| Notes |
- The following is a summary from "The Family of Richard Smith" by F. K. Smith
Based on Richard Smith's academic and intellectual skills and other clues, Frederick K. Smith surmised that Richard was brought up in London, England and that he received a very good education that may have included legal training. He states that Richard likely sailed from England in the ship John of London 2 Oct 1635 bound for St. Christopher's, West Indies. Smith suggests he may have decided to stay in New England and also suggests he was in Boston or Cambridge for a few years before moving to Southampton, Long Island where he was considered an early settler. He was very involved in community business and held public offices there until 1656 when a critical event took place. Richard was returning from a ten-week trip he had taken to England. Smith says:
"In August 1656 there landed on the shores of Massachusetts Bay the forty-one passengers of the ship Speedwell with Robert Lock as master which had sailed from Gravesend, England on the thirtieth day of May. Among them there were eight designated as Quakers and, of the others not so designated, one was Richard Smith, aged forty-three years. Quakers, not being viewed as desirable additions to the community, the eight who had been entered as such on the passenger list were arrested and held in prison for some weeks and then sent away from the colony. Richard Smith was accorded a similar reception as it appeared he had come to adopt the religious views of the Quakers."
While in prison for three weeks, Richard received a letter from the Governor and Magistrates of Massachusetts before his release suggesting that he consult ministers of the church to understand the error of his ways. Smith goes on with the following excerpt from "Felt's Ecclesiastical History of New England:"
"Smith was of Long Island. [Upon his release] he attended public worship and, after the minister was done, publicly requested that, as the Governor desired him to converse with some of the ministers so that they might convince him of his error, they would accordingly address him. When told that the proposed interview was intended to be private, he wanted it otherwise. After three weeks detention he was sent home by water."
Smith goes on later to say, "It is likely that ...... Richard Smith did not devote much time to theological matters and it is not likely that he adopted the whole body of Quaker doctrine as a serious religious conviction." Although some of his descendants were definitely Quakers and he was known as "Quaker Smith," there is no evidence of any affiliation of Richard Smith with a Society of Friends Meeting. None-the-less, according to Frederick K. Smith, Richard can be counted in 1656 as the first Quaker convert of North America.
Following the events of August and September 1656 in Boston, the drama continued back in Southampton. On 17 Sep 1656, Richard was given orders to leave town for "unreverend carriage towards the magistrates" (Topping and Ogden). He had one week to depart or be fined. On 6 Oct 1656 he was fined five pounds for still being in the town.
During that Fall, Richard removed to Setauket on the North side of Long Island. He worked for about twelve years to put together a very large block of land and in 1677 he received a "Second Patent" from Governor Andross. It was here that he established Smithtown and it remains a municipality on Long Island today.
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Abt 1613 - 1691 (78 years)