 During the 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries England was ravaged by plaques, famine, and religious
conflict. Protestantism the newly found political fervor of Cromwelliamism and democratic government,
and remnants of the RomanChurch rejected all non believers. The changing rule caused burnings,
hangings and banishment's of all sects and creeds. Many families were freely "encouraged" to migrate
to Ireland, or to the "colonies". Some were rewarded with grants of lands, others were
banished. The families who migrated to Ireland became known as the Adventurers for land in Ireland.
Protestant settlers "under took to keep their faith", being granted land previously owned by the
Catholic Irish. That the family name migrated to Ireland, but this does not preclude the possibility
of their scattered migration to that country.The New World offered better opportunities and some
unfulfilled, but many left directly from their home territories. Some also moved to the European continent.
The Saxon race gave birth to many
English surnames not the least of which was the surname Smart. The
saxons, invited into England by the Ancient Britons of the 4th
century, were a fair skinned people their home was the Rhine Valley.
They were led by 2 brothers, General / Commanders Hengist &
Horsa. The Saxons settled in the county of Kent, in southern
England. During the next 400 yrs they forced the Ancient Britons
into Wales and Cornwall in the West, and Cumberland in the North.
The Angles occupied the eastern coast, the south folk in Suffolk,
and North folk in Norfolk. Under Saxon rule England prospered under
a series of High Kings, The last of which was Harold.
In 1066, The Norman invasion from
France occurred and their victory at the Battle of Hastings. In
1070, Duke William took an army of 40 thousand north and wasted the
Northern counties, forcing many rebellious Norman nobles and Saxons
to flee over the border into Scotland. The Saxons who remained in
the south were not treated well under hostile Norman rule, and many
also moved northward.
Nevertheless, this notable
English family name, Smart, emerged as a influential name in the
county of Devon where they were recorded in the Domesday Book of
1086. By the 13 century they had branched eastward along the south
coast to West Chickerel in Dorset and to Suffolk and several
locations in the city of London.
By the 15 century they had moved
north to Trewhitt House in Northumberland and across the border into
Scotland. Henry Smert was a scottish prisoner of war in 1422, who
was released to find his own ransom. John Smert held lands in
Kintore in Scotland in 1488. William Smart joined the outlawed Clan
MacGregor in 1612. The family held business interests in Muresk and
Tollochin in Scotland. Their present family seats are at Bere Mill
and Trewhitt. Notable amongst the family at this time was Henry
Smart, prisoner of war.
Members of the farmland named
Smart sailed aboard the huge armada of three masted sailing ships
known as the "White Sails" which plied the stormy Atlantic. These
over crowded ships such as the Hector, the Dove and the Rambler,
were pestilence ridden, sometimes 30% to 40% of the passenger list
never reaching their destination. Amongst the first settlers in
North America, which could be considered a kinsman of the surname
Smart, or a variable spelling of that family name was John Smart who
settled in Massachusetts in 1635; another John settled in Jamaica in
1670; another John settled in Barbados in 1680 with his servants and
brother Samuel also settled with his wife, child and servants;
William Smart settled in Virginia in 1643; Thomas and Richard Smart
settled in Barbados in 1635. In Newfoundland, the family named Smart
settled on Change Islands, and A. Smart settledc in Placientia in
1724; Amos Smart settled in harbour in 1810; George Smart was a
planter of Catalina in 1847; they also settled at Stone Harbour,
Fortune, Twillingate, Herringneck and Little Bay Island.
From the port of entry many
settlers made there way west, joining the wagon trains to the
Prairies or to the West Coast. During the American War of
Independence, many Loyalists made their way North to Canada about
1790, and became known as the United Empire Loyalists.
Contemporary notables of this
surname, Smart, include many distinguished contributors, Andrew
Smart, Guided Weapons Director; Professor George Smart, Clinical
Medicine; and General Robert Smart, Medical Officer; and Professor
Ninian Smart, Metaphysics; Lesley Smart, Railway Director.
During the course of our research
we also determined the many Coat of Arms granted to different
branches of the family name.
The most ancient grant of Coat of
Arms found; Silver on a chevron between three black arrow heads, a
gold five leafed clove.the crest was: An eagle with a Burdock in its
beak.
The ancient family Motto for this distinguished name was:
"Virtus"
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2006
margeret(nospam)@iinet.net.au
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