The following pages are the result of a study I attempted in an effort to establish the Smith family genealogy in North Hadley, Massachusetts. I owe a vote of thanks to my great uncle William E. Dampier whose persistent efforts along these lines aroused my interest in the subject. It was also his suggestion that prompted me to share this knowledge with other members of the family who some day might ask "Who were my ancestors, and where did they come from?" My answer to their question would be, "You are a direct decendent of Sgt. Joseph Smith one of the first settlers of North Hadley, Massachusetts, in the late 16OO's." The material was gathered from Sylvester Judd's History of Hadley and alsc History of Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts Vol. I. The genealogy is taken directly from Judd's and I have attempted to bring the last four generations up to date. Like many family genealogies, errors are quite possible, but I believe it as a whole to be quite reliable. A visit to Hadley and North Hadley would not be complete if you were to miss any of the noted land marks there. I would urge you to visit the old Farm Museum, the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House, a fine old colonial home that has remained through five generations of the Porter-Phelps-Huntington family and is presently open to the public. A visit to the old Hadley Cemetery and North Hadley Cemetery will reveal grave markers of many of the ancestors in your Smith genealogy. On Middle Street you will find the old First Congregational Church and also the old
"Ben Smith" House. And, finally, in North Hadley is the spot where the old Grist Mill once stood, with a marker "TO THE COURAGE AND FORTITUDE OF THE FIRST SETTLERS."
Violet Smith Riberdy August 1962
Contributor: JShep (50763865)