Edward Small/Smalley, ca 1595-after 1666, of Devonshire, England, Kittery Maine, and the Isles of Shoals

Edward Small (also seen as Smalley and Smale) was born about 1595, probably in Devonshire, England. His parents have not been discovered. His birth year is based on the assumption  Edward was about 30 when his eldest child was born in 1625. He is my 10th great-grandfather on my grandmother Milly (Booth) Rollins’ side of the family. He was an early settler of Maine where he was a founder of Piscattaqua (now Kittery) and was a man of means and strong social standing who held positions of public trust. He was sometimes referred to by the honorific “Mr” in records. 

Wife and Family

Edward married a woman named Elizabeth whose maiden name is unknown. Some people identify her as Elizabeth Shurt, but I haven’t found a source for this. They had six children baptized at St. Mary’s Parish, Bideford, Devon [Bideford Register at Family Search’s “England Births and Christenings 1538-1975”]:

1. “Frances sonne of Edward Smale” baptized 6 October 1625
2. “Elizabeth dau of Edward Smale” baptized 6 July 1627; died young
3. “Mary dau of Edward Smale” baptized 5 May 1629; Wikitree profile has her dying same day as birth/baptism but without a source
4. “Edmond sonne of Edward Smale” baptized 2 March 1630; may have died in 1646
5. “Elizabeth dau of Edward Smale” baptized 10 October 1632; “Elizabeth dau of Edward Smalle” buried 27 Dec 1635 
6. “William sonne of Edward Smale” baptized 4 Feb 1634; Wikitree profile has his death as 1634 but without a source; Underhill believes it may have been 1646

I descend from Francis, an English boy who embraced living in the wilds of Maine. He grew up to become a trader with the American Indians, spoke their language, and was the largest private landowner in Maine’s history. [Underhill] His life would make a good book! 

The original St. Mary’s church was replaced with a new building in 1865, but its 11th century baptismal font and 13th century tower survive. 

St. Mary's Church, Bideford

Bideford is a small port town a few miles west of Barnstaple. The latter was an important port on the Bristol Channel that engaged in late medieval England’s wool trade, and from where a few small passenger vessels left for New England. [Anderson]

In 1646 Bideford was ravaged by a plague. The names of Edward’s sons Edmond born 1630 and William born 1634 were never again found in records, so it is possible they were among the unrecorded dead of that time. No burials of Smales/Smalls were recorded in St. Mary’s between 1637-1650. [Underhill]

Immigration to Maine

By 1639 Edward migrated to New England with his son Francis, presumably to pursue mercantile interests. In addition to the lure of large land grants, there were many economic opportunities in early Maine: fishing, lumber, and deep harbors that enabled trade. [Anderson] 

Early Maine settlers were often from affluent families, in some cases nobility, and received large land grants from Ferdinando Gorges, “Lord Proprietor” and founder of Maine. [Underhill]

It does not seem that his wife Elizabeth ever came to New England. What a challenging life she must have had—her husband gone for decades with their eldest son, possibly her only surviving child. What sorrow she endured, losing so many children. Perhaps the clean, comparatively disease-free air of Maine was a contributing factor of Edward bringing his eldest son with him on his journey, and when plague broke out in their hometown it provided an additional reason to remain. Perhaps Elizabeth was to join Edward there but changed her mind. I do wonder if she felt abandoned. 

Public Service &.  Business Interests

Edward is first mentioned in Maine records when he served on the jury at the first general court was held 24 June 1640. [Province Court Records Maine: Vol 1, page 42] At this time Maine was not a separate state but a province of Massachusetts.

At the 21 October 1645 General Court held at Saco, an election of four additional Councellors or Magistrates were chosen for the upcoming year: Mr. Francis Robinson, Mr. Arthur Mackworth, Mr. Edward Small, and Mr. Abraham Preble. [Underhill]

On 30 June 1747 General Court at Wells, the jury, which include Mr. Edward Smale, heard case against Charles Frost for accidental death of Warwick Heard, age 15. At a special meeting of the court on 5 December 1651, Edward Small appeared as juryman for the last time. [Underhill]

Edward must have had business interests at Pemaquid at an early date as on 18 Oct 1647 an action of debt for £18 was brought against Mr. Edward Smale by Adam Shurt as attorney for his mother Mary Shurt. [Underhill]

Signature of Edward "Smale" 

Land Ownership

Prior to June 1640 a group including Nicholas Frost, Alexander Shapleigh, and Edward Small had founded the settlement at “Pascattaway” or Piscattaqua Plantation from which sprung Kittery, the first town established in Maine (1647).  It also comprised the territory now known as Eliot, South Berwick, and Berwick. [Underhill]

Where the river changes its name from Newichewannock to Piscataqua was Sturgeon Creek. This is where before 1643 Edward Small “built a house and made improvements.” The deed dated 25 July 1643 from Thomas Gorges Esqr Deputy Governor of Province of Maine on behalf of Ferdinando Gorges granted “unto Edward Smale of Piscataqua one hundred Acres of Land or thereabouts to him his heirs and assigns for ever, the said Land lying between ye two creeks on each side of the house of ye said Edward Smale and Soe Backward by all ye same breadth unto Sturgeon Creek.” [Underhill]

On 23 June 1646 Edward Smale sold this entire 100-acre property to Antipas Maverick of the Isles of Shoals. [Underhill]

On 15 March 1649 Edward Small was again before the court, as plaintiff, against Antipas Maverick defendant, action of debt for £20. This may have been money still owed for Antipas’ purchase of Edward’s Sturgeon Creek house and 100 acres purchased for £45. Judgment was acknowledged but doesn’t say what that was. Perhaps Maverick was not a reliable person as “being observed to be often overtaken with drink, at the last in that distemper, fell out of his canoe, and was drowned” in July 1678. 

Where Edward lived after selling his Sturgeon Creek land is unclear, but by 1653 he was at the Isles of Shoals, a group of islands nine miles south from the mouth of the Piscataqua Harbor. Most of the men there were engaged in fishing. 

On 18 May 1653 “Edward Smale” signed a petition to the General Court held at Boston, asking that the inhabitants be invested with the powers of a township having, among other things, a militia. It was ignored; they petitioned again unsuccessfully in 1659 but succeeded in 1661 when they were made into the town of Appledore. [Tuttle] At this time there was a meetinghouse on Hog Island and a court house on Smutty Nose. About 1653 a small fort was built on Star Island. While Massachusetts refused to adhere to the Church of England, the Isles of Shoals were largely royalist and Episcopalian. This made negotiating with Massachusetts for a separate government quite tricky. [Underhill] I’ve taken a boat cruise a few times around the Isles of Shoals and it’s an incredibly beautiful area. 

Deaths of Edward and Elizabeth

Edward ’s death isn’t found in English or American records, which would have shed light on where he lived late in life. After his daughter Elizabeth’s 1635 burial, there is no further trace of him in Bideford. If Edward had returned to England, he would likely appear in records. He doesn’t appear in New England records after he signed the Isles of Shoals petition in 1653, although it is state in the Trelawney Papers that he was living in Dover (then Massachusetts, now New Hampshire) in 1685. It believe he was conflated with his grandson of the same name who lived at Dover for a time.

“Elizabeth wife of Edward Smale” was buried 10 February 1665 at St. Mary’s Parish, Bideford. It is notable that she is called wife, not widow or relict, so it seems he died after that time. It is also possible that no one knew whether he was still living. 

Edward’s son Francis moved to Cape Cod later in life, joining two of his sons there.

Sources:

Lora Underhill, The Descendants of Edward Small and Allied Families, volume 1, 1910

Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Newsletter, “Focus on the West Country,” 21-25:108 (2015)

Charles W. Tuttle (communicated by), NEHGS Register, “The Isles of Shoals in the Year 1653,” 25:164 (April 1871)

James Phinney Baxter (editor),The Trelawny Papers,  3-214, (1884)