with one of my hero ancestors, Roger Williams.  That is reason enough to write about him, in my view.  We don't know as much about him as we know about Roger Williams, but it is enough to convince us he was an honorable man, educated and yet probably humble, as he called himself a "farmer" even though he was town clerk of Providence, Rhode Island for 17 years. 

Sources vary and don't always make a lot of sense.  Once source seems to indicate he was illiterate, but somewhere he learned to read and write well enough that he was trusted with recording the business of the town.  Another question arises about his immigration.  It has been variously suggested that he came with Richard Waterman in 1629, as a personal assistant, but he would have been only about 11 years old then.  Others say he came in 1631 on the ship "Lyon" with Roger Williams, or that he came with his sister and her family in 1638.  None of these theories make perfect sense, and none is documented.

So, we believe Thomas Angell was born to James and Mary Angell and was christened on May 1, 1618 at St. Alban's, Hertfordshire, England.  We lived at least his boyhood in England before coming to New England, where at some point he met Roger Williams.  This may have been in Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony or it may have been in Seekonk in Plymouth Colony, on Williams' way to exile.  It's also possible that he arrived in Providence on his own or with his sister's family. 

He was in Providence in time to sign a document covenanting to join in a town fellowship.  This was not dated but is believed to have been signed with an X, sometime between July 13, 1638 and 1640. He name was on the list of thirty nine signers on an agreement for a government there, dated July 27,1640.  At least the first document was signed with an "X", which is puzzling.  Did he not acquire his literacy skills until he was an adult?

Thomas was a farmer, and married Alice Ashton, the daughter of James Ashton and Alice Honeychurch about 1643.  Although some sources say, without documentation, that the marriage took place in England it seems much more likely that it occurred in Providence.  They had at least eight children, including John, James, Anphyillis, Mary, Deborah, Alice, Margery and possibly Thomas (not mentioned in will, perhaps died young).

While Thomas was raising and providing for his family, he was also quite busy with town affairs. He seems to have taken his obligations as a citizen seriously, and was a member of the Town Council in 1650, as well as surveyor and commissioner.  He served as a juryman in 1650,1652, and 1659.  He served on some high profile trials and commissions, and as mentioned earlier was town clerk for 17 years.  Somehow, he and Roger Williams parted ways, intellectually or politically, and Williams filed charges against him as being one of three ringleaders pushing for a new division in the colony.  He was apparently not prosecuted, however.  He also was one of those who decided the fate of Indian captives after King Philip's War.  (Providence had been almost totally destroyed during that conflict). 

Thomas's will was probated September 18, 1694, on the same day as his wife's.  It had been written May 23, 1685 and it is believed he died about 1689.  By this time, he had acquired several parcels of land, up to 60 acres in size, which he divided between his two surviving sons, and two shillings to each of his daughters. He rather generously left his dwelling house and a small portion of land to his widow, plus each son was to give his mother 8 shillings a year.  Alice's will left five pounds to James, certain personal belongings to each of her four surviving daughters, and the balance to be divided between the two sons.  This makes it seem possible that Thomas had died earlier but that for whatever reason, the will was not probated until Alice also had died. 

I envy Thomas in one respect, that he was able to know and talk with Roger Williams.  I don't know what caused their falling out nor how long it lasted, but I hope they were able to patch things up.  Thomas is another ancestor worthy of our admiration. 

The line of descent is:

Thomas Angell-Alice Ashton
Anphyllis Angell-Edward Smith
Anphyllis Smith-Zachariah Eddy
Elisha Eddy-Sarah Phetteplace
Enos Eddy-Sarah Brown
Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine
Joseph Brown Eddy-Susan Lamphire
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants