The prominent Smith families of Suffolk County, Long Island, N.Y. resided in the towns of Brookhaven (formerly the Manor of St. George) and Smithtown. The Smiths of Brookhaven were descended from Colonel William "Tangier" Smith (1654-1705), an Englishman who was mayor of the city of Tangier in Morocco, North Africa before settling in Long Island and purchasing large tracts of land that collectively came to be known as St. Georges Manor, or the Manor of St. George. This land comprised roughly 40 percent of the present-day town of Brookhaven.
The Smith family of Smithtown was descended from Richard Smith (or Smythe, circa 1615-1692), a wealthy landowner who founded Smithtown circa 1665. Smith's great grandson, Caleb Smith (1724-1800), was a graduate of Yale College and a judge for the Suffolk County Court of Common Pleas, as well as a member of the New York State Assembly. In 1754, Caleb and his father, Daniel Smith II, built a home on the estate of Richard Smith, in which Caleb lived with his wife, Martha (b. 1727), and their four children. Five subsequent generations of the Smith family resided on the estate until 1888, when it was purchased by the Brooklyn Gun Club. In 1963, the State of New York acquired the Smith estate and converted it into part of the Caleb Smith State Park Preserve. As of 2011, Caleb Smith's original house still stands as part of the preserve.
-
Sources:
- Friends of Caleb Park Preserve. "History." Accessed August 5, 2011. http://www.friendsofcalebsmith.org/history.php
- The Hamlet People. "Col. William Smith, 'Tangier.'" Accessed August 8, 2011. http://brookhavensouthhaven.org/hamletpeople/tng/getperson.php?personID=I6509&tree=hamlet
- Long Island White Family. "Caleb Smith." Accessed August 5, 2011. http://www.thelongislandwhitefamily.com/getperson.php?personID=I41066&tree=white
From the guide to the Smith families papers, 1659-1848, (Brooklyn Historical Society)
