| Notes |
In his late teens he was apprenticed to a boatwright who trained him
in that craft until he obtained sufficient perfection as to be
acceptable to the guild of that industry. He selected undoubtedly a
livelihood which had been hereditary in his family, as was customary
in England and the Continent of his day, and the fact that he aspired
to be a designer and constructor of boats indicates perhaps early days
spent near the seacoast. Furthermore, the Netherlanders being among
the foremost seafaring peoples of his day, adds another thread to his
Dutch origin.
(Source: The Virginia Adventure, by Ivor Noël Hume, published by
Alfred A. Knoff, Inc., 1994, p 136)
Sometime during the year 1633 William Smute was in London when he, as
a member of the Boatwright Guild, agreed to perform 50 days of work in
Virginia for Colonel Thomas Burbage. It was this contract no doubt
which changed his destiny from being a progenitor of a relatively
provincial family in England to one which subsequently attained in
some branches wealth and position in America.Shortly after the year
1633 William Smute sailed from England and settled at Hampton, York
(now Elizabeth City) County.
The first mention of his name in public records is that of February
24, 1642, when he was granted for the transportation of eight persons
into Virginia "400 acres of land in the Countie of Yorke near the head
of Tymber Creek on the north side of Charles River near the land of
Mr. Minifee" Research fails to disclose the identity of the persons
whom he brought into the country, but it can be assumed that they were
servants and his immediate family, for circumstances are such that as
early as 1633 he must have been the father of several young children.
1642....Virginia Patent Book No. 1-Part II, 874:
"To all &c Whereas &c Now know yee that give and grannt to William
Smoote four hundred acres of Land in the Countie of Yorke neare the
head of a Creeke called Tymber Neck Creeke on the North Side of
Charles river beginning at ____ marked trees that runs from timber
Neck Creeke North Northwest three hundred and eightie pole and divides
this Land from the land of Mr Minifee and from thence East North East
two hundred and fifty pole and from thence three hundred and eightie
pole South South East into a branch of timber Necke Creeke then down
the branch into the marked trees where it began which four hundred
acres of Land being due for the transportation of eight persons into
this Colony To have and to hold &c to bee held & Yielding and paying
&c which payment is to be made Seven years after this iiijth of
February, 1642".
He next appears on record as "William Smote of Hampton Boatright".
There from all circumstances he maintained an establishment befitting
his rank and position in the community, and pursued his trade as
boatwright, constructing with the aid of indentures many of the
watercrafts used by the early settlers. In 1644 George Codd completed
his term of servitude under William Smute, so consequently the court
ordered the granting to Codd, in accordance with the rules of
indentures fulfilling their service, "3 barrels of corn and cloathes".
William Smute fought in the campaign against the Pamunky and
Chickahominy Indians, and for his services he was granted 600 pounds
of tobacco on October 1, 1644, by the Grand Jury held at James City.1
For his participation in one of the early Indian Wars, all of his
proved male descendants who maintain the position today of "gentlemen"
are eligible to membership in the Society of Colonial Wars in America.
William Smoot and his son-in-law, William Hungerford, were among those
who on April 17, 1650, signed the Stone's Declaration as "We the said
Lieutenant, Council, Burgesses, and other Protestant inhabitants"
declared that they enjoyed "all fitting and convenient freedom and
liberty in the exercise of our religion under his Lordship's
Government and interest". Thus, there is evidence that William Smoot
was a member of the Established Church of England and was not in
opposition to the Roman Catholic faith of the Calverts. Until the
Revolution his descendants adhered strictly to the Anglican Church,
one taking Holy Orders and being rector of the parish at historic St.
Mary's City.
On January 26, 1652, William Smoot assigned a portion of "Atwicke's
Purchase", lying next to the lands of John Hatch, to Humphrey Atwickes
and another portion to Richard Smoot. The transactions were
acknowledged by Grace Smoot his wife. In 1658 William Smoot patented
240 acres of land on the west side of the Wicomico River known as
"Smootwood", a portion of which he subsequently assigned to William
Barton. This tract became known as "The Hills", 190 acres being later
held by Walter Hanson and 50 acres by Notley Maddox. In 1665 he
transported seven persons into Maryland for which he was granted 350
acres of land, and later an additional six persons for which he
received 300 acres. The latter he assigned to Richard Morris.
William Smoot practised his profession in Maryland by designing and
constructing many of the early vessels used in the inter-colonial
trade between Maryland and Virginia. He built a pinnace for Ralph
Beane, of St. Mary's County, and another for Charles Calvert, Esq. In
1649 he sold a boat to a Mr. Groffey, of Virginia. His interest was
not only centered in the construction of watercrafts but in trading as
well. He at one time purchased a boat from Governor Leonard Calvert
and after using it for a period, he sold it in the year 1647. He was
in touch with people and affairs in Virginia, and in 1651 certain
business was transacted between him and Captain Francis Morgan, of
York County.
His reputation as an authority on watercrafts was recognized to the
extent that he was called upon to appraise various vessels. On
September 1, 1662, "William Smoote, Carpenter, aged 65 years" deposeth
upon oath that the "ship called St. George's as she now lyes sunk in
the Wiccommico River was worth 2,000 pounds of tobacco and no more".On
January 21, 1652/3, Colonel Thomas Burbage instituted legal action
against William Smoot through the former's attorney Captain Thomas
Cornwallys, of St. Mary's City, for the alleged non-fulfillment
of the contract made in England. "Satisfaction upon a bond of £4
Sterling Entered into by the defendt about 20 years since in England .
. . for the payment of 50 days work in Virginia". William Smoot
defended himself, declaring to be 56 years of age and stating that he
discharged the contract according to conditions. The case was
dismissed and William Smoot was awarded 150 pounds of tobacco for his
trouble and expense in coming about 40 miles from his home to appear
at court. At this time it is believed he was domiciled on his estate
bordering the Wicomico as the distance from Herring Creek to St.
Mary's City would appear to be somewhat less.
His wife at the time of his migration to the Province was Grace ----,
whom he had married as a widow Wood, with a daughter. No record has
been found of an earlier marriage, but it is noted that the given name
of Grace is missing among the descendants of his sons.Grace, the wife
of James Atwickes and later that of Thomas Hinton, was referred to by
some of the children as "sister". She and her first husband, however,
were transported into Virginia by John Dorman, of Northampton County,
who demanded land in 1655. It is therefore a question whether she was
born Grace Wood or Grace Smoot. William Smoot, however, did not
transport her with his family in 1646, but she came into Maryland at a
later date through the activities of John Waghop who transported her,
her husband, and children--William and Jeane Atwickes.
William Smoote was in sympathy with Josias Fendall and consequently
was involved in the legal proceedings following his prosecution. On
April 17, 1661, at the Provincial Court he was arraigned with twelve
others for "mutinously, seditiously, and the instigation of the Devil
... assembled at the house of Josias Fendall in Charles County in
February 1660, and attempted by force to rescue Josias Fendall
formerly the Governor of the Province and William Hatch Secretary".
The jury returned a verdict of "not guilty".Grace Smoote, the wife of
William, died on January 14, 1666. Inasmuch as she was reported in the
records as the "wife", William Smoote was apparently living at that
date. It is believed that he died intestate shortly afterwards, by
1670 at the latest. No record has been found of the appraisement of
his estate nor the administration
(Source: "The Smoots of Maryland and Virginia". Author: Harry Wright
Newman)
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1596 - 1671 (75 years)