Smiley Family History
Francis Smylie (Smiley) 1689-1763
Born: 1689, Londonderry, Ireland
Died: 16 March 1763 at Windham, New Hampshire, USA, age 74
Occupation: Farmer
Married: Agnes Wilson in 1717 at Londonderry, Ireland
Migration: Sailed from Ireland to USA in 1727 with three, possibly four children
Children: 5
Francis Smylie (later Smiley) was born in Londonderry in Northern Ireland and was possibly a son of Thomas Smylie, a Scot whose father had migrated to Ireland with his family.
In Londonderry in 1717, Francis married Agnes Wilson, who was born there in 1693. The couple had five children.
With three, possibly four of their Irish-born children, they migrated to America in 1727, initially settling in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in the north east of the country. Within a year, their fifth child was born.
The family moved to Windham, New Hampshire in 1743 where Francis bought a farm from Thomas Monson. Two years after the death of Francis, this farm was sold to Alexander Park, whose daughter Mary married Hugh, a son of Francis and Agnes.
Francis died on 16 March 1763 at Windham at the age of 74; Agnes died almost 30 years later, on 23 December 1792, in Old Dunstable, New Hampshire, when she was close to 100 years old.
Footnote: Francis had two brothers who also moved from Ireland to America. According to some stories, one brother, William, was pressed into the British naval service. After about seven years in the navy, his vessel anchored in Long Island Sound, and William Smiley, with two cousins, escaped from service by swimming ashore in Connecticut. It is unclear when the other brother, John, migrated to America but he settled in Haverhill, Massachusetts.
Children of Francis and Agnes (Wilson) Smylie (later Smiley)
- John Smiley (1720-1774) married (1) Mary Cannon in 1740, (2) Mary Kimball
- Hugh Smiley (1723-1813) married Mary Park on 23 October 1745
- Mary Smiley
- William Smiley (1727-1813) married Sarah Robinson on 30 April 1754
- Margaret Smiley (1728-?) married Francis Smith
