The
Smyth/es of Ireland
This section charts the
results of research into the Smyth family of Durham and
Rosedale Abbey
in Yorkshire - from which family a descendant
son, William Smyth, moved to Ireland with most
of his children in the early 1600s. Click on the
image of Richard David Somerset
Drew-Smythe to ascertain the context of this research.
It is not the intent of
this site to provide a definitive, proven list of
all the Irish (or English) lines since such a
task would be beyond the scope and skill of this
site, not to mention the difficulty of so doing,
given the diversity of the name - Smith, Smithe,
Smyth and Smythe - that existed, and which still
exists, across the genealogical spectrum.
For this reason, no
reliance should be placed upon any of the
information found here or elsewhere in this
"Family Vault" other than as a
guideline for further research. If a particular
family or lineage is of importance to other
researchers, they should make their own,
independent, verifications in support of their
goals. Any additional information on any line
treated on this site or corrections to dates
and/or details are - and have been - most
welcome.
 
Official sources state
that this line begins thus: William Smithdike married
"unknown" and had a child (inter alia?) Thomas Smyth b. 1520 who married Jane
Layton of West Layton in Yorkshire. One of
their children was Thomas Smyth b. 1550 who married Margaret
Lightfoot of West Clayton. Amongst other
children, Thomas Smyth and Margaret Lightfoot had
a son, James
Smyth, (see below) who
married Helen Sayer/s of
Worsall, Northallerton. - To see the
connection between the Sayer/Bulmer/Tempest
families and thence by marriage to Sir John Smythe - of Eshe
Hall, Durham and Acton Burnell (Shropshire)
follow the John Smythe link. Eshe Hall may
sometimes be seen written as Esh or Ash in
various archived public documents.
A large
part of this site research involves an attempt to
find links between the various Smith/e - Smyth/e
families who operated in the public arena during
Medieval and Tudor times - and also during the
momentous changes that came about as a result of
national and international events during the 17th
and 18th centuries. It also includes research
into the late 17th century Shrewsbury apothecary,
William
Smith or Smyth, whose family forms
a link in the maternal line of this site
as opposed to the paternal Smythe ancestry.
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 Special
Feature:- Click
on the shamrock
for the Alphabetical
Smyth(e) Directory -
transcribed from the research
material of the Shearman/Hall
families in Canada - now held in
the Trent University Archives in
Ontario.
This
material lists some 80 members of the
various Smyth/Smythe branches from
Ireland and England; people who had a
connection through a series of 18th and
19th Century letters belonging to Irish
migrants to Upper Canada during the early
1800s.
Particular
thanks are extended to the Archivist at
Trent University, Bernadine Dodge, for
her support and expertise.
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 Very
Special Feature:- Updated
March 2003
- in
Generations 5-7 and with
additional notes
The Smyth(e)
families of England, (Durham and
Yorkshire) pages
provide important site and research notes
that should be read in conjunction with
this family line.
Linked
from them are pages prepared by family
historian, David Smyth
in America whose work does much to shed
light on the ancestry of this family.
Click
on the 'Rosedale' spot on the map above
to go directly to David
Smyth's Smyth family
genealogical commentary.
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The
Smyth Lineage of Rosedale, Yorkshire continues ...
The third son
of James Smyth and Helen Sayer/s was William Smyth. He married Ann Hewley
(who died before 1630). She was the daughter of Sir
Thomas Hewley, and also an aunt of Sir John Hewley, later
MP for Yorkshire. They had four sons and a daughter.
- N.B. From "A
Short History of Baptists in York 1646-1987"
by R. R. Darsley 1987 - "The [religious]
Independents in York, under the patronage of Lady
Hewley, built their first
church in 1692. The Society of Friends had a
meeting in York from the mid-seventeenth century
and the Toleration Act of 1689 with the reign of
William and Mary enabled Non-conformists to
worship without fear, though they were still
denied the full rights of a citizen. Catholicism
remained a strong tradition with the local York
gentry ... "
After the death of his
wife, Ann Hewley, William Smyth left Yorkshire
(circa 1633) to settle in Ireland with the majority of
his children. He became known as "The
First Settler" (at Lisburn, Co. Antrim) -
having first lived at Dundrum, in Co. Down.
The
children of William Smyth and Ann Hewley ...
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