William "Tangier" Smith

William "Tangier" Smith (February 2, 1655-February 18, 1705) was a mayor of Tangier, Morocco and an early settler of America who owned more than convert|50|mi|km of Atlantic Ocean waterfront property in central Long Island in New York State, in what is called the Manor of St. George.

Smith was born in Newton Bromswold in Northamptonshire in England.

Smith was to join his uncle William Staines in Tangier and was elected Common Councilman of Tangier in 1677 and became an alderman in 1679. He was mayor from 1682 until the British evacuated the city in October of 1683 following attacks by forces under Ismail Ibn Sharif. During Smith's term as mayor, the British destroyed the city as they evacuated the Tangier Garrison.

Smith moved to London, where he had a business in Long Acre.

In 1686, Smith and his wife and three of his children sailed from Cork, Ireland to New York at the urging of Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick who had been named Provincial Governor of New York. Dongan had also been Lieutenant-Governor of Tangier during Smith's stay there. One of Smith's children died en route.

Smith received land grants from Dongan and supplemented it with large purchases of Native American land.

On May 25, 1691, Smith purchased a large chunk of the land that is now the Town of Brookhaven, New York from John Mayhew of the Unkechaug Nation. In exchange, the Unkechaugs were given title to convert|175|acre|km2, which has now be reduced to 55 acres in Poosepatuck Reservation, New York—the smallest reservation in New York state. [ [http://www.suffolk.lib.ny.us/libraries/cmor/illushis.htm Illustrated History of the Moriches Bay Area by Van and Mary Field suffolk.lib.ny.us - retrieved November 12, 2007] ]

Smith eventually accumulated more than convert|81000|acre|km2 stretching from Riverhead, New York in the northeast to the Carmans River at Shirley, New York in the southwest. Additionally, he was given title to all of Fire Island, New York.

The deal cemented when Colonial Governor Benjamin Fletcher granted Smith a patent to establish a manor on the land which was to be called Manor of St. George: a section of land stretching from Riverhead to Mastic, New York.

Smith was to oversee the Manor from land he had bought earlier in Setauket, New York, also in the Town of Brookhaven.

After Smith's death, his heirs built a house on Bellport Bay that today is called the "Manor of St. George." A peninsula sticking into Narrow Bay connecting Bellport with Moriches Bay is called Smith's Point and is the source of the name for Smith Point County Park. The names of "Smith", "Manor" and "Tangier" are used extensively as placenames throughout Brookhaven, including Manorville, New York.

Descendants of Smith include:
*William Smith
*William Smith (chief justice)
*John Smith (New York)

References