Francis Small

Francis Small, early settler of Maine

Francis Small, who may be regarded as the ancestor of the Small family of Maine, may have been the son of Edward Small, but of this we have no proof. He came to America about 1632. He was baptized in England, October 6, 1625. He may have been named for Captain Francis Champernown, whose father, Arthur Champernown, was owner of large grants of land in Maine and New Hampshire. Francis Champernown died in 1687, aged seventy-three. He had no children of his own, so willed his large estates to his wife (who was the widow of Robert Cutt) and to her children. He also gave to Elizabeth Small, "my servant maid, in behalf of what I formerly promised her," thirty acres of land at Spruce Creek; also ten pounds in cattle and ten pounds in goods. Elizabeth Small may have been a sister of Francis. She was the wife of Thomas Hooper, of York, when she sold this piece of land to Henry Barter, of Kittery, March 5, 1697-98.

Francis Small was an enterprising trader and landowner residing primarily in Kittery, Maine. He made the first recorded land purchase in what is now Maine, and proceeded to amass so much that he was called "the great landholder." He possessed the largest number of acres of anyone who ever lived in Maine. He was living in Dover, New Hampshire, in 1648, with his wife Elizabeth. In 1657 he was a resident of Falmouth, Maine. The earliest Indian deed of land in Falmouth was made July 27, 1657, by Scitterygussett, to Francis Small. It reads thus: "Bee it knowne unto all men by these presents, that I Scitterygussett of Casco Bay Sagamore, do hereby grant, sell &c all that upland and Marshes at Capissicke, Lying up along the Northerne side of the river unto the head thereof & so to reach & extend unto ye river side of Ammecungan." Francis Small bound himself "yearly to pay unto ye said Scitterygussett Sagamore, during his life, one Trading coate for Capussicke & one Gallone of Lyquors for Ammomingan." May 10, 1658, Francis Small assigned one-half of this land to John Phillips, of Boston. July 13, 1658, the "Inhabitants of Black Poynt, Bleu Point, Spurwink and Cascoe Bay owned themselves subject to the Government of Mass. Bay in N. E." Francis Small headed this list, and was one of the few whose names were written without a mark. November 2, 1658, he sold to Isaac Walker, of Boston, "the plantation lately bought of Richard Martyn, called Martyn's Point, over against Clapboard Island." He had a grant of one hundred acres of land in that part of Kittery called Newichawannock, also two hundred and two acres on eastern side of the Piscataqua river. (See deed to his son Daniel Small, of Truro, Mass., dated October 31, 1712.)

In the year 1659, Francis Small "was employed by Major Nicholas Shapleigh to purchase a certain great Ysland called Sebascoe Diggin, lying against a Necke of land called Merriconeag." He built a house there "by order of Major Shapleigh and possessed the Ysland in his behalf." "This was called Small's Island." May 10, 1683, Francis Small, senior, aged about fiftysix, and his wife Eliza'beth. aged about fortynine, testified to the above facts. They had one child born there, which was the "first white child of English parents" born in that part of Maine.

Small was again attorney for Falmouth in 1663. He was living in Kittery in 1668, but he had a house and trading camp where the village of Cornish now is. This was doubtless the first house built in that town or in any part of the Ossipee lands. "In the summer of 1668, Francis Small sold goods to the Newichawannoch tribe of Indians on credit, to be paid for in furs in the autumn; but when the time of payment drew near the red men deemed it easier to kill Small than to pay him, and they decided to fire his house and shoot him when he came out to escape the flames. Captain Sunday, the chief of the tribe, was friendly to Small, and told him what the Indians were to do, and advised him to flee for his life. Small thought the tale a cunningly devised fable to frighten him away in order to avoid payment; but when night came, thinking it wise to be on the side of safety, he secreted himself in some pines on the hill near by, and watched through the long November night. With the coming of the dawn, a flame of fire shot up from the burning house, whereupon Small took flight and paused not until he reached his home in Kittery. Chief Sunday followed Small to Kittery, and there made good the loss, by selling to him the entire Ossipee tract of land. The deed was dated November 28, 1668. The signature of Captain Sunday was a turtle. It conveyed to Francis Small "my great tract of land at Osobe containing twenty miles square and lying between the two rivers of great Osobe, and Little Ossipee, so called, and being the same land where the said Francis Small's trading house now stands, and from the river Meehewonock near Humphrey Chadbourne's logging camp, and to extend Northerly and Easterly to Saco river." The consideration was "two large Indian blankets, Two gallons Rum, Two pounds powder, four pounds of Muscet Balls, and twenty string of Indian beads, with several other articles." This deed is still in existence, and was recorded in 1773, when one hundred and five years old. Francis Small conveyed one undivided half of the Ossipee lands to Major Nicholas Shapleigh; and the other half to his son Samuel, April 30, 1711. These lands were divided between the heirs of Francis Small and Nicholas Shapleigh, about 1781. It is now incorporated in the towns of Limington, Limerick, Cornish, Parsonsfield and Newfield. Cornish was first named Francisborough.

Francis Small was viewed as a venturesome, fearless, alert, somewhat given to "speaking his mind" and resourceful man. He might be called the forerunner of the "typical Yankee". He possessed the largest number of acres of any person who ever lived in Maine. Sometimes mentioned as a Planter and a fisherman but mostly an Indian trader. Although he didn't speak the Indian language he did spend long periods living among them at his trading camps. He was sometimes employed to negotiate with the Indians. He sold his lands at the time of Indian unrest and moved to Cape Cod, MA.

_____________________

• Descendants of Edward Small of New England (1910)
• http://archive.org/details/descendantsedwa03undegoog
• http://archive.org/stream/descendantsedwa03undegoog#page/n31/mode/1up
• Pg. xix-
• In the early history of the District of Maine two men stand out prominently, "Edward Smale" and "Francis Smale;" yet, for want of documentary evidence, no one has dared to call them father and son. Francis Small, the most widely known, has been credited as son to John1 Small, of Dover, New Hampshire ; and some of the descendants of Francis, in Truro, have been assigned to the line of John1 Small, of Eastham (earlier, of Plymouth), Massachusetts, as though Francis may have been son to that John. .... etc.
• Recent research proves the relationship between Edward Small and Francis Small. "Frances sonne of Edward Smale" was baptized October 6, 1635, in St Mary's parish, at Bideford, county Devon, England. Francis was the eldest of six children of Edward and Elizabeth Smale, baptized in that parish. The records of the birth of Edward Smale, and of his marriage to Elizabeth —— , cannot be found in Bideford or Barnstaple registers, yet he appears to have been closely
• http://archive.org/stream/descendantsedwa03undegoog#page/n32/mode/1up
• Pg. xx
• allied to others of the name in Bideford. The last baptism in the family was on February 4, 1634 ; * Edward is supposed to have left, about 1635, with his son Francis, for New England. It is not known when or where he died, but there is no further trace of him in Bideford. The name Francis was not common in any part of England among the Smalls ; this is its only entry, prior to 1700, in the Bideford registers. In the ten neighboring parishes, prior to 1725, no Francis Smale is found. The branch of the family which remained in Bideford left traces of themselves in the shape of vital statistics, wills, etc. ; "if Edward had returned to England we ought to have found something about him as we have found about other Bideford Smales."
• Another fact which strengthens the assumption that the Edward Smale who came over in 1635 was of Bideford is the presence in that town of the Pugsley family, and of intermarriages there between the Pugsleys and the Smales. Elizabeth 3, youngest daughter to Francis 2 Smale, was married, March 7, 1704-05, in Dover, New Hampshire, to John Pugsley.† .... etc.
• http://archive.org/stream/descendantsedwa03undegoog#page/n57/mode/1up
• Pg. 3
• .... etc.
• REFERENCE to the subject of this sketch, Edward 1 Small, is found in the records of Maine as early as 1640, though he had probably been in the Province some years before that time.
• .... etc.
• http://archive.org/stream/descendantsedwa03undegoog#page/n79/mode/1up
• Pg.21
• It is not known whether the wife of Edward Small was ever in New England, but the probability is that she was not. He came over, about 1634 or 1635, with Francis, his eldest son, yet, strange to say, no positive proof is found in New England records connecting them as father and son ; although the supposition would be that so young a lad would naturally be with his father, and Edward Small was the only person bearing that surname in Maine at that period. The wife, Elizabeth, and four children were left in their English home at Bideford, County Devon, where all the children had been baptized in the ancient Norman font of St Mary's Church, and registered in the old Parish Books. On the "10 ffeb. 1665," the burial of "Elizabeth wife of Edward Smale" was recorded. That she was mentioned as "wife," not widow, of Edward Small indicates that he was still living, — but where? .... etc.
• http://archive.org/stream/descendantsedwa03undegoog#page/n80/mode/1up
• Pg. 22
• The children were all baptized in St. Mary's Parish, Bideford, as children of "Edward Smale." Elizabeth, who was buried in 1665, may have been a second wife ; but from the fact that two daughters bore the name, it is more probable that she was their mother.
• ISSUE
  • I. "Frances sonne of Edward Smale," bap. Oct. 6, 1625, at Bideford, England. (Vide infra.)
  • II. "Elizabeth dau of Edward Smale," bap. July 6, 1627, at Bideford, England: died young.
  • III. "Mary dau of Edward Smale," bap. May 5, 1629, at Bideford, England.
  • IV. "Edmond sonne of Edward Smale," bap. March 2, 1630, at Bideford, England.
  • V. "Elizabeth dau of Edward Smale," bap. Oct. 10, 1632 ; "Elizabeth dau of Edward Smalle," buried December 27, 1635, at Bideford, England.
  • VI. "William sonne of Edward Smale," bap. Feb. 4, 1634, at Bideford, England.
• http://archive.org/stream/descendantsedwa03undegoog#page/n81/mode/1up
• Pg.24
• FRANCIS 2 SMALL, son to Edward 1 Small, one of the founders of the Plantation of Piscataqua, now Kittery, Maine, was baptized October 6, 1625, in St. Mary's Parish, Bideford, County Devon, England.
• .... etc.
• http://archive.org/stream/descendantsedwa03undegoog#page/n84/mode/1up
• Pg.26
• Not long after, about 1650 or 1651, Francis Small married Elizabeth —— ; mentioned by some unknown authority as Elizabeth Leighton, who was born, according to his deposition, about 1634.* He led a roving life, and the births of their five sons † and three daughters, who reached maturity and married, do not appear in any existing records.
• .... etc.
• http://archive.org/stream/descendantsedwa03undegoog#page/n171/mode/1up
• Pg.89
• The death of Francis Small occurred about 1713, at Truro, on Cape Cod. About a year before, in conversation with Squire Pain, the leading lawyer of Truro, he said that "his Son Edward was dead, and his son Francis was dead, his son Samuel was then Liveing at Piscataqua on his Home Place, and his son Benjamin had moved to Coneticut, & his son Daniel had maintained him and his Wife Six or Seven Years and Must Maintain them as Long as they Lived." †
• The date of death of Elizabeth, wife of Francis Small, is not known. How many children were born to them is also unknown, beyond the eight who married and had families.
• .... etc.
• ISSUE
• I. Edward 3, eldest son to Francis 2 and Elizabeth Small, was, without doubt, born at Falmouth, Maine, probably about 1651 or 1652.
• .... etc.
• He took to wife Mary, eldest daughter of Judge John Woodman, Sr.,‡ by his first wife, Mary (Field) Woodman, .... etc.
• http://archive.org/stream/descendantsedwa03undegoog#page/n175/mode/1up
• Pg.93
• II. Francis 3 probably born about 1654 at Falmouth; married Elizabeth —— .
• This Francis Small, Jr., was the only son of his father whose name appeared in the early Court Records of Maine. .... etc.
• http://archive.org/stream/descendantsedwa03undegoog#page/n176/mode/1up
• Pg.94
• .... He may have been at Portsmouth for a short time, as frequently stated ; but eventually removed to Truro, on Cape Cod, where he died, probably in the winter of 1709-10. .... etc.
• III. Mary 3, born 1656, according to her deposition, dated June 16, 1677, which gives her age as "21 years or yr abouts /," when she was already the wife of Nicholas 1 Frost : — .... etc.
• http://archive.org/stream/descendantsedwa03undegoog#page/n180/mode/1up
• Pg.98
• IV. Benjamin 3 may have been the child born at Great Sebascodegan, about 1660. In 1695, he was at Eastham, on Cape Cod, with wife Rebecca Wright; the births of three children are registered there.
• .... etc.
• In 1711, he removed to Lebanon, Connecticut, where he had purchased land. The family was there enlarged to ten children. He died about 1720. .... etc.
• http://archive.org/stream/descendantsedwa03undegoog#page/n181/mode/1up
• Pg.99
• V. Samuel 3, born about 1666, or 1667. (Vide infra.)
• VI. Daniel 3, who appears to have been the youngest son, was living in Truro, Massachusetts, where we first find mention of him. .... etc.
• http://archive.org/stream/descendantsedwa03undegoog#page/n183/mode/1up
• Pg.101
• The date of Daniel Small's death is unknown ; and the name of his wife does not appear in any existing record.
• Issue: .... etc.
• http://archive.org/stream/descendantsedwa03undegoog#page/n184/mode/1up
• Pg.102
• VII. Alice 3, who married —— Wormwood. This family is very difficult to trace ; and but for the fact that her brother, Francis Small, Jr., remembered her in his will, dated August 22, 1709, with a gift of "one Cow and Six Sheep," might have been missed altogether. .... etc.
• http://archive.org/stream/descendantsedwa03undegoog#page/n185/mode/1up
• Pg.103
• VIII. Elizabeth,3 married in Dover, New Hampshire, March 7, 1704-5, John Pugsley. They may have remained for a time in Dover ; but eventually removed to Kittery, .... etc. ____________________________
• New England families, genealogical and memorial: a record of the ..., Volume 3 By William Richard Cutter
• http://books.google.com/books?id=YeautGUXlaUC&pg=PA1968&lpg=PA1968&...
• Pg. 1408
• The branch of the Smalley family herein traced, represented in the present generation by Fred O. Smalley, of Walpole, New Hampshire, is descended from Edward Smalle (as the name was then spelled), who was baptized October 6, 1625, in England. He accompanied his father to this country between the years 1630 and 1635, the other members of the family remaining in England. Edward Smalle and his wife (maiden name unknown), were the parents of Francis, of whom further; Elizabeth, Mary, Edmond, Elizabeth (2d), and William.
• (II) Francis, son of Edward and Elizabeth Smalle, was baptized October 6, 1625, at Bideford, England. He was a resident of Maine, and an Indian trader, deriving from this occupation a comfortable livelihood. He married Elizabeth (maiden name unknown), and their children were: Edward, Mary, Francis, Samuel, Benjamin (of whom further), Daniel, Elizabeth and Alice. He died about 1710, in Truro, Massachusetts, probably at the home of his son Daniel. Many of his descendants spell the family name Small.
• (III) Benjamin Smalley, son of Francis Small or Smalle, was a resident of Eastham and Truro, Massachusetts, and of Lebanon, Connecticut, residing in Eastham about seven years after his marriage, and in 1711 taking up his residence in Lebanon. He married Rebecca, probably a daughter of John Snow, of Eastham, who bore him nine children, as follows: Hannah, Rebecca, Benjamin, Mary, James, Phebe, Joseph, Francis, Elizabeth. Benjamin Smalley died in the year 1721, and in the probate records of Willimantic, Connecticut, his widow and nine children are mentioned.
• (VI) Captain James Smalley, son of Benjamin and Rebecca Smalley, was born in Truro, Massachusetts, October 28, 1707. His parents removed to Lebanon, Connecticut, in 1711, and James Smalley resided there until he attained young manhood, when he removed to Barnstable county, Massachusetts, where he married Hannah Bickford, and three daughters were born to them who were recorded at Truro, namely, Hannah, Sarah and Ruth. He then returned to Lebanon, Connecticut; no children are recorded to him at Lebanon, but he probably had Elisha, David, William, James Jr., Abigail and Elias. His name appears on Lebanon records in the year 1745, but shortly afterward he probably removed to Norwich, but there is no evidence that he owned property there. Two of his daughters married in Norwich. The supposition is that his widow married a Mr. Byington, and in her old age married Captain Daniel Smalley, a cousin of her first husband.
• (V) David, son of Captain James and Hannah (Bickford) Smalley, was born, probably, in Lebanon, Connecticut, died in Rockingham, Vermont, in 1796. He was a soldier in one of the colonial wars, and was also a member of a Guilford county regiment in the revolutionary war. About 1770 David Smalley and his brothers, William and James, purchased land in northern Massachusetts, at Bernardston, and later David and William removed to Guilford, Vermont, they being the owners of fishing rights in the Connecticut river (see Thompson's "History of Greenfield, Massachusetts," vol. 2, pp. 530-532). Both David and William Smalley held several local offices at Guilford, William being a member of the council of Vermont. His marriage to Mercy Clark, of Lebanon, is recorded at Lebanon, one record giving the date as June 19, 1763, and another as July 20, 1763. Their daughter Olive was born in January, 1765, and the other children are not recorded at Lebanon, but were: Mercy, married David Partridge; Jonathan, married Cynthia ____; David Jr., of whom further. _______________________________
• The Libby family in America,1602-1881 (1882)
• http://archive.org/details/libbyfamilyiname00libb
• http://archive.org/stream/libbyfamilyiname00libb#page/32/mode/1up
• Pg. 32
  • *FRANCIS SMALE seems to have been the ancestor of a great portion of the Smalls, and Smalleys, of New England. He was born 1627. It is probable that he was a son of "Mr." Edward Smale, who was of Kittery as early as 1640, and in 1645 had commission as magistrate ; of whose family nothing appears. Francis Smale first appeared at Dover, 1648 ; was of Falmouth 1657 and 1663 ; of Kittery 1668, where he spent the chief part of his life ; in old age removed to Truro, Cape Cod. where he died about 1714. He was an Indian-trader, and had a trading house "back of Wells," on land which he afterward bought of Capt. Sandy, the Indian, twenty miles square, afterward known as the "five Ossipee townships" His wife was Elizabeth —— , probably that servant of Capt. Francis Champernoune mentioned in his will. She was born 1634, and lived to old age. They had the following children :
    • 1 Edward, died before his father.
    • 2 Francis, died before his father.
    • +3 Samuel, b. 1666 ; settled on the homestead in Kittery.
    • 4 Benjamin, settled in Connecticut.
    • 5 Daniel, a carpenter, lived first at Truro, then at Provincetown. Had children : 1 Isaac ; 2 Daniel ; 3 John ; 4 Edward ; 5 Elisha ; 6 Benjamin ; 7 Anna, (m. —— Dyer) ; and perhaps others.
    • 6 Elizabeth (probably), m. John Pugsley, of Kittery.
  • 3 SAMUEL SMALL married Elizabeth, widow of James Chadbourne, and daughter of Ensign James Heard. Children :
    • 1 Elizabeth, b. 9 Nov. 1695 ; m. 10 Feb. 1714, Benjamin March.
    • +2 Samuel, b. 17 Apr. 1700 ; m. Anna Hatch.
    • 3 Joseph, b. 3 Dec. 1702; m. Mary Libby, 10-3.
  • 3-2 DEACON SAMUEL SMALL settled in Scarborough. Children:
    • +1 Samuel, b. 26 May 1718; m. Dorothy Hubbard.
    • 2 Anna, b. 10 Sept. 1720; m. Josiah Libby, 1-1-6.
    • 3 John, b. 30 Jan. 1722-3; m. 1st, Sarah Atkins: 2d, Mary McKenney.
    • 4 Joshua, b. 26 Feb. 1725-6; m. Susannah Kennard of Kittery.
    • 5 Elizabeth, b. 3 Feb. 1727-8; m. James Harmon.
    • 6 Sarah, b. 20 Aug. 1729.
    • 7 Benjamin, b. 27 June 1732.
    • 8 James, b. 14 July 1736.
    • 9 Mary, b. 13 Jan. 1739.
  • 3-2-1 DEA. SAMUEL SMALL .... etc. ________________________
• Genealogical and Family History of the State of Maine, Volume 1 By Henry Sweetser Burrage ....
• https://books.google.com/books?id=LDryyTRj8tgC&pg=PA80&lpg=PA80#v=o...
• https://archive.org/details/genealogicalfami00litt
• https://archive.org/stream/genealogicalfami00litt#page/80/mode/1up
• .... etc.
• (I) Edward Small, who came to America about 1632, was probably from Dartmouth, or some other point in Devonshire, England, where the family has long been one of high character and position. He is said to have come under the auspices of his kinsman, Sir Ferdinando Gorges. He, with Champernown and others, founded Piscataqua, which was afterwards divided into the Maine towns of Kittery, Eliot, South Berwick, and Berwick. .... No mention of wife or children is found in any deed or record. The last mention we find of
• https://archive.org/stream/genealogicalfami00litt#page/81/mode/1up
• him is in the Isle of Shoal, in 1653. He probably returned to England.
• (II) Francis Small, who may be regarded as the ancestor of the Small family of Maine, may have been son of Edward Small, but of this we have no proof. He came to America about 1632. He was baptized in England, October 6, 1625. He may have been named for Captain Francis Champernown, whose father, Arthur Champernown, was owner of large grants of land in Maine and New Hampshire.
• .... etc.
• https://archive.org/stream/genealogicalfami00litt#page/82/mode/1up
• Francis Small had wife Elizabeth in 1648, when they were living in Dover, New Hampshire. No record of marriage has been found, but it is probable that she was a Leighton. Their children were : Edward, married Mary Woodman, of Dover, New Hampshire; Francis, married Elizabeth —— , and died in Truro, Massachusetts, 1709; Samuel, born about 1664, in Kittery, Maine; (see forward) ; Benjamin, married Rebecca —— and went to Harwich, Massachusetts ; Daniel, a carpenter of Truro; Massachusetts, in 1712; was of Provincetown, Massachusetts, February, 1729-30; Elizabeth, married March 7, 1704-05, John Pugsley, of Dover, New Hampshire; Alice, married Thomas Wormwood ; and Mary, born about 1654, married Nicholas Frost, before 1677. Francis Small went to Cape Cod to spend his last years, with his son Daniel, and died there about 1713, "being about 93 years of age."
• (Ill) Samuel, son of Francis Small and Elizabeth (Leighton ?) Small, was born about 1664, in Kittery, Maine. .... Samuel Small married, before 1694, Elizabeth Chadbourne. widow of James Chadbourne, and daughter of Ensign James Heard. Their children were born in Kittery, and were: .... etc. ______________

http://news.rootsweb.com/th/read/SMALL/2004-11/1099526173