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A description of Henry Smith by his son, Samuel, in a letter to Samuel' s s o n , I c hobod: ". ...He was five foot ten inches tall and spare of bui ld , t h o n o t leane . He was active as the R'd Skin Men & sinewy. His del i gh t e w a s in sportes of strengthe, & withe his owne hands he did help t o r e a r b o the our house and the firste meeting house in Wethersfield whe re r e i n h e preacht year ees to fewe. He was well Featured & Fresh favore d w i t h f a ire Skin & long curling hair (as near all of us had) wi th a m er r i e e y e & swete smiling Mouthe, tho he coulde frowne sternlie eno' wh e n n e e d w as...I remembered ye sweetnesse & ye Charity of my firste Fart h e r . "
He studied at Kings College in Cambridge, England in 1619-1620, and was o r d a i n ed by the Bishop of Peterborough on June 8, 1623. Henry came with h i s w i f e , four children, four men servants, and four maid servants on a s h i p w i t h John Driver, masterer, sailing from Weymouth, England in 1636. T h e y s e t tled first in Watertown, Mass., and in March of 1636, Rev. Smith a n d s i x o t her men were appointed commissioners, giving them full power b y t h e M a s sachusetts legislature to govern Connecticu t f o r on e year. O n D e c e m ber 5, 1637, Henry and his wife were admitted to communion at th e W a t e r town Church.
In 1638, the family removed to Wethersfield, Conn. and Rev. Henry was t h e f i r s t ordained minister there. His homelot consisted of five acres a n d w a s b o unded by the Wethersfield Green and the burying ground . Accor d i n g t o a n article in thn the " C o n necticut Nutmegger", there was gr e a t d i s satisfaction with the leadership of Rev. Smith (the wealthy ruli n g e l d e r of the church, Clement Chaplin, incited rebellion in the flock a g a i n s t Rev. Henry and the people brought grievancvances agains t hi m ) , a n d b e c a use of this, the Connecticut legislature asked that he "lay down h i s p l a c e, if it be done according to God". Rev. Henry refused to resign , a n d t h e c ourt found that there was no basis to the complaints . As a r e s u l t , Mr. Chapli n and o th er s were fined for what they had done aga i n s t R e v. Smith. In 1637, Henry Smith from Wethersfield was one of 90 m e n w h o j o ined in the Pequot-Narrigansett War in Rhode Island .
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1593 - 1648 (55 years)
