When Mary Smith was born in 1616, in North Nibley, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom, her father, John Smyth The elder, Esquire, was 49 and her mother, Mary Browning, was 29. She married Christopher Purnell on 8 January 1633, in North Nibley, Gloucestershire, England. They were the parents of at least 6 sons and 6 daughters. She died in 1690, in North Nibley, Gloucestershire, England, at the age of 74, and was buried in North Nibley, Gloucestershire, England.
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The Pilgrims boarded the Mayflower in search of religious freedom in the New World in September 1620. The Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, England, with 102 passengers, 40 of whom called themselves "Saints." After two stormy months at sea, the ship reached the New World. Nearly half of the group died during their first winter due to malnutrition and the harsh New England winter.
A series of conflicts regarding England's governance during the years 1642 to 1651 is now known as The English Civil War. Charles I summoned supporters to join him against his enemies in Parliament. In October 1642, nearly 10,000 men fought for Charles I and chased Parliament across the River Tamar. Fighting continued for years and was finally ended at the Battle of Worcester on September 3, 1651, with a Parliamentarian victory.
The Glorious Revolution brought the downfall of Catholic King James II and the reign of his Protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange.
English and Scottish: occupational name denoting a worker in metal, especially iron, such as a blacksmith or farrier, from Middle English smith ‘smith’ (Old English smith, probably a derivative of smītan ‘to strike, hammer’). Early examples are also found in the Latin form Faber . Metal-working was one of the earliest occupations for which specialist skills were required, and its importance ensured that this term and its equivalents in other languages were the most widespread of all occupational surnames in Europe. Medieval smiths were important not only in making horseshoes, plowshares, and other domestic articles, but above all for their skill in forging swords, other weapons, and armor. This is also the most frequent of all surnames in the US. It is very common among African Americans and Native Americans (see also 5 below). This surname (in any of the two possible English senses; see also below) is also found in Haiti. See also Smither .
English: from Middle English smithe ‘smithy, forge’ (Old English smiththe). The surname may be topographic, for someone who lived in or by a blacksmith's shop, occupational, for someone who worked in one, or habitational, from a place so named, such as Smitha in King's Nympton (Devon). Compare Smithey .
Irish and Scottish: sometimes adopted for Gaelic Mac Gobhann, Irish Mac Gabhann ‘son of the smith’. See McGowan .
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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