William Smoot the elder, was born about 1596 in London and was a member =
of the Boat wright Guild when he was asked to come to Virginia in 1633. =
He was contracted to perform 50 days worth of labor for Colonel Thomas Bu=
rbage at Hampton on the York River. Once he made the arduous trip and lo=
oked around, he decided to stay and build up his own business.
He first obtained land on February 24, 1642 in payment for transporting =
eight individuals into the colony. Smoot was granted 400 acres of land n=
ear the head of Tymber Creek on the north side of Charles River in York C=
ounty. Harry Wright Newman, the author of The Smoots of Maryland and Vir=
ginia, believes William Smoot was bringing his family and some indentured=
servants into the colony at the time.
Smoot seems to have established his boat yard in good order, paying off =
one indentured servant, George Codd, in 1644 with "three barrels of corn =
and clothes". As a citizen of the fledgling colony, he also fought the P=
amunky and Chickahominy Indians. He received 600 pounds of tobacco for h=
is efforts. He undoubtedly needed the money for that same year he was su=
ed in court for 854 pounds of tobacco owed to Ashwell Batten.
There are several references in the records of Smoot suing and being sue=
d, perhaps it was a necessary part of business in those days!
About 1646, William Smoot packed up his family and moved north to Maryla=
nd. He was granted a patent for 300 acres in 1647 for land near the mout=
h of Herring Creek on the Potomac River. Later, he settled on 400 acres =
of land known as "Smoothly", which he received for transporting his then-=
wife Grace, her daughter Elizabeth Wood, and his children Thomas, Richard=
,Elizabeth, Anne and Alice as well as a servant Anne Woodnot. This may =
have been the land in present day Charles County on the Wiccomico River w=
here he set up a boatyard and established himself as a knowledgeable boat=
builder.
During his early years in Maryland, Smoot built boats for Ralph Beane an=
d Charles Calvert, among others. He purchased a ship from Governor Leona=
rd Calvert, trading it away within the year. In his old age he was asked=
to appraise the ship St. George, after it sank in the Wiccommico River. =
He may have grown tobacco on his plantations, but water craft appear to =
have been his main interest.
William Smoot is believed to have married and had children while still i=
n England. His conjectured English wife is not known and the children of=
their marriage are believed to be:
Richard; married Elizabeth
Thomas; married Jane Batten
Elizabeth; married Humphrey Atwickes
Anne; wed William Hungerford and William Barton

Archibald F. Bennett, "The Smoot Family," _Utah Genealogical Magazine_, vol.
24 (1933), pp. 104-105: "According to an affidavit made by William Smoot in
1652, wherein he states his age as 56, he was born in 1596. He was in
England about the year 1633, at which time he entered into a contract to
perform 40 days' work in Virginia. . . . Capt. Thomas Cornwallis, acting
with power of attorney in collecting debts due Col. Thomas Burbage in
Maryland, on Jan. 21, 1652/3, entered suit against 'Willm Smoote' for
'Satisfaction upon a Bond of £4 Sterling Enterd into by the defendt about 20
years Since in England' upon condition 'for paymt of 50 dayes work in
Virginia, which the defendt alledged he discharged according to the
Condicon.' (Maryland Archives, 10:323). . . .
"He was in York County, Virginia, in 1642, when he was taxed for 400 acres
of land there. (York Co. Records, Book I, p. 874) . . .
"That this William Smoot of York Co., Virginia is the one who later settled
in St. Mary's Co., Maryland, is proved by a suit tried in the latter county
in 1651, in which evidence is produced to show that William Smoot had
business engagements which [sic; probably s/b with] Captain Francis Morgan
of York Co., Virginia. (Maryland Archives, 10:129) . . .
"William Smoot came to Maryland from Virginia in the year 1646. On June 12,
1647, he was given a patent for 300 acres of land, near the mouth of Herring
Creek, 'In Consideracon that William Smoote hath transported himselfe his
Wife and two children into our sd province of Maryland in the year 1646 to
plant and inhabit there.' . . . (Maryland Historical Magazine, 6:367) On
June 4, 1650, 'William Smoote demandeth 100 acres of land for transporting 2
children into this Province in or about the year 1646.' (Md. Hist. Mag.,
8:190) In one of the record folios in the Land Office at Annapolis, Md., is
a record that Wm. Smoot transported himself, Grace his wife, Thomas Richard,
Elizabeth, Ann, and Alice, his children, Elizabeth Wood, the daughter of
his wife, and Ann Woodnot, a maid servant, at his own expense into Maryland,
about April 6, 1646. (Liber AB and H, Folio 230) . . . .
"His occupation was that of Boatwright or boatbuilder. On Nov. 3, 1647, he
sold a Pinnace or boat he had bought of Leonard Calvert. (Md. Archives,
4:340)"

According to H.W. Newman in The Smoots of Maryland and Virginia, Grace
> Smoot d. 14 Jan 1666, and Wm. Smoot, Sr. died intestate shortly
> afterwards..by 1670at the latest. "No record has been found of the
> appraisement of his estate nor the administration." Has someone found a will
> since then (1936) for Wm. Smoot, the immigrant?
>
> >From the Smoot Transportation papers into Maryland, we know Mrs. Grace
> Wood(s) had at least one daughter before marrying Wm. Smoot, Sr. - Elizabeth
> Wood(s). Elizabeth Grady, Richmond County, VA willed her entire estate to
> Mary Smoot (daughter of William Smoot, Jr in a will dated 1693/94 and proved
> 1702. Was this Elizabeth Woods?
>
> __________________________________
>
> Interpretation and Hypothesis
>
> William Smoot, Sr. b. England, married and had children, came to Virginia;
> m/1 children : Richard Smoot, Thomas Smoot, Elizabeth Smoot, and Anne Smoot
> (b. 1640), first wife died either before or after Anne was born; Wm. m/2
> Mrs. Grace Wood(s); had daughter Alice Smoot; moved to Maryland 1846; had
> three other children: William Smoot, Jr., Dorothy Smoot, and and Tomasin
> Smoot.
>
> After the death of William and Grace Smoot, Sr.: Elizabeth Woods, Alice
> Smoot, William Smoot, Jr., Dorothy Smoot, and Tomasin Smoot returned to
> Virginia to the family of their mother Mrs. Grace (UNK) Woods Smoot. The
> older Smoot children probably were married and remained in Maryland.
> ___________________________________
>
> I only had copies of pages 1-6 of the Smoot book given to me, and wish I
> had seen more of this book. I don't know if there is anything in the rest of
> the book that would help or not. Neither the omission of Wm. Smoot, Jr. from
> the will of Alice Stretchley nor the fact that he was not a witness should
> suggest he wasn't related to Alice. The same would hold true for the other
> (half?) brothers. Alice's will was made in Lancaster County, VA; and William
> was in Richmond County, VA and the other brothers probably in Maryland if
> they were still living.