Hello Sue, David, and others,
I too am descended from this Richard Smith and Ann (Nancy) Linacre. I have struggled researching the Smith side in particular, but would be glad to share you what conclusions I have reached, at least.
Richard Smith was undoubtedly the one born in 1755 in Lower Bebington to John Smith and his wife Mary. This is supported by the baptismal record of his child Betty, as you've noted, and also his age (65) upon his death in 1820. He died in Moreton in the parish of Bidston, which along with other facts I shall discuss, is an indication he was related to the Smith family of that place. Also note that there's a Richard Smith born to Thomas Smith and his wife Martha, who in 1785 married Martha Linacre, a younger sister of Ann (Nancy) Linacre, which suggests the two Richard Smith's may well be cousins.
John Smith, father of our Richard, was married twice. First to Catherine Inglefield (who was born 1716 in Bebington) in 1740 [N.S.], and they had three daughters Catherine, Ann, and Mary. John's wife Catherine then died in 1747, as you've noted. Described as "of Lower Bebington".
John Smith remarried to Mary Moss in 1750, but this is where every tree I've seen bar one goes wrong, in my view. As far as I can ascertain, Mary Moss was the widow of Thomas Moss of Tranmere in Bebington parish, who had died earlier that same year. They had married in 1736 [N.S.] by license, and her maiden name was Yearsley. Therefore we should say that John Smith married Mary Yearsley in 1750, and Mary was born 1704 in Higher Bebington. The spanner this throws in the works is that John Smith and Mary had further children Mary, John, and Richard, the last being our ancestor Richard born 1755. This puts Mary Yearsley at 50 going on 51 when she gave birth to Richard. While this appears rather unlikely, the sum of evidence for me points to it being the case, especially considering that John lived until 1780 and Mary until 1776 without producing any more children. Furthermore, there is no other record for a burial or remarriage of Mary Moss the widow of Thomas.
Returning to John Smith, the question of his parentage is particularly tricky. There is no baptism record for a John Smith in Bebington, Bidstone, or even casting the net over a 10 mile radius, in the relevant time period (which liberally would be 1690-1723). However, I have some strong suspicions that he was related to the Smith family of Moreton, based on the following facts.
- Our Richard Smith had sons named William, Henry, John, John, Daniel, Richard (in that order). The name Henry in particular has no clear precedent in either Richard's mother's family or in Richard's wife's family, which suggests it may have been his father's name.
- There is a Henry Smith of Oxton in Woodchurch parish (sailor) who married a Mary Stanley of Storeton in Bebington, in the city of Chester (St. Michael and Olave) in 1721, by licence. The place of marriage is curious – perhaps one of their families did not approve? This Henry Smith seems to have been born in Moreton in 1698 to another Henry Smith, but was living in nearby Oxton by this point.
- I've found two distant DNA matches who descend from Jane Smith, who was born in 1722 in Storeton to the above Henry Smith and Mary Stanley. Storeton is notable as the place where our John Smith and his wife Mary later died, having previously lived in Lower Bebington. It's not at all clear what became of this family after, though it's possible Henry Smith and his wife Mary are the ones buried 1758 in Moreton, within a few months of each other. After Jane, there are no further records of baptisms of children.
- The Richard Smith who married Martha Linacre was the son of Thomas Smith of Moreton, himself born 1723 in Moreton, the illegitimate son of another Thomas Smith of Moreton and Alice Shaw of Birkenhead. This puts his roots clearly in Moreton, and could connect our Richard Smith with Moreton too. After all, Richard married a woman (Ann Linacre) from Moreton, and the family settled there.
I hope this is of some help to you, or at least food for thought. I'd certainly be interested if you have any more ideas about where and when John Smith may have been baptised.
Alex
