CAVEAT

As is the nature of the Internet, a number of links used in the "Family Vault" - like our ancestors - have gone. Sometimes, by using a reputable web-search engine and a phrase (set between inverted commas) from the quoted material on this site, the information can be retrieved - either from cache or from its new location.

It has also been found that some link destinations have been cyber-jacked and replaced or diverted to pages of questionable repute. The link was correct at the time of research/writing. If you are as indignant as we are then please file a complaint with the original link host - and let this site know so that the link may be expunged.

Medieval Smyth/e - research involving Carrington/Smyth and the Siege of Acre 1191.

Daniel King recorded the armorial bearings (one of which, adapted right) of over 500 landed families of Cheshire in his 1656 book, The Vale Royal of England. It is thought that the arms were in use in about 1630. The lozenges, associated with CAIRINGTON are significant in considering the armorial motif of the Smyth families of Ireland.

Ca(r)rington was the name of the Standard Bearer to King Richard 1st. - (Sir) Michael Carrington

"The Royal Standard of Richard Coeur de Lion was a single passant gold lion. (The familiar English emblem of 3 lions was not adopted until his return to England).  The 'Standard' was used on the crusades.  It was a very long beam - like a ship's mast - placed on solid planks that were on top of 4 wheels.  The apparatus was covered in iron, the king's flag fluttered at the very top and an elite force was assigned to guard it." (Internet Source)

A later generation Carrington - after a spell in exile - (temp. Wars of the Roses) changed his name to Smyth for "security" reasons. It is said that the original "Smyth/e - Smith" was knighted at the siege of Acre. Research is linked to details of "The Lawrence family of Ashton Hall" - Lancashire, England. The Lawrence family was also represented at Acre and knighted for bravery in the field. Ashton Hall eventually became the property of the Hamilton family - another family closely linked with that of Smyth/e. The Reverend H. B. Smythe (Hugh Blagg?) - in James' Worfield on the worfe, 1878 - states: 'In the year 1327, one calling himself 'le Smythe' became possessed of property at Hilton in this manor ..." (South Shropshire)

Smyth/e & the Unicorn - Exaltabit Honore - consideration is given to the heraldic device of the unicorn and the motto as it relates to the lineage of several Smyth families. Note also this link which sets some background to potential biblical era family connectors.

Carrington & some English Smith/Smyth lines of note - Cressing Temple - of Hacthorpe, of Reyworth, of Ashlyns Hall and of Binderton. The families of Stopham, Lewknor, D'Oyley, Tregoz, Camoys and Walton are quarterings on this latter family (Binderton) arms. Augustus Smith of Ashlyns Hall - married, first, 4.7.1799, Frances Arbuthnot. The Arbuthnot family is connected also with that of collateral Anstruther lineage in the maternal line of this site. A Thomas Smith is said to have been of Castletown Hall, Lancashire (date reference unknown). Access via this page to some maternal (and perhaps paternal) Tudor trees and an exploration of the line of Carrington Smith and the seat of Cressing Temple in Essex. Extensive Neville lineage is to be found via this Smythe/Smith line.

Smyth/e of Wootton Hall - Francis Smyth of Wootton Wawen, Warwickshire - perhaps also a branch of the Durhaml/Shropshire family? Francis Smyth, of Wootton, grandson of Sir John Smyth, and 5th in descent from John Carrington or Smith, who died in 1446, and who was 5th in descent from Sir Michael Carrington - Standard Bearer to King Richard I. Sir Michael Carrington died in the Holy Land.

Note also this link Smythe family of Elford which encompasses Smith/Smyth/e research for some American lines and contains details supplied by Roy Huddleston and David Holmes-Smith.

Smith/Smyth family associations with Kingswood and Stapleton - Bristol - where it is a matter of some confusion for researchers to find that Kingswood - associated with the city of Bristol and with "Gloucestershire" for some one hundred and fifty years now - was historically a small island of land deemed to be part of the county of Wiltshire - yet totally surrounded by Gloucestershire. It was not until the mid 1800s that this situation was altered. Given its original isolation, this is an important factor in Smith/Smyth family research. Kingswood has implications for Smith/Roberts genealogy in the paternal line of this Family Vault.

The Barbavilla Smythe Line of Ireland - the context of this site research. The paternal Smythe line of this site is anecdotally descended from a cousin line of the Smythes of Barbavilla, County Meath, Ireland. Research to find this link is on-going. Connected from this page is also the "Alphabetical Smythe Directory" (Shamrock link) which is the result of Canadian research carried out by descendants of this Irish Smyth/e family - originally from Durham and Yorkshire. In the early 17th Century, WiIlliam Smyth of Rosedale Abbey, moved to Ireland and became the progenitor of many of the major Smyth/e families there. A number of Smith/Smyth(e)s were also instrumental in the settlement of America and the New World. Several members of the Irish and Colonial Smith - Smyth/es moved back to England in later generations and, clearly, had maintained family ties with those who had remained.

(Patricia) Pat Smythe - British Olympic Equestrian - of the Irish Barbavilla line - her family background and story. Curtoys Family - The maternal line of Pat(ricia) Smythe - a family journey compiled by Judy Jerkins.

Smith Smyth Smythe families - originally of Yorkshire - in Ireland - Anyone researching the Smith/Smyth/e families in or from England or Ireland should consult this work. This is David Smyth's comprehensive history and analysis of these families. David lives in America and is a descendant of the Hutchinson Smyth line of Ireland. He is continually updating and refining this history as new research material comes to light. His analysis is also an in-depth study of the uneasy mix that results when family reportage and official listings combine to create anomalous information.

Use David's portrait to access a completely revised (XI 2004) version which includes a link to a number of cousin descendant branches of Australia - via 19th Century Pau, in France. This is a large file and links to a .pdf Australian Tree.

Additionally, a most thoroughly researched and well sourced international Smith - Smyth - Smythe site is available here. This is the Ancestry.com Gedcom site of John Young who does much to put the family lines in context. If you are not an Ancestry.com member, you can sign in as a guest in order to access these pages. John's work also serves to highlight the problems associated with conflicting data for the birth, marriage and death dates attaching to several of these early ancestors.

A Catalogue of Smith - Smyth - Smythe - A collection of interest in which may be seen the houses and estates that attached to a variety of Smith, Smyth/e families of Ireland and England through the centuries. The page provides a useful ownership and "sale trail" of many principal properties as well as demonstrating possible marriage connections and lineage markers. On this page there is also a listing of Smith/Smyth(e) individuals connected to books and libraries ...

Some Tudor trees and Smyth/e - Smith connectors may be followed from Ancestral Trees

Bishop William Smith/Smyth (Bishop of Lincoln) associated with the Stanleys (Earls of Derby) and with Kings Henry VII & Henry VIII. Founder of two schools, (Oxfordshire and Lancashire) and of Brasenose College Oxford (with Richard Sutton), he was connected with Prince Arthur and the Council of Wales and was an executor of Henry VII's Will. Just two months later, he was to be an overseer to the Will of Margaret Beaufort - 'the King's Mother' - who died on the 29th of June, 1509, at Abbot's House, Cheyney Gates, Westminster. William Smyth was chiefly responsible for administering the details pertaining to her West Country interests. Margaret Beaufort was a descendant of Edward III through his third son, John of Gaunt. John's third wife, Catherine Roet Swynford, had several children by him as his mistress before he married her and Margaret Beaufort was descended from one of the children born before the marriage. These children were later legitimised but barred from the succession.

Margaret Beaufort and Henry VII - the Nevilles and the Woodvilles - form part of the maternal ancestry of this site - "The Family Vault" - which also contains a maternal line "Smyth" - see William Smyth, Apothecary of Shrewsbury, below. Follow this (.pdf) link for a detailed - and very readable - account of this era, written by Old Mancunian (Manchester Grammar School) J.B. Pickerill, whose research into the life of Hugh Oldham (Bishop of Exeter) shows a close link between the two Bishops against the historical background of the Wars of the Roses and the peace that followed.

Captain John Smith of Lincolnshire - associated with the Princess Pocahontas and the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia. An enigmatic figure, much in conflict with his peers in the Colony - but recognised as one of the foremost explorers/map-makers of his age. This page links to a consideration of the Smythe line of the Baden-Powell family. Seemingly linked to the "Smiths of Cuerdale" - the line of Medieval/Tudor Bishop (of Lincoln) William Smyth - and with potential links to the Smythe family of Hill Hall in Essex, Captain John Smith may be a pivotal person in this connective ancestry research ...

The Ancient Family of Smith from Lancashire - Yorkshire's connection with Lancashire and the Smyth connection with Smyth between the two counties seems to be epitomised by the picturesque River Ribble which flows between the two. It rises in the Pennine Hills which provide a backbone to the beautiful but often brooding Yorkshire Dales and it flows westwards for about seventy five miles ending with its contribution to a vast estuary of the Irish Sea.

The Smith/Smyths of Stratford-on-Avon - Shakespeare's friends and contemporaries ... pictured is Henry Wriothesley - 3rd Earl of Southampton (ancestor in the Maternal Line of this Family Vault) - Shakespeare's renowned patron. Catherine Russell, his great granddaughter, had a second son who was the father of several children in an established common law relationship with Corbetta Smyth.

 

This Stratford Smith site states that a William Smith of Stratford had several sons - of whom two were named William. The younger William was a student at Winchester College and was nephew to John Watson, the then Bishop of Winchester, whose will was dated 1583. The Smith of Stratford site - linked above - states that the children of William Smith and Alice (Watson) (Savage) Smith were:

William, "the elder" and eldest son, b. ca. 1553 and so named in the wills of his mother and his uncle, the Bishop.

Richard, graduated by Christ Church, Oxford in 1570; Vicar of Warcombe, Isle of Wight. He had a son William. (See Compton Reade's Smith Family, 1902, Bristol, for descendants of William.}

Robert, bur. 11 July 1579, Stratford. Probably ill at the date of his father's will in which he is not named.

John, the ironmonger, b. ca 1557.

Thomas, Bapt. 11 Nov. 1563; father of a Richard Bapt. 1583/4.

William, "the younger" called a student in Winchester College in the 1583 will of his uncle, the Bishop of Winchester.

A daughter, referred to in the Bretchgirdle will and a daughter, posthumous, b. ca, 6 April 1579.

Smyth/Smith and the Colleges of Eton and Winchester - An early Head Master at Eton, Clement Smith/Smyth, was also a Head Master at Winchester for a short time (1464 to 1466/7) before returning to Eton. He was then appointed a Canon of Windsor in 1467 but exchanged his canonry for one at St. John's, Chester in 1471. The next Smyth to be Head Master at Eton was John Smyth in 1502/3. Later in that century, a William Smyth became Head Master. This page considers the person of William de Wykeham - founder of Winchester - and the similarity between the Winchester College shield and that of William Smith/Smyth, Bishop of Lincoln, who was born in about 1460.

William Smithdike - assistant to Henry VIII and the reputed progenitor of the major Irish Smyth lines - originally from Yorkshire. The name - if not the person - is something of a mystery. Perhaps he was Smith alias Dike (Dyke) - since double names were fairly common in the Middle Ages as they are now; but while nowadays the old and new names are hyphenated, they were then connected by the word alias for a few generations, after which one or the other was usually dropped. From the format and design of the adjacent shield - of the baronets Dyke of Sussex - a link may be suggested to the design of certain Smith/Smyth/e arms ... perhaps suggesting a fifteenth/sixteenth century alliance between the Smith and the Dyke families. Dyke is also a place name - near Bourne in Lincolnshire - and (less likely) the patronymic may be associated with this place rather than with a family of that name. Access from these pages to research linked to the Smith line of W.H. Smith (booksellers) - the Viscounts Hambleden - and to the Dyke family as conjoined with the Acland family of Devon. This is the line of Henry Walton Smith. (qv below)

Sir Thomas Smythe - a biography of the statesman who became Secretary of State to Edward VI and to Queen Elizabeth I. Consideration is also given to the Estate of Hill Hall, near Epping in Essex and other potential Smyth/s - Smith family connections with that property and family branch. The contents of the Hall were sold July 22+, 1925. Hill Hall bears the following history: Hill Hall at Theydon Mount originated with the family Smith from 1560 onwards - built by Sir Thomas Smith Secretary of State to Edward VI. It was owned by Sir Thomas Smythe (from J.P. Neale's Views, Series 2, vol. I, 1824. Kentworthy-Browne, Guide, III, 1981. J.A. Rush, Seats in Essex, 1897, 103. W. Watts, Seats, 1779.)

Camden wrote (old style 1576) of him: Sir Thomas Smith also, one of the Queenes Secretaries, dyed of a consumption, a man worthy to bee remembered for his manifold learning, and wisedome in many Embassages. Borne hee was of honest Parentage at Saffron-Walton in Essex, brought up in Queene Margarets Colledge in Cambridge, and at riper yeares selected to be sent into Italy at the Queenes charges. (For even to our dayes certaine young men of the best hope out of both the Universities were maintained in foraigne Countries at the Kings charges, for the more plentifull polishing of their wits.) From thence he returned with the title of a Doctour of the Civlll Law, and found such favour with the Duke of Somerset Protector to King Edwrd the sixth, that he was made one of the Kings Secretaries next after Cecyl, Steward of the Stannaries, Deane of Carleol, and Provost of Eton Colledge, whereof he deserved passing well. Queene Mary deprived him of these dignities, assigning him a hundred pounds a yeare pension for life, howbeit with condition that he should not depart the Realme. As soone as Queene Elizabeth enjoyed the Scepter, he was called againe to the service of the Common-wealth, and was present with the Divines at the amending of the English Liturgie, and afterwards performed with commendations those Embassies whereof I have spoken in their proper places. In the yeare 1571, being made one of the Queenes Secretaries, he sent his base Sonne being all the Sons he had, to lead a Colony into Ardes a byland of Ireland, who dyed there unfortunately, as I have said. He was very beneficiall to the state of learning in England, by a law concerning Corne for Colledges of Students which he had first procured; and indeed more beneficiall then by writings, though he left a worke unperfected, of the Common wealth of England, a singular booke of the Orthography of the English tongue, another of the pronunciation of the Greeke, and an exact Commentary of mony matters most worthy to be published."

Smythe of Wiltshire - The Wiltshire line is the line of Thomas "Customer" Smythe, celebrated Elizabethan entrepreneur - or click on the image of Sir Thomas Smith/Smyth, his son, for a biography of this equally illustrious man. He was the third but second surviving son of "Customer" Smythe of Westenhanger, Kent by Alice, dau. of Sir Andrew Judde; brother of John and Richard. The family had a close association with the Pakingtons (see below - Sir Edward Smythe of Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire for the significance of this alliance.)

William Smyth - Apothecary of Shrewsbury - a Smyth from the maternal line. His wife may have been Mary Meryck - Mary as the first name of his wife is known - and their daughter was Corbetta Smyth, mother of the children of Lord William Manners, 2nd son of the 2nd. Duke of Rutland.

This Manners line later took the name of Tollemache - Earls of Dysart. The barony descends from the family of Murray. The Corbet family connection with Smythe may be witnessed in the marriage (October 1595) of Edward Smythe (b circa 1569) - said to be of North Luffenham in Rutland - to Wiburga (Wibrowe) Corbet (of Leicestershire) and his wife, Anne Wymarke (Wimark). The county of Shropshire (Salop) features strongly in pervious Corbet generations in this line. Via the (new window) Edward Smythe link above, Christopher Corbet's line may be followed back to Hugh Le (Corbeau) Corbet and his pre-Conquest roots in Pays de Caux, Normandy. He was born in about 1020. The incidence of Smythe, Manners and the county of Rutland and of Corbet family within such proximity suggests more than coincidence. William Smyth, apothecary, had a brother named Edward and the two brothers may perhaps have been descendants of Edward and Wiburga. William Smyth's eldest daughter, Elizabeth, it is known, was named after her Godmother, Dame Elizabeth Corbet.

Thomas Smith/Smyth - son of William, the Apothecary of Shrewsbury - who matriculated (Wadham College, Oxford) 30th October 1709. This research is linked to (August 2003) information on the family line of Roger Smith who is also following this line as a possible lineage link. Roger Smith's line is also purported to be associated with the line of Customer Smythe (qv above) which suggests an ancestry in common.

Smyth/e of Methven/Braco - of the Orkneys and also of Braco/ Methven. This line has not yet been researched in depth for this site; however, modern era DNA comparisons suggest that all the major Smith/e-.Smyth/e families operating in the public arena since pre-Norman Conquest times, are descended from original Pict ancestry. This is the line associated with one Thomas Smyth who was appointed Apothecary to James III of Scotland, as appears in a charter dated 29 January 1477. ... A Contemporary 'Methven' Note

Smythe - Ironmongers of Oxford - "During the seventeenth century and possibly earlier, the principal Ironmongery establishment in Oxford was owned by the Smythe or Smith family, and from them the business has descended to the present Proprietors. For nearly two centuries the Smythes took a prominent part in the government of the City, and on several occasions held offices of distinction, including that of Chief Magistrate.  One of the earliest was Abel Smythe, admitted as Hanaster (Freeman) in 1537, Councillor ten years later, and Chamberlain in 1584." See also Smith/Smythe family of Oxford information via this site.

Tudor Smythe - the Smyth/e Smith/e families of Wiltshire, Essex and Berkshire as they operated in this era. The name of Smyth/e will be found linked with the Neville (Nevil / Nevill) family through many generations.

Smyth family and Baden-Powell - Robert Stephenson Smythe Baden-Powell, sculpted a bust of Captain John Smith and presented it to Louth Grammar School in Lincolnshire (attended by the latter as a boy). This is the line of Admiral W. H. Smythe, descended from early American settlers who returned to England after the American War of Independence/Revolution. It is also the line of Charles Piazzi Smythe, Astronomer Royal of Scotland. There is no documentary evidence, as yet, to connect Captain John Smith of Lincolnshire with the Smyth/e line of of the Baden-Powell family.

The Smyth family of Nibley in Gloucestershire - a line that originated in Lincolnshire, moving to Leicestershire and thence to Nibley in Gloucestershire. The writings of John Smyth (1568-1641) - born in Leicestershire - provide some of the most valuable historical records available in the modern era. He became Steward to the Berkeley family of Berkeley Castle and recorded that family's history and was also instrumental in settlement ventures, being a principal backer of plantations in the New World colony of Virginia. Many of his letters survive and may be found archived on the Internet. North Nibley (where the family had its home in Gloucestershire) nestles in the Cotswold Hills. Nibley House, the original Smyth home, is next to the church and dates from the 17th Century. Many of the family members were baptised or married at this church and several are buried there. Pedigree 1 | Pedigree 2 (courtesy Tim Powys-Lybbe)

Of the local Cotswold and Oxford area may also be found a Smith family whose descendants went to America and who must also have been associated with contemporary public circles - enough for George III to choose one Thomas Smith to go to Flanders to select carriage horses for him. This is the line of Catherine Monticue Smith in America; she is currently researching this fascinating line and has in her possession a number of family documents and anecdotes from which she is trying to unravel the truth.

Sir Edward Smythe of Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire - a Lord Chief Justice of Ireland - Sir Edward Smythe died in February 1682 and is remembered by a plaque set into the floor of the aisle of St. John the Baptist Church. His son was also named Edward whose wife is named as Mary. Edward and Mary Smythe had a daughter (baptised at the church) Sarah Spencer Smythe. Also remembered in the church is Lucius Smythe. The Smythe property was sold to a member of the Reynolds family towards the end of the seventeenth century.

The Edward Smythe debate - Lords Chief Justice (of the Common Pleas) of Ireland - It appears that there were two men by the name and title of Sir Edward Smythe who served in this capacity. The one (qv above) also served in Parliament at the time of Charles I and died in 1682 whilst the second was associated with Hill Hall (qv) in Essex, married Jane Vandeput the daughter of Sir Peter Vandeput of London and died in 1713 at the age of 77. He was buried in his parish church of Theydon Mount, Essex. Edward (Smijth) Smythe and Jane Vandeput had one son, Edward, born in 1685, who was the only survivor of a family of six.

Henry Walton Smith - was disowned by his family when he married Anna Eastaugh, a servant girl from Suffolk. Henry Walton Smith's paternal line has yet to be identified; however, he was closely connected with the actor, David Garrick and with the artist Joshua Reynolds. A member of the Reynolds family bought land and property from the Smythe family of Whitchurch, Bucks, of which branch, Sir Edward Smythe (qv) was a distinguished ancestor. Born in about 1735, Henry Walton Smith was also connected to the Rogers and to the Cotton families. His father was a naval officer.

Essex Smyth/e -The Smith/Smyths or Smythe (Smijth) of Essex and connection with Cromwell and Tollemache (and Manners, Earls (later Dukes) of Rutland) families.

Shropshire Smythe - of Acton Burnell - 1600s - formerly of Durham. Catholics through several generations when it was dangerous to be so in England.

Smythe and Heath Hall, Yorkshire - Herrington Village - Old Hall and New Hall; said by Dame Ethel Smyth (qv below) to have been the senior branch of the line that went to Ireland in the early 1600s. The Smyth/es of Heath Hall assisted an order of nuns fleeing from the French Revolution and secured their safety in England in collaboration with the Prince of Wales/King George IV and Maria Fitzherbert (Smythe of Acton Burnell line). Maria Smythe (Fitzherbert) wife of King George IVth.

Dame Ethel Smyth - her family background, siblings and her specific genealogy - still under research as a possible link to a Smith/Smythe male ancestor of this site - of Bristol - namely a Thomas Smith whose son, Francis Smith/Smythe, became a Cooper Master and married Martha Roberts. Dame Ethel Smyth - link to the public persona of composer, suffragette and writer - of the Cheshire (via Ireland from Yorkshire) line. This latter line leads (image link on page) to the line of contemporary researcher, Julie Summers, descended from Hugh Blagg Smyth of Macclesfield in Cheshire (qv) - leading back to William Smithdike (qv above) "of the household of the King" (Henry VIII). Members of Dame Ethel's family seem to have been associated with Hill Hall in Essex in more recent times.

Staffordshire Smythe - Isabella Nevill/e & William Smythe of Elford - Staffordshire. Linked also to the family of Huddleston/e.

Cheshire Smythe - The line (via Ireland/Yorkshire) of Thomas Smyth/e, Lord Mayor of Liverpool late 1700s - ancestor of Dame Ethel Smyth, composer and suffragette.

Smyth of Bristol - the Smyth family of Ashton Court - Tudor roots and later generations.

A smattering of other Smyth(e)s ...

The Private E-mails of William Shakespeare - Smith - Smyth - Smythe and the Tudor Internet - proof at last - through the Smith/Smyth/e families - as to who wrote Shakespeare and how it all came about. The "lost years" of William Shakespeare can now be explained through Smith genealogy.

The e-mail fragments William Shakespeare so inadvertently left behind, floating in the ether and quite unreachable until this modern age of sophisticated software, have made it possible to arrange a comfortable (some may say convenient) marriage between the annals of history and the hidden quirks of genealogy. The child of this liaison is something of a squalling brat, destined to howl like a banshee down the hallowed corridors of learning and so turn the world of Shakespeare studies upside down.

John Smythe - A founder of the Baptist movement.

Frank Smythe - Explorer, photographer and mountaineer.

Captain Quentin Smythe, V.C., of Natal, South Africa (of "Smith" Methven Scotland family Smyth/e line)

Pat (Patrick) Smythe - (of "Smith" Methven Scotland Smyth/e family line) Celebrated jazz musician.

About Smyth(e) County USA

The image of the "Flower of Bristowe" (Bristol) - Non-such or Scarlet Lychnis, (Lychnis chalcedonica) leads to a section of analysis and general information about the Smyth/e Smith/e families of Bristol and England in Tudor/Stuart times.

Voyages In Time Enter here for a journey through The Family Vault ~ Drew/Smythe and allied marriage families taken back through each generation. Within the Vault, use portrait links where available or the hypertext links supplied.

TOP © 2004 David Drew-Smythe

Generation 1

Generation 2

Generation 3

Generation 4

Generation 5

Generation 6

Generation 7

Generation 8