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Samuel Smitherman was born in 1723
in the borough of Whitechapel, City of London, Middlesex County,
England. His parents were Samuel and Phoebe Smithyman. This
information is found in The International Genealogical Index compiled
by the Church of Latter Day Saints. This Index contains millions
of entries of baptism and marriage extracted from parish records
in all of England. The entry for Samuel reads:
Samuel 28-April-1723 son
of Samuel and Phoebe Smithyman, baptised at St. Mary, Whitechapel,
Middlesex.
The other entries for this family
show Samuel's two brothers: John, 20-April-1720, and Matthew,
21-September-1721. Both are shown as sons of Samuel and Phoebe
Smitheman or Smytheman; being baptised at St. Mary, Whitechapel,
Middlesex.
It is interesting to note that the
spelling of the surname is slightly different in each of the three
entries. A perfect example of the same person having different
spellings at the same place in a short period of time.
Nothing is known about the parents
of Samuel, nor do we know anything about the childhood of Samuel
and his brothers. We do know that during the reign of King George
II, that began in 1714, that most of the common people of England
lived in abject poverty.
A book by Marion and Jack Kaminkow,
"Original Lists of Emigrants in Bondage From London
to the American Colonies, 1719-1744", has an entry
that tells us that Samuel Smitherman, age 21, was sentenced to
transport to the colonies. The entry on page 200:
Samuel Smytheman from Middlesex Prison to the Colonies
Ship "Justitia", Captain Lach Campbell
Date received on board in London
harbor: 18-May-1744
Samuel's crime is not known, but
it must not have been of a serious nature because he was in Middlesex
which was known to have been a prison for persons found guilty
of lessor crimes. It was not very difficult to be sent to prison
in the 1700's because most any thing could be considered a crime,
things like: being a Quaker, being in debt, cutting down a tree
or standing mute. In fact there were about 150 different crimes
punishable by death or imprisonment. During the reign of King
George II there were around 50,000 persons sentenced to transport
to the American colonies for indentured service. In the great
majority of cases, the person's greatest offense against society
was only being poor and in having no way to change the situation.
At any rate, Samuel Smitherman was
sentenced to transport in the April-May session of the Middlesex
Court and was then put on board the ship "Justitia"
on 18-May-1744. Various books and Publications give vivid and
detailed reports of the hardships suffered by the persons being
transported. Sometimes the conditions were so bad that the planters
in America recommended that the ship Captain be tried in court
upon his return to England; and some were.
Not widely known is the fact that
a few hundred people voluntarily came to the colonies for a term
of four years of indentured service. For the most part they fared
no better than the convicts for there are only a few recorded
cases where any of these persons had money to pay for their travel.
Hector St. John Crevecoeur wrote in his, "Letters From an
American Farmer": were I a poor hopeless, breadless Englishman,
and not restrained by the power of shame, I should be very thankful
for passage. What was intended as punishment has been the good
fortune of several. They are now become industrious and useful
citizens.
Details of the treatment of convicts
upon their arrival in the colonies can be found in various books
and publications. One description is found in a 1770 Journal
of the House of Commons: "The Captain sent on board a hogshead
of rum, desired the men to shave and the women to put on their
best head dresses. Then the planters came on board asking for
joiners, carpenters, blacksmiths, weavers, tailors and the punch
bowl went merrily round." The planters paid the Captain
20 to 30 pounds for the convict of their choice, a sum that more
than paid for the cost of their transport. Peter Williamson's
pamphlets give a good description of the markets in Maryland and
Virginia, as well as a description of the planters purchasing
convict labor. He writes: "the planters themselves are
generally of an idle, indolent disposition, not carrying to fatigue
themselves with work." This description fit Peter according
to those who commented on his writings.
The Reverend Jonathan Boucher, Rector
of Annapolis wrote in his autobiography, "There were in reality
a sprinkling of well-to-do and educated persons among the transportees."
Being a friend of the Washington family and having knowledge
about the family he also wrote, "George Washington was taught
by an educated convict servant whom his father had purchased for
a schoolmaster."
An article "Observations in
Several Voyages and Travels to America" found in one issue
of the 1746 London Magazine says: "several of the best planters,
or their ancestors, have been of the convict class and therefore,
are much to be praised and esteemed for forsaking their old courses.
Heaven itself, we are told, rejoices more over one sinner that
repenteth than over ninety and nine that never went astray."
We may condemn the convict or we
may pity him, but it is safe to say that the colonies could not
have developed so quickly without him. The convicts performed
the arduous task of clearing and cultivating the land, not just
for the benefit of their masters but for the benefit of posterity.
We ourselves enjoy the richness of the land which
they first strove to make productive without any reward during
their years of bondage.
So. we know we had a very hardy ancestor that maybe had some education and a lot of ambition. Samuel served his indenture, which we know nothing about, married a woman named Sarah, had a large family and became a planter in his own right. There is a long period where any information on Samuel is lacking, maybe because of the loss of many of the Virginia records during the 1700's. We find the Smithermans in the 1782 United States Census for Fairfax County, Virginia. List of Daniel McCarty:
Samuel Smitherman family of 7 free white persons
Samuel Smitherman Jr. family of 6 free white persons
William Smitherman family
of 4 free white persons
At about the same time we find another
son of Samuel in the 1784 State Census of Surry County, North
Carolina:
Thomas Smitherman family
of 7 free white persons
There can be no doubt that these
male Smithermans are sons of Samuel because they did not
migrate to America from another country. No Smithermans can be
found in the immigration records for this period.
On 10-July-1784, Samuel Smitherman
entered into an agreement with William Fitzhugh Jr.: to lease
by deed, 134½ acres of land along the Pohich Creek in the
southeastern area of Fairfax County, Virginia. Mentioned in the
deed is Sarah, wife of Samuel Smitherman. Nothing has been discovered
about Sarah; we do not know her surname nor do we know when she
and Samuel were married. Also found in the Deed is Hugh Smotherman,
youngest known son of Samuel Smitherman, who is living at home
and is a responsible party to the deed.
Samuel Smitherman is now a planter
and a citizen of sustenance.
Next we find Samuel Smitherman and
his son William in the 1785 Tax List for Fairfax County, Virginia.
List of Richard Chichester:
Samuel Smitherman family of 8 free white persons
William Smitherman
family of 4 free white persons
Both Samuel and his wife Sarah must
have died prior to 1790 because no trace of them has been found
after that date. It is not known where they were buried. If
they attended church, more than likely they went to Pohich Church
because it was nearest to them and they could have been buried
in the Church grave yard. All the known cemeteries in Fairfax
County, Virginia, have been cataloged and there is not a Smitherman
buried in a marked grave. The Virginia Historical Society says
that there are maybe thousands of persons buried under the miles
of concrete in Fairfax County and there is no way that their identity
will ever be known.
So, Samuel Smitherman, a man who
climbed out of what was no doubt the deepest depths of despair
at times in his life, became a good citizen of the United States
of America, but best of all: he became the progenitor for most
of the Smitherman/Smotherman clan in the United States.
Written by: Bob Smitherman