During the 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries England was ravaged
by plaques, famine, and religious conflict. Protestantism the newly
found political fervor of Cromwelliamism and democratic government,
and remnants of the RomanChurch rejected all non believers. The
changing rule caused burnings, hangings and banishment's of all
sects and creeds. Many families were freely "encouraged" to migrate
to Ireland, or to the "colonies". Some were rewarded with grants of
lands, others were banished. The families who migrated to Ireland
became known as the Adventurers for land in Ireland. Protestant
settlers "under took to keep their faith", being granted land
previously owned by the Catholic Irish. That the family name
migrated to Ireland, but this does not preclude the possibility of
their scattered migration to that country.The New World offered
better opportunities and some unfulfilled, but many left directly
from their home territories. Some also moved to the European
continent.
The
Saxon race gave birth to many English surnames not the least of
which was the surname Smart. The saxons, invited into England by the
Ancient Britons of the 4th century, were a fair skinned people their
home was the Rhine Valley. They were led by 2 brothers, General /
Commanders Hengist & Horsa. The Saxons settled in the county of
Kent, in southern England. During the next 400 yrs they forced the
Ancient Britons into Wales and Cornwall in the West, and Cumberland
in the North. The Angles occupied the eastern coast, the south folk
in Suffolk, and North folk in Norfolk. Under Saxon rule England
prospered under a series of High Kings, The last of which was
Harold.
In
1066, The Norman invasion from France occurred and their victory at
the Battle of Hastings. In 1070, Duke William took an army of 40
thousand north and wasted the Northern counties, forcing many
rebellious Norman nobles and Saxons to flee over the border into
Scotland. The Saxons who remained in the south were not treated well
under hostile Norman rule, and many also moved northward.
Nevertheless, this notable English family name,
Smart, emerged as a influential name in the county of Devon where
they were recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. By the 13 century
they had branched eastward along the south coast to West Chickerel
in Dorset and to Suffolk and several locations in the city of
London.
By the
15 century they had moved north to Trewhitt House in Northumberland
and across the border into Scotland. Henry Smert was a scottish
prisoner of war in 1422, who was released to find his own ransom.
John Smert held lands in Kintore in Scotland in 1488. William Smart
joined the outlawed Clan MacGregor in 1612. The family held business
interests in Muresk and Tollochin in Scotland. Their present family
seats are at Bere Mill and Trewhitt. Notable amongst the family at
this time was Henry Smart, prisoner of war.
Members of the farmland
named Smart sailed aboard the huge armada of three masted sailing
ships known as the "White Sails" which plied the stormy Atlantic.
These over crowded ships such as the Hector, the Dove and the
Rambler, were pestilence ridden, sometimes 30% to 40% of the
passenger list never reaching their destination. Amongst the first
settlers in North America, which could be considered a kinsman of
the surname Smart, or a variable spelling of that family name was
John Smart who settled in Massachusetts in 1635; another John
settled in Jamaica in 1670; another John settled in Barbados in 1680
with his servants and brother Samuel also settled with his wife,
child and servants; William Smart settled in Virginia in 1643;
Thomas and Richard Smart settled in Barbados in 1635. In
Newfoundland, the family named Smart settled on Change Islands, and
A. Smart settledc in Placientia in 1724; Amos Smart settled in
harbour in 1810; George Smart was a planter of Catalina in 1847;
they also settled at Stone Harbour, Fortune, Twillingate,
Herringneck and Little Bay Island.
From the port of entry many settlers made there
way west, joining the wagon trains to the Prairies or to the West
Coast. During the American War of Independence, many Loyalists made
their way North to Canada about 1790, and became known as the United
Empire Loyalists.
Contemporary notables of this surname, Smart, include
many distinguished contributors, Andrew Smart, Guided Weapons
Director; Professor George Smart, Clinical Medicine; and General
Robert Smart, Medical Officer; and Professor Ninian Smart,
Metaphysics; Lesley Smart, Railway Director.
During the course of
our research we also determined the many Coat of Arms granted to
different branches of the family name.
The most ancient grant of
Coat of Arms found; Silver on a chevron between three black arrow
heads, a gold five leafed clove.the crest was: An eagle with a
Burdock in its beak.
The ancient family Motto for this
distinguished name was:
"Virtus"
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