Smiths Island
When I was little I would vacation at my grandmother's for two weeks. Besides meeting people who were "somehow related," at night we would rock on the porch and she would tell me family stories. In story of the Marsh Family she would relate the tale of my Grandfather's Grandfather and how he was a Northern carpetbagger who, "with good Northern money," came to Chesconnessex Virginia after the Civil War and bought all the land from the Wise Family. Peter's Row, she said, was the name of the farm. Peter's Row was owned by Peter Evans whose wife was Triphenia. Their graves were less than 30 feet from the back door. It came into Marsh hands through a daughter Margaret who married John W. Marsh. It was later that I found that the "Northern carpetbagger" only came from about 20 miles north of Chesconnessex, Smiths Island.
Smith Island is in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. In truth is today it consists of three small island Ewell, Rhodes Point and Tylerton. As with all the islands in the Bay, Captain John Smith of Jamestown fame did not set foot on this island. And although all the elders on the island, and the ones that came before them thought it was settled by Captain John, This Island was named for one Henry Smith, who at the time lived in Accomack County and had patented many acres of land in both Accomack and Somerset County MD. In 1663 he patented 1000 acres of the land on Smiths Island in Accomack County and in 1682 he patented 1000 acres of the land on the same Island in Somerset County.
In 1685 John Evans of Accomac County VA, purchased "200 acres of Pitchcroft on Smith's Island from Henry Smith." He must have live on the island for a time for in 1695 in Somerset Couty he recorded his cattle mark as John Evans of "Smith's Island." By 1701 John had purchased 300 acres near Back Creek from William and Dorothy Jarman. When John wrote his Will, it was recorded in Accomack. An abstract of his Will reads: "W 6 January 1720 WP 8 November 1721 - To son John 200 acres on Smith's Island where John Park now lives in Maryland. To son Mark 200 acres on Smith's Island. To son Richard the old plantation where Arthur Park now lives on Smith's Island. To daughter Mary Evans all my Island called Point Comfort & 50 acres on Silverthorn's Ridge. To son Mark 50 acres adjcent where I now live. To son John plantation where I now live & 148 acres, also 100 acres marsh after the death of my wife. Wife Elizabeth & son John Exrs. Witt: Darby Linton, Elizabeth Johnson, John Johnson." Mark traded his brother John Evans his Smith's Island land for John's Accomack land. With other purchases from a grandson of Henry Smith all of the Maryland patent was evidentially owned by the Evans Family.
John Tyler a carpenter from White Haven in Somerset County was living on the Island by September 19, 1686 when a son was born on the island to him and his wife Elizabeth. This land is on what is now Tylerton.
The lands below the Virginia/Maryland line were known as "South Point" "Hog Neck" and "Horse Hummock."
The early history of the Virginia patent is very scant, but by 1765 by John Fish in his Will bequeathed his lands on the Island to Joseph Crockett and Spencer Tyler. An abstract of his Will reads: " W4 April 1765 - WP 30 Apr. 1766 - "I bequeath all South pint the whole patent belonging to me unto Joseph Crockett". To Spencer Tyler all my part of hog neck. To Lazarus Bacor. To Jacob Tylor. To David Tylor. Joseph Crockett Exr. Witt: Butler Tylor, Arthur Parkes, Sarah Tylor."
The records of Smiths Island can be found at the Court Houses of Somerset County. And in the Accomack records the Southern part of Smiths Island is called "Tangier Islands" with an "s" for no one really knew where in boundary line was. The people of both sections attended services at one church located in the Maryland section on the northern end of the Island. There has always been some confusion on where the line between the states is.
The Census records of 1850, 1860 and 1870 attest to this fact. The families that were enumerated on both the Virginia and Maryland censuses for 1850 [Hogs Neck] were James Harvey [Hoffman] age sailor 40, Siner, age 35, Griffin sailor age 25, Polly age 22; David Bratcher [Bradshaw] sailor age 40, Betsey age 23, Hyram age 4; Levin Fluhart sailor age 50, Sally age 35, Henry sailor age 8, Sally age 14, Thomas age 13, John age 10, Levin age 8, Lewis age 6, Josiah Tyler Sr. Sailor age 35, Britannia age 35, John age 12, Ann age10, Joseph age 8, Mary age 6, and Thomas age 6. There was still confusion in 1872 when the States of both Virginia and Maryland met to set the boundary lines for the fifth time.
The tides still come and go while taking the precious land away. All the farm land that was patented as "broken woodlands" has been reduced and the people have moved to higher ground. Today there 285 people that live on Smiths Island; 73 at Tylerton 60 at Rhodes Point and 122 at Ewell. As the years go by, many residents have left the Island for the "mainland" and the homes have been either left or sold to "foreigners" from Washington DC, Baltimore MD and north as vacation homes and in one hundred years Smiths Island will be no more.
Bibliography:
Dize, Frances W., Smith Island, Chesapeake Bay (Centerville MD: Tidewater Publications) p26.
Maryland Land Patents CB3:280
Maryland, Somerset County Deeds 6:730.
Powell, Jody., Somerset County Maryland Livestock Marks 1665-1722 (Roanoke, TX: Jody Powell)
Nottingham, Stratton., Wills and Administrations of Accomack County, Virginia 1663-1800 (Bowie MD: Heritage Books, Inc., 1990)
Walczyk, Gail M. Report and Journal of Proceedings of The Joint Commission to Adjust The Boundary of the States of Maryland and Virginia; Deposition of Witnessess. Unknown; Coram, NY: Peter's Row, 1992.