Richard Smith was one of the early settlers of Southampton, Long Island, New York, who later became the patentee of Smithtown, and whose activities made him a prominent figure among his contemporaries and gave him a well recognized position in the history of Long Island. Richard sailed from England on October 2, 1635, at age 22, on the ship John of London, bound for St. Christopher's. He was in Boston in 1639 and 1640. He migrated to Southampton with a group of men who lived at Lynn, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, in June 1640. His name is found in the Southampton records between 1643 and June 6, 1656. He was made a freeman on October 7, 1648. On October 7, 1650, he was chosen constable by the General Court. From Southampton, Richard migrated to the north side of Long Island and went to Setauket in Brookhaven. In 1663, Lion Gardiner conveyed to Richard the title to the lands covered by the deed of gift dated July 14, 1659 which described the land as between Huntington and Setauket and extending southerly half way through the island. In 1677, a patent was issued by Gov. Andros. In 1688, Richard became a member of the Colonial Council. Early records show that Richard was referred to as "Mr. Smith" and was considered a "gentleman", in the English social terminology. Richard designated himself as such in some of the deeds, suggesting he was from an armigerious family. This is confirmed by the fact that with his signature on legal documents, he used a seal bearing a fleur-de-lis which may have been a charge on his coat-of-arms. He had the liberal schooling of English boys of the more privileged families and based on his penmanship, may have been subjected to the influence of an atmosphere of legal or official procedures and records. Based on the many silver items handed down to various family members, Richard apparently had been brought up surrounded by a considerable degree of luxury. Richard married Sarah probably in New England. Tradition has it that Sarah was the daughter of John Folger, who was the first of that name in New England and one of the settlers of Martha's vineyard. The late Dr. Frederick K. Smith of Warren, Ohio, devoted 20 years to gathering and preserving all available records concerning Richard Smythe and his descendants. His work, The Family of Richard Smith of Smithtown, Long Island, was published by the Smithtown Historical Society in 1967 for the 300th anniversary of Richard Smythe receiving the patent of land.