Documentary reference to Nehemiah and Ann Smith

One of the last items to be found in the documentary history for Nehemiah Smith is a deed in which he transfers the deed to his home lot to his daughter Mehitable’s husband Joshua Abell who he refers to as my son. In the deed Nehemiah notes “Whereas I and my So and tender wife are by the province of God in a weakly way”. He then bequeaths the home lot to Joshua with the condition that in order to gain full ownership he must care for them in their old age. He mentions the home lot the dwelling house and the orchards. What we actually have is the document that provides the final disposition of the deed. In it the courts are granting the land to Joshua. The original deed was dated January 12, 1684. This document is finalized January 18, 1692. One of the witnesses is Nehemiah Smith Jr. The key notation is that the document references both Nehemiah Smith and Ann Smith.

Mary Smith daughter of Nehemiah Smith

There is a very faint documentary trail for Mary the daughter of Nehemiah Smith and his wife Sarah Anne Bourne. We have previously published her baptismal record from New Haven. From the family histories we are told that she married Samuel Raymond the brother of her sister Elizabeth’s husband Joshua. We have not found a marriage record. In the volumes that make up the collective documentary history for the early New England towns we find the history for our ancestry recorded in the birth, death and marriage records of their children. We find notations and hints in a variety of places. In the history of the ladies society that note, Mary the daughter of, etc. The Smith family histories hint that Samuel and Mary did not have any children. As a result the usual documentary sources are silent. There are no great grandchildren to publish the collective family memory. What we do have is Samuel’s will. In several places in the will we see references to his widow Mary. The last item on the last page of Samuel’s will is a paragraph that is in essence her will. She apparently passed away during the time frame in which her husband’s estate was being adjudicated. By contemporary standards it was a large estate. We see scattered in its pages Samuel’s nieces and nephews. On the final page we see the name of Nehemiah Smith Jr. My favorite page is captioned “The Widows part of the Movables”. This page in a quiet way provides a commentary on a women’s role in the Congregational world of the 1600 and 1700’s. Women were defined as their husbands’ wife. Even though most of them were referred to as, my beloved, or in other such terms the estate did not automatically fall to them. They were instead left a portion, which then reverted to the children on their death. Nevertheless in Samuel’s will we indeed find a documentary trail for Mary Smith. You may click on the documents to enlarge.

Azuba Griffin and Henry Davis of Killingworth

Azuba/Samuel/ Samuel------Azuba Griffin married Henry Davis on December 22, 1785 the marriage is recorded in the town records. The Griffin and Davis families were well established in the Killingworth Second Society. Their baptisms and the baptism of their children are recorded in the Second Society records and the notebook of the Deacon Abraham Pierson. Did Azuba and Henry first get to know each other during the 3 or 4 hours spent at church each Sunday? In the town records we find the family of Samuel Griffin and his wife Marah Griffin. Azuba’s date of birth is noted on April 9, 1765. The Second Society records note that she was baptized a few days later on April 14, 1765. Azuba joined a family of two girls, Lois (Stephen Kelsey) and Polly (Reuben Doud), on the home lot on Roast Meat Hill. Life changed quickly for her when her mother died in August. Her father took care of the three girls until the next spring when he married his neighbor’s daughter Mercy Nettleton. Being less than a year old when Mercy came into the home she in all likelihood developed her maternal bond with Mercy. That bond was broken a short few years later on the death of Mercy Nettleton and about the age of five she gained a third mother when Samuel married Mercy Bailey. Whatever home keeping skills and mindset she took to her marriage with Henry were in all likelihood learned at the apron strings of Mercy Bailey. With the addition of Mercy Nettleton’s 2 boys and Mercy Bailey’s 6 children life was probably a little crowded in the Griffin house. Although before the six boys grew into full rowdy Azuba and her two sisters were married and living in their own homes. Her chores probably centered on the large fireplace that dominated the main room in the house. Given the hints of apples, cherries and mincemeat I wonder which pie was her specialty. With her father producing cloth with his loom did the Griffin girls make their “egg” money sewing? Her son Leonard left a collection of books in his will did his first reading lessons come from his mother? As we proposed in the article based on Leonard’s probate I think Azuba and Henry made their living with a dairy herd. A dairy operation implies fields to produce hay and grain for the milk cows. 200 plus acres will grow a lot of hay. Most households also had a cottage industry it appears the Davis family produced cider. Azuba lived to her 78th year. I hope they were good years. I know I could be quite happy in a house with milk, cream, butter, cheese and good bread. ------ Azuba and Henry are associated with the so-called “stone house” mentioned in Leonard’s will. In a town made up almost entirely of wood frame houses a masonry house probably stood out. It must have been something of a land mark for they are buried in the Stone House Cemetery a small cemetery, that is no longer used, located in the north end of Killingworth. To those visiting Killingworth it is my assumption that it marks the location of Henry and Azuba’s property. Henry Davis was born in Killingworth November 17, 1763 one of 8 children born to Samuel Davis and Elizabeth Hull. The 1790 Census records him living in Killingworth with 1 male child under the age of 16 and 4 females. The 4 females included Azuba and supposedly 3 daughters. Birth records only accounts for 2 daughters. Was the third female a child, sister or mother? Who was the male born before 1790? Henry and Azuba are buried in a family plot that includes: A marble pillar with the name Henry Davis. ------Headstones that read, In memory of Henry Davis, who died June 21, 1835, aged 71. ------In memory of Azuba, wife of Henry Davis, who died Oct. 8, 1843, aged 78. ------In memory of Leonard Davis, who died July 20, 1840, aged 49. ------Davis, Arta, wife of Leonard, died Jan 5 1867, age 77 yrs.( Arta Hill) ------Son of Leonard and Arta Davis, aged 2 years, and an unmarked fieldstone. There are two other plots of interest for us in Stone House. The first is for Azuba’s daughter Rebina. The headstones reads, Rebina, wife of Joseph Porter Lane, Died Dec 31, 1875, age 79 yrs. and Joseph Porter Lane, Died Sept 27, 1875, age 84 yrs. The second plot is that of Azuba’s sister Lois. In Memory of Lois, wife of Stephen Kelsey, died March 22, 1844, age 83 yrs. and several headstone for her husband one from the family one by the veterans organizations of his day that state Stephen Kelsey, Rev War, Capt. Baldwin’s Co, died Mar 22, 1833, age 76 yrs., Veteran. ------ Azuba and Henry had 6 children. We have detailed birth and baptismal records for them but strangely very little else. From the cemetery records we have death and marriage information for Leonard and Rebina. But for the 4 girls, Chloe, Clarinda, Achsah and Elizabeth we do not have any additional verifiable information. Another anomaly for the Davis children is the gap in time between their birth and their baptism. The interval is quite long by Killingworth standards. The oldest child was Chloe. From the family record in the town records we have a date of birth “June ye 11th 1786. The Second Society Records document her baptism on October 8, 1786. The second child Clarinda was born November 2, 1787 and baptized April 13, 1788. Leonard was born April 23, 1791 and baptized July 10, 1791 the notation simple states “son of Henry Davis”. Leonard died July 20, 1840; Ashsah was born September 11, 1792 and baptized November 11, 1792. Elizabeth was born March 16, 1794 and baptized July 6, 1794. Rabina was born June 14, 1796 and baptized September 25, 1796. Her Headstone notes her death on December 31, 1875. -------For documents we have the marriage of Henry and Azuba as recorded in the Second Society records. We also have the record of them being granted Full Communion as a couple. There is a brief notation on Henry’s death. From the town records we have the concise little record of their family, which, is the source for the birth dates in Barbour. From the Second Society records we have the entries for the baptism of each of their children. We have also added a few cemetery records. The first is a picture of the Stone House Cemetery. In the cemetery we find the headstone for Rebina and her husband Joseph Lane. Also we have the headstones for Lois and Stephen Kelsey.------ Since finishing the essay on Azuba we have come across a marriage record hidden in the Killingworth records."Chloe Davis married Nathan Fowler of Guilford January 5, 1801". There is a death record in Durham that reads Nathan Fowler d. 31 Dec 1834 age 53. Also, Wife of Nathan Fowler d. Oct 22, 1843 age 57. Someone had hand written in the note "Chloe" If you do the math the date of birth would be 1786 a perfect match for Chloe. Yet unverified family histories suggest that they named a daughter Jane Azuba.

Hannah Smith daughter of Nehemiah Smith

The only record for the birth of Hannah Smith is a note written on the margin of her baptismal Record “H.S. 44” where she is noted as the daughter of Sarah Smith. She married Stephen Bradley in New Haven in November of 1663. The birth of their children is recorded in the town records of Guilford. The death of her husband Capt. Stephen Bradley is noted in the “Record of Mortality Guilford” June 20, 1702. In most histories she is incorrectly listed as the daughter of George Smith of New Haven rather than the daughter of Nehemiah and Sarah (Anne) Smith. Some histories make an accommodation by combining the identities of George Smith and Nehemiah Smith creating a George Nehemiah Smith and in turn showing George married to Sarah Anne Bourne. The family history of Hannah Smith became scrambled amid the patriotic rush of the young country of America as it tried to establish a national historical identity. Part of that rush was a concerted effort to record and honor its early beginnings. Thus we see efforts by states, cities and families to recover and preserve the early history of America. What we see is projects like the Barbour Collection for Connecticut and numerous historical and genealogical collections being put together. We see, for example, efforts to carefully document the passengers on board the Mayflower and members of the Winthrop Fleet. One of the most commonly produced collections is usually titled “Propritors”. The original founders of any one community or the original group that developed the land for colonization in a region has been religiously recorded. We see Henry Doude’s name on such a list for Guilford. Within families we see, in effect, an American version of tracing a royal line manifested in tracing a family line back to one of the original emigrants to America. We have recently spent some time on the Blog discussing the Doud family and the material collected by the descendants of Henry Doud. These collections are a marvelous source of information and until the coming of the computer age remained for most genealogical researchers, who lacked access to original source material, the primary source of family information. They were put together in a time when travel and communication was somewhat limited. This circumstance restricted the amount and type of material collected. When viewed in this light it’s easy to understand what these collections are and are not. What they are, in some instances, is the only source for some family data, data that only existed in family records and oral traditions. What they are not, in many cases, is a detailed review of primary source material. This circumstance opens the door to inaccurate and incomplete data. We have demonstrated on several occasions the problems that arise in transcription errors both large and small. The biggest risk is that a mistake made in the 1800’s could be perpetuated almost indefinitely. These problems are exaggerated in the case of families that gained some prominence. The assumption was that these families had the wherewithal to produce a detailed family history. Those histories then took on an air of trustworthiness that was never seriously challenged. I in my own research have used such material and have been surprised when I have found factual errors in material that I judged to be very reliable. In our own family tree, as documented on the blog, we have pointed out some of these inaccuracies. One of the names in the Griffin tree that is the most misconstrued is that of above-mentioned Hannah Smith the wife of Stephen Bradley. Her history is plagued by all of the problems we just mentioned. She is linked in most histories to the family of George Smith of New Haven instead of her actual parents Sarah Anne Bourne and Nehemiah Smith. New Haven was one of the original Colonies. Its history has been transcribed in some detail and its prominent families, such as the Bradleys, have had a good deal of attention paid to their history. But the key point working against Hannah is the fact that she was born in the 1600’s. By the time the aforementioned material was organized a significant amount of time and connection had passed. The key document used by subsequent historians is the following transcription taken from the original New Haven records. In the transcription we find listed on one page these two families listed one family directly after the other. ------ The first family:------ "Sister Smith, wife of George Smith------ 18 Apr 1647, John-- 16 Sep 1649, Elizabeth-- 7 Dec 1651, Samuel-- 14 Aug 1655 Joseph-- 8 Feb 1656, Nathan"------- The second family:------ "Sarah Smith, wife of Nehemiah Smith------- 14 Dec 1645, Sarah, b. 1642-- 14 Dec 1645, Mary, b. 1642-- 14 Dec, 1645, Hannah, b. 1644-- 22 Feb 1645, Mercy, b. 1645-- 22 Feb 1645, Elizabeth-- 24 Oct 1646, Nehemiah--" If you have a chance to view the original town records you will recognize that this material is scattered over the first 50 pages and has been extracted name by name and page by page then edited and reorganized into family groups the transcription of which we see above. There are several points that need to be made. The first point is that the authors, with the exception of George Smith’s son Ebenezer, got the family groups exactly right. In the record books in early America children are almost always identified by their connection to their father with the mother very seldom being mentioned. That is certainly the pattern in all of the Killingworth records we have posted. In the case of George Smith in the original records each of his children is listed by date and as the son of George Smith. There is no mention anywhere of his wife in the original records. The family of Sarah and Nehemiah is the exception to all of the rules. In the original records all of the children are identified as the son or daughter of Sarah Smith. In the case of her son Nehemiah he is identified as the son of Sarah Smith who is then identified as the wife of Nehemiah Smith. Thus when the record was transcribed identifying all of the children associated with Sarah Smith the editor correctly added the Nehemiah to the whole record. The key point is that when reading the original records it is very easy to recognize that these are two distinctly different families just as the original editors did. But! In subsequent histories these two families have been combined into a single entity. The key factors are the fact that both wives are named Sarah and that the dates of birth flow seamlessly from one family to the next as if they were in fact all of one family. If you overlook the reference to Nehemiah this is an understandable conclusion. The preeminent genealogist for the period, Donald Lines Jacobus writing in the early 1900’s, jumbled the two families and it seems everything written subsequent to his publication has followed his lead. To help distinguish between the two let me offer the following observations.------ The documentation for the two families is included in separate postings on the Blog. ------George Smith was born in 1618 in Stockport, Cheshire, England. He was a part of the group that followed the Rev. John Davenport to New Haven, Connecticut. His name is found on the list of that town's founding fathers. His name appears frequently in town and court records which all refer to him as George Smith. Most historians conclude that he probably married in New Haven in about 1641 but those early marriage records no longer exist. The birth dates for his last four children are found in the New Haven town records. His two oldest children John and Elizabeth were born before the existing Volume One was started. The town records for New Haven are well organized and thorough. His children are noted as being the sons or daughters of George Smith. For example for his son Samuel the records reads "Samuel Smith the sonn of George Smith was born 4th of December 1651". There is no record for a Hannah, Sarah or Mercy as the daughters of George Smith. The baptism of all of George Smith’s children is noted in the church records. They all married and lived in New Haven. Their marriages are recorded in the New Haven records. George’s death is recorded in the New Haven records Vol. 1 page 110 on December 20, 1662. His probate is dated December 22, 1662. There is a record of John Jackson taking as his second wife Sarah Smith, widow, in 1668. Subsequent historians make the observation that she was George Smith’s widow which is the primary source for her first name. Remember we are dealing with a very small population. When reviewing the documentary history of these towns family groups and relationships can be apparent even in the absence of direct documentary proof. In a report issued by the Colonial Assembly in 1685 titled, “This list of Proprietors of the lands in the township of New Haven”, listed among others are, John, Samuel, Joseph, Ebenezer and Nathan Smith. George Smith’s family was identified by their connection to him and were, in every respect, a New Haven family. ------ In contrast there is no record for the birth of Sarah and Nehemiah Smith’s children in the town records of New Haven. Their names only appear in the baptismal records found in the church records. Their stay in New Haven was fairly brief. The first entry that mentions Sarah Smith reads, “Hannah Smith the daughter of Sarah Smith a member of the Church of “Stratford” by virtue of Letter Bapt. 23. 4 mo, 45”. This record highlights aspects of the family history, which was written by the succeeding generations. Sarah and Nehemiah married in Massachusetts their marriage record is found on page 220 of the first volume of the Plymouth Colony records. She is identified as Anne in Plymouth, Sarah in New Haven, and Anne again in Norwich this turn of evens adds to the mystery of her family relationships. Many historian surmise that her name was Sarah Anne Bourne. Her father Thomas Bourne was a prominent member of the Plymouth Colony living in the village of Marshfield. His history is well documented in the volumes that have been written of those original Pilgrims. In his will he refers to his daughters by their married names My daughter Bradford (Martha), my daughter Winslow (Margaret), Tildin (Elizabeth) and for Anne “my daughter Smyth”. Sarah and Nehemiah moved as a young couple to Stratford, Connecticut. In the land and deeds records there is a rich documentary trail for their sojourn in Stratford. At a General Court held in New Haven October 12, 1644 we find the following “Goodman Smith of “Stratford” desired that he have 30 or 40 acres….”. There are several histories for Nehemiah Smith available on the Internet. They contain transcriptions of numerous original documents including his application to become a freeman located on page 193 of Volume One of the records of the Plymouth Colony. This documentary trail traces his life from Massachusetts to Stratford then on to New Haven and after a brief stop on Long Island on to New London Connecticut and ends up in Norwich where his burial is a matter of civic pride. Their children apparently were born in Stratford but the Stratford town records no longer exist to provided us with documentary proof. Sarah and Nehemiah moved from Stratford to nearby New Haven. It’s during this time frame that the first notation for Hannah appears. It is my interpretation, gained from reading the family history and the original documents, that while Nehemiah was closing out his holdings in Stratford Sarah had the children baptized in New Haven thus we see the references to them in her name not their fathers. We see the notation that they were from the church in Stratford. There are three more entries in the baptismal records. “Sarah, Mary & Hannah Smith the daughters of Sarah Smith Bapt. the 14th of the 10 mo. 1645”. As you can see the original date differs from the transcribed date. Hannah is listed again. The three girls are listed as the daughters of Sarah Smith. In the margin the clerk had written notes on the birth dates for the three girls. There is also a record for Mercy and Elizabeth baptized on “22th 12 month 1645” again with a margin note. The last notation is for Nehemiah baptized “24th 8 mo. 1646” son of Sarah Smith “wife of Nehemiah Smith”. These children are all listed in reference to Sarah Smith who is clearly identified as the wife of Nehemiah Smith. Sarah and Nehemiah only stayed for a few years in New Haven. The town records for New London record a land transaction for him there in 1652 a date that is before the birth of the last of George Smiths children in New Haven. Nehemiah then becomes a part of the history of Norwich a town for which he is noted as a founding father. Three of his oldest children married and lived in New Haven or Guilford. Sarah married John Clarke/Clark, Jan 23, 1663. Mercy married John Benham, March 3, 1668/9. Hannah married Stephen Bradley in November of 1663. Mathew Gilbert married all three girls. Elizabeth, Mary and Nehemiah all married in New London. Elizabeth married Joshua Raymond December 10, 1659. Mary married his brother Samuel. “Nehemiah Smith son of Nehemiah mar. Lydia dau. of Alexander Winchester of Roxbury Oct 24, 1669”. The last child in the family married in Norwich “The marriage of Joshua Abell with Mehitable Smith was upon the first day of November 1677” Mahitable’s son Nehemiah was born in 1669. One of the last deeds recorded for Nehemiah Smith is a deed granting the home lot to the Abell’s with the condition that they support the aging Smiths. I hope this essay will prove to be the beginning of an effort to restore to Hannah Smith her birthright. Hannah Smith born 1644 in Stratford, Connecticut to Nehemiah and Sarah Anne Bourne Smith.

Nehemiah Smith and Sarah Anne Bourne

The documentary history for the family of Sarah Anne Bourne and Nehemiah Smith starts in Marshfield in the Plymouth Colony. Anne, as she was called in Marshfield, was the daughter of Thomas Bourn who was very much a contemporary of Edward Winslow of the Thanksgiving Story fame and Capt. Miles Standish. His history is part of the extensive documentation of the Mayflower generation. The young Nehemiah appears in the town records for the first time with his application be become a “freeman”. Freeman status brought with it the right to vote and own property. On page 220 of the first volume of the Plymouth Colony records we find a record of his marriage to Anne Bourn in January of 1639 the only marriage noted that year. The last reference to Nehemiah in Plymouth is a court record in which he seeks permission to leave the colony with his herd of sheep. In Thomas Bourne’s will he leaves five pounds “to my daughter Smyth”. There are numerous transcriptions in the Stratford town and deed records concerning Nehemiah who is also referred to as, Goodman Smith. There are several references to his sheep. Apparently most of his children were born during his sojourn in Stratford. The first documentary evidence for them is found in the records of the First Church Of Christ in New Haven. The first mention of the family lists Sarah and her daughter Hannah as having been “received by letter” from the church in Stratford. The next entry is a baptismal date for Sarah, Mary and Hannah Smith “ye daughters of Sarah Smith”. The date on the document is the 14th day of the 10th month 1645. In the margin a clerk noted that S.S. and M.S. were born in 42 and H.S. 44. This notation is the only record for the birth of these girls. The next entry is the baptismal record for Mercy Smith & Elizabeth Smith daughters of Sarah Smith. The date is ye 22th , 12 month 1645. Again there is a margin note “M.S. born in 45” giving us a date of birth for Mercy. The last entry is for Nehemiah, “Nehemiah Smith son of Sarah Smith wife of Nehemiah Smith Bapt ye same day”. The date was “ye 24th of ye 8 mo. 1646. In these entries we have six children all identified as the children of Sarah Smith who is in turn identified as the wife of Nehemiah Smith from Stratford. Nowhere in the New Haven records do you find a record that links these names to George Smith. Sarah and Nehemiah moved on to New London about 1652. We have included a land deed from New London dated 1661. New Haven had enough hold on the Smith’s that three daughters married New Haven boys. Sarah married John Clearke/Clark. Mercy married John Benham and Hannah married Stephen Bradley. Their marriages are found in the index created for the original town records. In the index all of the “Smith” marriages are together in one list organized chronologically. This list has added to the confusion between the two Smith families. Hannah and Stephen’s history is particularly well documented. The birth of all of their children is easily found in the Guilford town records. His death is noted in a ledger titled Record of Mortality Guilford. The irony to all of that is that her genealogy is the most confused. She more than any of the other children finds her history incorrectly tied to George Smith. Continuing on Elizabeth, Mary and Nehemiah all married in New London. In their marriage records they are clearly identified as the children of Nehemiah Smith. Elizabeth married Joshua Raymond, Mary married his brother Samuel. We do not have a marriage record for Mary. Record of them as man and wife is found in the Norwich records. Nehemiah married Lydia Winchester. The last child Mehitable was born in Marshfield, Massachusetts. There is a marvelous record for her family in the Norwich records. She married Joshuah Abell. In one of the last deeds recorded in his name Nehemiah Smith deeds his home lot to Joshuah Abell with the caveat that he take care of them until their death. The condition of the deeds from New London and Norwich are such that they do not copy very well but you can still clearly read Nehemiah’s Signature. Click on images to enlarge.------We recently recovered a record from Marshfield, Massachusetts. It appears that Nehemiah spent a little time back in Marshfield after leaving New Haven. The record reads "Mehitable Smith the daughter of Nehemiah Smith was born 4 July 1655".

George Smith 1618 to 1662 New Haven Connecticut

George Smith was one of the founding fathers for New Haven. He was part of the group that gathered around the Reverend John Davenport and sailed to America on the Hector. They arrived off the coast of Massachusetts in the fall and in the spring of 1638 they sailed up Long Island Sound to land at New Haven. The Davenport group, that included George Smith, had been joined by a number of people who had been living in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. George lived a quiet unassuming life in America and died at a relatively young age in 1662. We have included his death record as well as the marriage record of his widow in 1668, which is the primary source for her name, Sarah. The point of this essay is to hopefully provide some clarity to his ancestry. There were two Smith families in New Haven, one the family of George and his wife Sarah, the other Sarah Smith and her husband Nehemiah. The passage of time has served to confuse the family lines between the two. The confusing dynamic is the fact that the wife in both families were named Sarah and the birth dates of the families flow together in a nice symmetry. What we would like to present here is the documentary history for George Smith’s family. The review is the result of a page-by-page examination of the original New Haven town records. In this time frame there were only a dozen or so children born in any one year. There were only a few marriages each year. It is an easy exercise to gain an appreciation of who was a member of which family. Dates flow in an orderly fashion. There is real consistency in the way family groups are referenced. One item that is regularly noted is the place of origin of people moving from one Congregational Society to another. Sarah and Nehemiah are noted as being from Stratford. George’s family is firmly rooted in New Haven. What we have in George Smith’s case is the birth record for four of his children Samuel, Ebenezer, Joseph and Nathan. Each record includes the phrase “son of George Smith”. We have the baptismal records for his children. Also included are the marriage records for his children as found in the index written by the New Haven city clerks based on the original records. If you spend any amount of time reviewing the records for any given town clear patterns emerge. Each member of a family leaves behind a paper trail, birth, baptism, and marriage. death, children, court and land records. Based on this review of volume one of the New Haven town records we offer this opinion of the family of George and Sarah Smith. Included are birth dates for John and Elizabeth obtained from family histories. John was born April 18, 1647 and he married Grace Winston. Elizabeth born September 16, 1649 married John Hall. Samuel was born December 4, 1651 and he married Obedience Lamberton. Ebenezer was born November 15, 1653 and he married Mary. The marriage is not found in the New Haven records. Joseph, August 14, 1655 married Lydia Bristol. Nathan was born October 27, 1656 married Ester Goodyear. ------ Note: Many family trees constructed for the family of George Smith include Sarah, Mercy and in particular Hannah Smith the daughters of Sarah and Nehemiah Smith. Their only connection to the family of George Smith is in the index to the city records where all of the “Smith” marriages are included as a single list. Otherwise, there is not a single document in the New Haven records that supports such a claim. We have included the index of all of the Smiths born in the early years of New Haven. There is no record for a marriage between George Smith and Sarah Ann Bourne but there is a marriage record for the marriage of Anne Bourne and Nehemiah Smith.