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.


Francis, fisherman, Dover, taxed in 1648. Removed to Scarborough.

Bought land of Sciterygusett of Casco Bay, Sagamore, 27 June 1657.

Took oath of allegiance to Mass. govt. at Spurwink 13 July, 1658. He deposed 16 June 1677, ae. About 50 years, concerning what Trustrum Harris said when they were together "impressed to goe upon ye Countrys service to Ossaby." His wife, Elizabeth, ae. About 49 years, deposed with him 10 May, 1683, as to his being employed about 23 or 24 years before to purchase a certain island from the Indians for Maj. Nicholas Shapleigh. He deposed 8 Sep. 1685, ae. 65, about servants of Mason's plantation being left by Francis Norton in 1640 and appropriating what possessions remained, goods and lands. Had lived in New England upwards of 50 years.

England

A Sir John Small was Chief Justice of India. In 1330 John and William Small of Dartmouth were flatteringly mentioned in an act under King Edward III. In 1630 one or more of the Smalls from Dartmouth was a cavalier of high social position and a kinsman of Sir walter Raleigh.

In 1632 two brothers, John and Edward Small, came to New England from Bideford, Devonshire, England. One of the two was a Cavalier and brought his son Francis with him. The records point to Edward being the father of Francis. He left his wife in England and returned there about 1653. John married Elizabeth Higgens and was one of the founders of Cape Cod. He was one of the first settlers in Eastham, Massachusetts, where he was Constable in 1646 and Surveyor in 1649.

Edward founded Piscataqua, Maine, which eventually became the towns of Kittery, Eliot, South Berwick and Berwick.

Francis was named after Captan Francis Champernowne, his famous kinsman of Dartmouth. He married Elizabeth Leighton and held the earliest Indian deed of land in Falmouth (now Portland). He purchased the Ossipee tract of land from Chief Captain Sundy of the Newichawannoch tribe. It was twenty miles square and contained 256,000 acres. During an Indian uprising Captain Sundy came and advised Francis to leave. He fled before the war party arrived and moved to Oyster River (Now Durham, New Hampshire). It was some time before he was able to return to Ossipee. Cape Small Point in Maine is named after him. His grandson Deacon Samuel Small, Jr. was the third and last sole owner of the Ossipee lands. Samuel was Deacon of the First Congregational Church in Scarborough and was Town Clerk for 52 years. He was very active in matters that led to the Revolutionary War and recorded the entire Declaration of Independence in the Town Clerk's book. His son Samuel was Chief Justice of Cumberland Court of Common Pleas and also Deacon of his father's church.

Virginia

The Small name is recorded throughout the history of the United States. A Robert Small was a member of the original party at Jamestown, but is not listed among the survivors a year later. A
William Small, age 18, emigrated from England to Virginia on board the ship "Assurance" in 1635. Dorrell Small was transported from Newgate Prson to Virginia in June, 1738, on board the ship "Forward" as an indentured servant. Robert Small emigrated from Scotland to Philadelphia on board the ship "Friendship" in 1775. He was 16 years old and a barber.

Pennsylvania

Several members of the "Schmahl" family emigrated from Essenheim, Duchy of Hessen, Germany, by way of Rotterdam to Philadelphia on board the ship "Loyal" in 1743. They changed the spelling of their name to Small and are the ancestors of many of the Smalls in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The census of 1790 listed all the heads of families. Following is a listing of the Small families in 12 of the original 13 states. The records for Delaware were destroyed by the British in 1812 when they
burned Washington D.C. Those of Virginia were also destroyed, but they were reconstructed from state enumerations taken in 1782, 1783, and 1785. Following the name is the County or District of domicile of the particular individual. Additional names from a reconstructed schedule for 1800 (compiled from lists of taxpayers) for the State of Kentucky are also included.

Military records also have many Smalls throughout their records. A Major Edward Smalle was a Revolutionary War soldier who came from England. Because of an old English spelling his name was pronounced "Smally". The Smally name come from him and the family came down through New York to Virginia and westward to Illinois. Colonel William F. Small commanded a regiment from Philadelphia that was with the Massachusetts troops attacked by the populance of Baltmore while traveling to Washington, D.C. on April 19, 1861.

There was a hospital ship used during the Civil War called the "Wilson Small".

Major Abner N. Small wrote extensively about the Civil War and about prison life in the South. His diary "Road to Richmond" is one of the best Civil War sources. He enlisted as a private in the 16th Maine Volunteers, was captured at Petersburg and imprisoned in Libby prison. Later he was appointed historian of his regiment. He fought through Fredricksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and The Wilderness. He was also imprisoned in Danville Prison in Salisbury, North Carolina.

New England Marriages Prior to 1700. In 1648 lived in Dover, NH. In 1688 bought land in Ossipee. He was in Kittery in 1668. About 1700 he left Kittery and went to live with his son Daniel at Truro, MA, where he died about 1714 or 1715.

Morman records indicate information. Early Cornish (1666-1916), compilied by Leola C. Ellis & Kera C. Millard, Maine
State Library. Pages 4,5 & 6 talk about Francis being one of the largest landholders in Maine, encompasing the towns of Cornish, Limington, Limerick, Parsonfield and Newfield. Another book by the same authors "More about Early Cornish" indicates more information on pages 192 and 193.

Genealogical and Family History State of Maine Vol. I from the Patten Free Library, Bath, ME

"(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. 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 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 Newichawnnock, 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.)"

SMALL, SMALE,

Edward, Isles of Shoals, grand jury man in court held at Saco 25 June, 1640. Bought 100 acres of land 25 July, 1643, and sold it 23 June, 1647. Signed petition of inhabitants 18 (3) 1653. Francis, fisherman, Dover, taxed in 1648. Removed to Scarborough. Bought land of Sciterygusett of Casco Bay, Sagamore, 27 June, 1657. Took oath of allegiance to Mass. govt. at Spurwink 13 July, 1658. He deposed 16 June, 1677, age about 50 years, concerning what Trustrum Harris said when they were together "im[ressed to goe ye Countrys service to Ossaby." His wife Elizabeth, age. about 49 years, deposed with him 10 May, 1683, as to his being employed about 23 or 24 years before to purchase a certain island from the Indians for Maj. Nicholas Shapleigh. He deposed 8 Sept. 1685, ae. 65, about servants of Mason's plantation being left by Francis Norton in 1640 and appropriating what possessions remained, goods and lands. Had lived in New England upwards of 50 years.
James, Exeter, signed petition of inhabitants Sept. 7, 1643. [Mass.Arch. 112,8.] Samuel, deposed at Kittery, Nov. 11, 1637, aged about 73 years, that in his youth he was a servant to Henry Joslin, Esq. several years at Pemaquid; was often at Damariscotty; knew the land from which Walter Phillips, the owner, had been driven away. [Eastern Claims.]

TITLE TO THE LANDS

"...The land was supposed to be equal to twenty miles square, comprising all that land between the Great and Little Ossipee Rivers, in York County,...purchased from the sagamore of Newichawannock, (Berwick), Captain Sunday, by FRANCIS SMALL, an Indian trader, November 28, 1668, for two blankets, two pounds of powder and four pounds of musket-balls, twenty strings of beads, and two gallons of rum. The Indian signed the deal with his ancestral totem,--a turtle. An undivided half was purchased by Maj. Nicholas Shapleigh, of Kittery, and April 30, 1711, FRANCIS SMALL conveyed his interest to his son, SAMUEL SMALL. The title was confirmed by the Massachussetts commissioners. The original deed was found in 1770, and the heirs of SMALL and Shapleigh made a division of the estate Aug. 5, 1771, and caused it to be surveyed. ELISHA SMALL receivedd as his share lands afterwards known as Little Ossipee, and which included all of Limington north of the river of that name...."

EARLY SETTLEMENTS [1773-1775]

"... JOSHUA SMALL, the principal proprietor, moved in and opened a tannery, which he continued to operate for many years. This tannery was erected on a branch of Bartell Brook, on the farm now occupied by H. SMALL, two miles west of the mouth of the Little Ossipee River."

INCORPORATION

"The portion of the Ossipee tract near Limington, after its purchase by MR. SMALL, acquired the name of Little Ossipee, and its municipal organization was known as Little Ossipee Plantation until its incorporation as a town by the name of Limington, Feb. 8, 1792, ..."

P. 402
"The first town election was held at the school-house, Monday, April 2, 1792, under a warrant issued by Amos Chase. JOSHUA SMALL was elected Moderateor of the meeting; ... JOSHUA SMALL, [elected] Leather-Sealer"

"It was voted that hogs should not run at large."

"Jonathan Boothby, BENJAMIN SMALL, and Amos Chase were elected a committee to call a minister to preach out the sum of 15 [pounds], which the town voted for the support of the gospel; 12 [pounds] were voted for the town charges, 30 [pounds] for schools, and 300 [pounds] for highways."

{Among those residents named as voters within the town:}
DANIEL SMALL, JOSHUA SMALL, esq., JOSHUA SMALL, Jr., JOHN SMALL, ISAAC SMALL, HENRY
SMALL, Lieut. DANIEL SMALL, WILLIAM SMALL, JACOB SMALL, BENJAMIN SMALL, JAMES SMALL, REUBEN SMALL,..."

CIVIL LIST -- TOWN CLERKS

GEORGE SMALL, 1862 Town Clerk

SELECTMEN
1793---BENJAMIN SMALL, JACOB SMALL, Joseph Libby
1795---Joseph Libby, BENJAMIN SMALL, Abner Libby
1797---BENJAMIN SMALL, Abner Libby, Joseph Libby
1805---Wingate Frost, Daniel Mann, ISRAEL SMALL
1821---EZEKIEL SMALL, Benjamin Libby, Isaac Mitchell
1829---Nathaniel Clark, BARZILLAI SMALL, Solomon Strout
1830-31---Nathaniel Clark, BARZILLAI SMALL, Col. Solomon Strout
1832---Nathaniel Clark, Capt. Hiram Joy, Capt. BENJAMIN SMALL
1833---Capt. BENJAMIN SMALL, Jr., Simeon Strout, Jr., Capt. Reuben Gilkey
1864---Robert H. Kimball, Henry Wentworth, CYRUS SMALL

EAST LIMINGTON

p.403
George E. Mackie runs the store established by HENRY SMALL as early as 1810, in connection with a tavern which he kept open for 40 years...

p. 404
"Mails daily by Gorham stage; GEORGE M. SMALL, postmaster."

SMALL'S MILLS, a mile and a half north, contains 14 dwellins.

CHURCHES
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

{Organized Oct. 11, 1789, by FRANCIS SMALL, and others.} In 1793 a meetinghouse was begun - JOSHUA SMALL among a group of petition signers to make settlement for Jonathan Atkinson to be the new pastor, Oct. 15, 1794. "William G. Lord and JOSHUA SMALL were made deacons in 1875;.."

SOCIETY OF FRIENDS IN LIMINGTON

p. 405

Established early. Limington was formed first as part of the Windham Monthly Meeting.

BAPTIST CHURCH

In 1804, JOHN SMALL on list of petitioners, asking to use their tax portion in support of a public teacher. In 1876, the "Old First Church" claimed EZEKIEL SMALL as deacon and SILAS SMALL as clerk. Deacon, OSCAR SMALL, also named.

BURIAL GROUNDS At North Limington-ME

Capt. JAMES SMALL, one of the first proprietors and earliest settler, born 1734; died 1812. p. 406
The chief burying place was at the village. WILLIAM SMALL, who died at the age of 76 in 1835, is buried there.

p. 406
PROMINENT MEN
JOSEPH SMALL, Esq., the resident proprietor, to whose efforts was due the early prosperity of the settlement.

Endnotes

Genealogy of the Small Family, descendants of Francis Small, that branch that went from Cape Elizabeth to Deer Isle Maine in 1767 by H. W. Small, MD, 1923

Descendants of Edward Small of New England and the allied families with tracings of English Ancestry by Lora Altine Woodbury Underhill. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1934 p.20 revised edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Co. 1934

Pioneers of Maine and New Hampshire"p. 191-2, by Charles Henry Pope

State of Maine History, Portland Public Library. Edward Small Genealogy

The Pioneers of Maine and New Hampshire 1623 to 1660" by Charles Henry Pope, 1965, Baltimore Genealogical Publishing Co., pages 192-192

James D. Small

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