MOTHER SMITH
'Smith was twice married, though the dates have yet to be discovered; likewise the surname of his first wife, whose christian name was Anne.' [1] This being still the state of play sixty years after these words were printed, it was with startled interest that I recently set my eyes on an entry from the Calendar of Marriage Licences, dated February 1678-9: [2] SMITH BARNARD - CHURCH ANNE Of course it could conceivably be a coincidence, for Bernard Smith is no more uncommon a name than is William Hill, and there was one about in those days in the military world who figures, says Freeman [3], with his widow, in the Domestic State Papers. Freeman does not give references, dates, or details to facilitate comparisons. He notes the interesting fact of a military Bernard Smith with an uncle Gerard in the time of the Great War - and indeed a military Bernard was to be found in recent issues of the London Telephone Directory - but so far as Father Smith's contemporary is concerned he is uncommunicative. A Lieutenant Bernard Smith is known to have been in the Londonderry Garrison during the siege in 1689. [4]. I know nothing of his domestic state: but whether it was his widow or not who attracted Freeman's attention in the Records Office that April afternoon in 1910, it is certain that had Freeman found her name to be Anne he would have noted the fact. Surely a coincidence in both christian names would be too good to be true! I in my turn met a widow in the Public Records Office. Her name was Mary Smith and her husband was an ensign (Second lieutenant) in Colonel Hordaunt's regiment [5]. But the document did not give him any Christian name. For that, I had to follow her to Kew, where I found that his name was Hugh. [6] Clearly the Reverend author had married the lady off to the wrong lieutenant. The only other reference to a Bernard Smith which I turned up (apart of course from those obviously to the organ builder, all noted in Freeman's book) was the following intriguingly mysterious one. It is undated, but the associated calendar suggests 166? 'Michaell Hild Servand of Bernard Smith turned from abard of the faulcon abord of his majesties shipp the York now Rideing att Spitt head. '[7] Ann Smith was buried at Upham in September 1698, aged 63. [8] Thus in February 1679 (new reckoning) she would have been 43 or 44, and the arrival of a daughter could perhaps have been a bit of a surprise - we are told by various writers [9] that Shrider married Smith's daughter, though no primary source seems ever to have been cited. Miss Smith poses a few problems. A year after Anne's death Smith had married Elizabeth Houghton and set about making a new Will [10]. In this he mentions his relatives, but there is no mention of any daughter. Had she married Shrider and then died, she would have had to do both before the age of 20. Had the marriage not yet taken place, one would have expected a mention of her; likewise if she were married and still alive. It is significant that Christopher Shrider Junior, who succeeded to his father's business, was Shrider's child by his wife Helen. 'Mrs Hellen Shrider died March 21 1752, aged 65 years, and was buried ye 27, in the south Cloyster, on her fathr, Mr. Thos.Jennings.' [ll] 'Eldest child of Thomas Jenings (sic), one of the choir of the Abbey ... She married at the Chapel Royal,Whitehall, 6 April 1708, Christopher Shrider, the celebrated organ-maker, to whom she was second wife, he having previously married a daughter of his master, the still more celebrated Bernard Schmidt. He was buried at S. Anne's, Westminster, 31 May 175l. Their son Christopher . ... succeeded to his father's business and died 16 October 1763'. [12] Five other children are mentioned, all of whom died young. This is all in an editorial footnote, and gives no supporting references whatever, so we are still unable to ascertain the circumstances of the Shrider-Smith nuptials. The above-mentioned editor does not seem to have seen any original document, for he uses the name 'Schmidt'. Bernard always signed himself 'Smith' and was always referred to as such - or on occasion 'Smyth'; and even if he be identified with the elusive Baerent Smith [13] the same applies. It was not until the later years of the eighteenth century that the fads of German and Dutch spellings of his name grew up, seemingly triggered off by Burney, as Boeringer points out. [14] Incidentally, the entry for Smith's burial, referred to as untraced, [15] was seen by F.G. Edwards and recorded by him: St. Margaret's Westminster, 20 February 1708 - 'Bernard Smith Esq., Organ Maker in Ordinary. S.S.C.' [l6] (sc. = 'south side of church') One would hope that further primary sources will come to light, but so far as Mother Smith is concerned - have we in fact found the lady'? REFERENCES 1. Freeman & Rowntree, Father Smith, 7 2. Calendar of Marriage Licences granted in the Faculty Office from October 14 1632 to October 31 1695. 71. Note also Rene Harris to Joan Hiett, September 1677, 68; and Garadus Smith to Hannah Cobb, December, 1691, 117 3. F&R, 2 4. Calendar of State Papers 1693, no. 106, 174 5. Ibid 1698 21 June 6. Calendar of Treasury Books Vol. XIII 358. Treasury Papers Vol. 54 No. 1, 7. S.P. Dom; Car II, Vol. 187, No.132 8.F&R, 105 9. J.H.Monk The Life of Richard Bentley (1830), 161; J. Done A Complete Treatise on the Organ (1837),6; Hopkons & Rimbault The Organ (1877), 105; et al 10. F&R, 70 11.Westminster Abbey Burial Registers 12 Harleian Society Westminster Abbey Registers, 383; H&R loc.cit. 13. J. Boeringer in Organ Yearbook VI (1975) 4 et seq; F&R, 107 14 Boeringer op.cit, 5 15 F&R, 106 16 Musical Times 1905, 518; Musical Opinion March 1923, 562 |