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m. 15 Sep 1774
Facts and Events
The intention of this brief history is to flesh out a nebulous collection of facts regarding a British citizen turned American Patriot with the research challenging name of John Smith, born in 1745. The history will focus on: the reasons for leaving the British Isles, where/when the immigrant families settled in America, who he married, how he fought for his family, community and new Nation and lastly, how he is remembered. The Point of Immigration- In mid 17th century England our subject Smith family were likely “middle kind of people” in the strict class hierarchy observed at the time. They seemed to have craftsman skills that allowed for a comfortable life and they like most, took their religion very seriously. A typical farmer of that era might make 15 pounds sterling a year, which would support a family of six. A yeoman (small landowner) might expect three times that income. What is now called The United Kingdom was anything but united in the 17th century. England was vainly attempting to control Catholic Ireland by relocating Scots and English on to lands in the north of Ireland. They even created a weaving industry to provide a means of livelihood. Of course these “Scotch-Irish” (an American term) and most Subjects in general, didn’t follow the Church of England as London demanded. They became extremist Protestants known as “Puritans”. Various Baptist sects, Shakers, Muggletonians, Quakers and smaller religious groups emerged during the first half of the 1600’s. Not surprisingly these developments caused civil war to break out as King Charles attempted to suppress all but the approved religion. By 1650 the Puritan, Cromwell, came to power, had Charles beheaded and began persecuting Catholics and Presbyterians equally. With Cromwell’s death ten years later, the religious pendulum swung back on the Puritans and began a dark period referred to as the “killing times” for Scots. It was in this turmoil of Stuart England that our Smith family chose the promise of the British Colonies to pursue their dream of freedom. The search continues for documentation of their actual immigration files. This family appears to have been affiliated with Baptists, at least they were in Manchester, Vermont. Nine Partners/Beekman Patent/The Oblong- A parallel but separate journey was underway, initiated by Quaker Isaac Bull Sr. and his wife Mary. The Bull family left tumultuous England in 1668 to pursue their own dream of freedom. The family was industrious and keenly interested in becoming contributors to the success of the Massachusetts Bay colony. As Quakers were wont to do, the family gradually dispersed to help establish new Monthly Meetings in 1675 Rhode Island, 1719 Connecticut and ~1739 New York. The Oblong Monthly Meeting in the Beekman Patent, Dutchess county, New York is the 1748 birth location of our subject’s wife, Mary Bull. Her parents were Isaac Bull Jr. and Rebecca Browning. The Bull's and Smith's were searching for land with a clear title. Their home in "The Oblong", Dutchess county is close by the Hudson river. Traveling on the river was nearly the only way to move goods on the frontier. In the era, there were row boats, two masted schooners (periaugers) and paddle wheelers powered by eight mules on a treadmill that plied the river from its mouth at Staten Island to north of present day Albany. The Vermont Migration- Native Americans, collectively called Abenaki tribes, were occupying what became called New England. The Mahican tribe had a sibling like relationship with the Mohawk... sometimes being allies, other times bitter enemies. The Mahican's ancient capital called Shodac, was just opposite from today's Albany on the Hudson river, near the Hoosic river. Settlers no doubt saw remnants of the native nations as they occupied their historical lands. Dutch traders (Henry Hudson) comprised the 'first contact' with these tribes. In the 16th and 17th centuries, European diseases decimated their numbers by 75%. The survivors melted into the Canadian landscape as the Colonists pushed ever westward. New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth, chartered the town of Manchester in 1761. The grant was to sixty-four grantees, none of which settled the area. They exercised their option to sell their rights to twenty-four "proprietors" from Amenia in the Nine Partners Patent, next to The Oblong. There must have been excited conversations in the small Quaker Hill community as the Bulls, Smiths and other families prepared to move "lock, stock and barrel" to a tract of woods to be called Manchester, Bennington county, Vermont (or New York depending on ones affiliation). This was a good opportunity for the families to become landowners (yeomen), and take control of their religion and future; something they could never accomplish in the United Kingdom. The family migration began about 1764 with Thomas and Martha Bull moving up the Hudson, then east up the Hoosic river and on to a trail through the woods to the site of the proposed village. It is likely that our subject John Smith, helped his sister and brother-in-law make the trek. It wasn’t long before John was bitten by the bug and smitten by Thomas’s sister, Mary. They were wed to the adventure and each other the 15th of September 1774. Although the particulars of the ceremony are lost in time, there is a high probability they were married by an itinerant Baptist minister. There is no record of there ever being a Quaker society in Manchester (Mary belonged to the Oblong Meeting before their marriage) and no record of John or Mary has yet been retrieved from the Baptist church record. The church was organized in 1781 and had its first Manchester meeting in 1784 with Thomas Bull and Major Nathan Smith in attendance. The Beginning of Manchester- After giving thanks to the Lord for their safe journey on the Hudson river and through the wilderness, the next priority of the settlers was shelter, then clearing sufficient land to grow crops. The territory that became Bennington county was completely forested when the settlers came. The houses were built of sawn lumber and were small by our standards usually one large room, sometimes with loft above. The first man to build a sawmill in each community was given an extra "right" of land. In order to build their houses they had to cut trees, saw them and dispose of the debris. This they did by burning, then leaching the ashes, boiling down the resultant lye, and scraping the remaining hard crust into sacks made of deerskin. This was potash, valuable in England in the manufacture of glass and the cleaning of wool, the only cash crop for many years. Carrying hundred pound sacks of potash on foot or horseback to the river port of Albany brought these early pioneers: needles, fine cloth, axe heads, books and news of The Colonies.The only "livestock" were perhaps a horse and pigs (easy to transport) which, identified by ear notches, ran wild foraging for food. Later, perhaps a cow for milk and butter, but no herds. Sheep didn't arrive until after 1812. The forest teemed with wild game and the river with fish. They grew some grains, squash, pumpkins, corn and flax for making cloth. As grain and potatoes became available, John began distilling them to make medicinal alcohol. From "Manchester, Vermont Land Records 1766- town meetings, marriages, births and pig ear markings." The formal beginning of town government began inauspiciously, with meetings held in townsfolk "dwellings." This was government in it's best and simplest form. Neighbors gathered together to organize the settlement and structure an agreeable means of commerce. Week long Annual Town meetings took care of more formal discussions, while one day meetings were called to resolve specific concerns. One example: "April 20th, 1779- M.r George Smith Chosen Grand Juryman for the present year. Voted to build a Meeting House 40 by 36 feet and two Story high as near Christopher Roberts as the Ground and Circumstances will Admit. Mr.s Nathaniel Boorn, Liu.t Thaddeus Munson, Cap.t Zadoc Everest, Cap.t Stephen Purl & Cap.t Thomas Bull Chosen as Committee to build Said House as soon as may be." Other entries recorded that John was elected Pathmaster to lay out interconnecting lanes to move material and animals about the settlement. There were no proper roadways that would accommodate wheeled vehicles until after the Revolutionary war. One could get a feeling of Mary & John's Vermont neighborhood from the 1790 census: Deborah Chipman's residence, then Mary & John Smith, next Peleg Sunderland, then Mary's brother Thomas & John's sister Martha (Smith) Bull, next Fredrick Smith, (may be the Captain Frederick Smith that was born on January 10, 1766, in Berlin, Hartford County, CT, the son of Samuel Smith.) The settlers encountered problems when New York state officials claimed the land on which Manchester was being developed. They sent parties out to try and persuade them to pay them for their land (which they had already paid for) or to forcibly remove them. Ethan Allen, cousin of Seth Warner, was asked to come help the settlers who were too busy to skirmish with these imposters. Ethan was from Connecticut, a restless, tall, loud rambunctious fellow who organized a loose paramilitary group known as the Green Mountain Boys who were ready at a moment's notice to go to the aid of a settler beset by the hated "Yorkers". The situation became very heated with the Yorkers describing the settlers as "The Bennington Mob." "Ethan Allen, Seth Warner, Peleg Sunderland (John's neighbor), and John Smith are principal Ring-Leaders of and actors in the riots, etc., request the Governor of New York to issue a proclamation offering a reward of £50 for apprehension of any or either of them in His Majesty's goal in Albany." Ethan's brothers Ira, Zebulon and Ebenezer joined him and took part in some of the early skirmishes. These were unusual settlers in that they arrived with more than a yearning for land and freedom of worship. They were also committed to an open and egalitarian society that made Bennington county a liberal democracy from the beginning. This can be deduced by the fierce manner the landowners resisted the heavy-handedness of the New York and British authorities during the land grant controversy. Revolutionary War- It is well documented that the Smiths and Bulls were part of the loosely organized and un-uniformed Bennington voluntary militia. Seth Warner of the previous land grant controversy, became John's commander. His neighbor Peleg Sunderland, was active in procuring arms and supplies to support the Bennington militia. Flintlock muskets were made by the French, Prussians, Dutch and early Colonial gunsmiths. They all fell in with other militia to respond en masse to various alarms in the region. Vermont adopted a constitution and became an independent republic in 1777, just as the Revolutionary War came marching down from Fort Ticonderoga. The war appeared in the form of British General Burgoyne whose intent was to drive a wedge down the Champlain and Hudson river valleys, splitting the Colonies, thus hampering the ability of the militias to form a large resisting force. Word traveled faster than the British army and the New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts militia were waiting 22 miles south of Manchester. They not only thwarted the invaders from pillaging desperately needed supplies held in Bennington; but they went on to defeat Colonels Baum and Breymann. They captured troops, field pieces, British muskets (called Brown Bess) and wagonloads of gunpowder. The campaign was such a success, General Burgoyne would later write to his superiors, “Wherever the King’s Forces point, militia to the amount of 3,000 or 4,000 assemble in twenty-four hours. Vermont has to contain the most rebellious race on the continent and hangs like a gathering storm on my left.” Americans later made a stand at Saratoga and General Burgoyne, his army weakened from insufficient supplies, surrendered on October 17, 1777. As the militia's successes grew in number, the volume of their singing also grew. One popular song named "Chester," was undoubtedly sung by John Smith and his military mates; "Let tyrants shake their iron rod, And slav'ry clang her galling chains, We'll fear them not. We trust in God- New England's God forever reigns." Even though John, George & Stephen Smith are listed on the Manchester Revolutionary Soldier monument the contributions of wives and daughters during this period should not be underestimated. They worked and walked stride for stride on this journey to Freedom. "Dust to Dust- In Manchester, May 24. Mr. John Smith, in the 90th year of his age. For many years he had been a useful and much beloved member of the Baptist Church of that town. As he had lived respected, so he died lamented. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord." At the end of the obituary column appeared a laudatory obituary in tribute to John Smith & Daniel Jones: "In the death of Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones, two aged patriots, the young have lost an example well worthy of imitation. Early in life the truths of Christianity were instilled into their minds, and at the same time they imbued those patriotic principles which induced them to espouse the case of liberty. These were the principles which were ever nourished in their bosoms until the frosts of so many tedious winters whitened their hoary heads to admonish them that their names must be transferred from the rolls of the Revolution and recorded with the vast catalogues of the dead. And now they have gone to join their relatives and friends that have long since gone before them and mouldered into dust. Thus fall the aged oaks that have withstood the blasts and storms of almost a century. But at last the all devouring tide of time with one slight convulsion has tumbled them down. And now those remains that were once so dear will be passed by the heedless stranger, only noticing with curiosity, the little mound that will be heaped over the ashes that was once well worthy by their good examples, of the gratitude and admiration of a grateful people." In Conclusion- The life and times of this innocuous man and his familial contemporaries, become large and note-worthy when writ across the events that caused a sometimes violent birth of a town, a state and a country dedicated to personal freedom. If we could pass John Smith on the street, it is not likely we would notice anything special about him other than an English accent when he said, "hallo." But he and thousands of other immigrants illustrated their mettle when faced with tough work without guarantee of success. They risked absolutely everything. All they demanded was to be treated fairly and allowed to quench their fierce desire to own land and religion. Shouldn't we should honor their passion and memory? Copyright 2007- J.P. Smith, Mesa, AZ. Special acknowledgement belongs to Mary Bort, Don Faust and Fred Graham. References
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