Records of the Smythies family
The document was found making a search for Anne Warkham. The copy
of Records of the Smythies family is held by: The Allen County Public Library.
It was printed by: Mitchell Hughes And Clarke, 140 Wardour Street, London. Privately Printed. 1912.
Complied by Major R. H. Raymond Smythies, Author of "Historical Records of the 40th Regiment",
ETC - 1910/1911
The search for Anne Warkham revealed no additional information on the reasons why St. Clere Rayond
was disinherited and the estate passed to his son John Raymond III.
However, the Records did reveal the possible reason that William Smythies "resigned" as vicar of
Belchamp Walter in 1643. As seen in the Introduction the information
that the Major had compiled was lacking,
in his determination, for the years around 1600. The pubication in the hope that a reader would provide this missing information
was a little optimistic. Publication in 1912 and my further research in 2023 is a testiment to this.
The sources of information on the family trees (pedigrees) appears to be common with the Freer research and other sources
that I have found. Very little of the information comes from the histories of the village and the church as described by
Samuel Phillip Raymond, but the connections between the Raymond and the Smythies families
Top
The Introduction
The first portion of these Records to appear in print was the Exemplification of Arms and Grant of Crest to
George Smythes of Wyke Court in the county of Somerset, which document, with an illustration of the arms,
crest, and mantling, was reproduced in the March, 1809, number (Part XI., First Series) of Miscellanea
Genealogica et Heraldica,
as stated on page 1 herein. Over forty years afterwards the Editor of
this leading Genealogical Journal again offered the hospitality of its pages to place on record further information connected
with the Smythies Family, and this time the contribution was of much greater length and
importance, for it embraced the Pedigree and the Genealogical Notes
relating to it. which, by the courtesy of the Proprietors of the Journal,
are reproduced in this volume.
The first part of the Pedigree was published in December 1910, and
the last part of the Genealogical Notes in December 1911, the whole
being included in Volume IV., Fourth Series, of the periodical. A comparison of the Pedigree and Notes in Miscellanea Genealogica
et Heraldica with those in this book will, however, shew that certain small errors which appeared in the first publication have been
corrected herein, and entries relating to recent events, such as the marriage of Evelyn Arthur
Smythies (B 23), and the birth of his son Bertram Evelyn Smythies, have been added, thus making the record more accurate and up-to-date.
Very great care has been taken to ensure the reliability of all statements, and though to quote the authority for every date and name
has not been found practicable, the sources from which all the most important data have been derived are given in the genealogical
or other notes.
Facts regarding people now living, or only recently deceased, have been in most cases ascertained from the people themselves or their
nearest relations, or are within the personal knowledge of the Compiler.
Wills, official records, legal deeds, parish registers, standard books of reference, and family documents have been the main sources
of information regarding the past, and useful additional information has been obtained from such publications as county histories,
The Gentleman's Magazine, and The Ipswich Journal.
In " Supplementary Data " several references which could not be used in the Pedigree, or which have not yet been fully investigated,
are given. These, it is thought, may be of use to some genealogist in the future, if such should be found, who is desirous of
amplifying still further the records of the Smythies Family. Every year the labours of the searcher are being
reduce kinds of records, public and private, which for centuries have been hidden away in cellars or lumber-rooms, unclassified
or even unknown, many of them only decipherable by experts and requiring an enormous amount of time, patience, and knowledge to
make them available for purposes of
research. It seems probable that amongst these may be found the information which is still lacking to make the Smytines Pedigree at
the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth centuries more
clear. Indications are not wanting that the Chancery Proceedings of that period, if thoroughly searched, might yield the information
required, and the useful publications of The Parish Eegister Society might at any
time give valuable help in the direction needed.
The introduction concludes including the following:
In these circumstances it seemed best to stop further research for the present and publish at once the records
already collected, leaving to the future the task of elucidating those details in the early part of the
Pedigree shortly before and after the year 1600 which still remain obscure.
More especially did this seem desirable, since the very fact of the publication might be the means of
obtaining the desired information.
Samuel John St. Clere Raymond and Margaret Charlotte Montague Smythies
Samuel John St. Clere Raymond was the oldest son of
John Mayne St. Clere Raymond and the father of Samuel Philip St. Clere Raymond.
Samuel John St. Clere Raymond married Margaret Charlotte Montague Smythies in 1884 and died in 1900
at age 40 (See newspaper article Suffolk Free Press - April 11, 1900)
Samuel John St. Clere Raymond was the great grand father of the present owner of Belchamp Hall.
