John Steere (ca. 1634 – 1724) was one of the earliest settlers of the state of

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, a town official, and a founder of the town of

Smithfield, Rhode Island Smithfield is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,118 at the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1731, it includes the historic villages of Esmond, Georgiaville, Mountaindale, Spragueville, Stillwater, an ...

John Steere was purportedly born in

Ockley Ockley is a rural village in Surrey. It lies astride the A29, the modern road using the alignment of Stane Street (Chichester). The A29 diverges from the A24 from London about 2.5 miles northeast and takes the alignment of Stane Street a mile ...

, Dorking, Surrey in England around April 6, 1634. Steere likely emigrated to New England in the late 1650s and on May 9, 1660 he was granted his first recorded land on the west side of the Moshassuck River in Providence and later acquired various other parcels of land. In 1660 he married Hannah Wickenden, daughter of Rev.

William Wickenden William Wickenden (c. 1614–1671) was an early Anglo-American Baptist minister, co-founder of Providence Plantations, and signer of the Providence Compact. Wickenden Street in Providence marks where he originally settled in the seventeenth ce ...

, pastor of the

First Baptist Church in America The First Baptist Meetinghouse, also known as the First Baptist Church in America is the oldest Baptist church in the United States. The Church was founded in 1638 by Roger Williams in Providence, Rhode Island. The present church building was ere ...

in Providence, and the Steeres were likely members of the Baptist church. In 1663 Steere served as town sergeant of Providence. Around 1663-67 Steere was one of the first settlers to move to Wayunkeke (Weecapasacheck) in western

near

Glocester, Rhode Island Glocester, otherwise officially called the Town of Glocester, Rhode Island, is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 9,974 as of the 2020 census. The villages of Chepachet and Harmony are in Glocester. ...

, and in 1666 Steere is recorded as a witness of the Inman Purchase in northern Rhode Island, which was acquired from the Indian, Quashaamit. John Steere helped divide the purchase with Edward Inman and John Mowry. During King Phillips War in 1675-76 Steere and his family moved back to Providence, living near Cowpen Point. Eventually, in 1686/87 the Steeres returned to Wionkhiege Hill in Smithfield when his son-in-law Peter Place and daughter Sarah settled in the area. Steere was purportedly one of the first to plant apple orchards in the area and was a prominent farmer and many of his descendants followed in the apple farming tradition. In 1704 Steere leased a piece of land "unto an Indian known by the name of Sam Noforce who hath for sum years lived by mee and hath well behaved him selfe towards mee and mine." Steere died in Smithfield on August 27, 1724 and left his mansion house to his youngest son Samuel. The John Steere Family Association was founded in 1930 and meets each summer in Rhode Island for annual family reunions of the descendants of John Steere.

References

External links

Steere Genealogy: A Record of the Descendants of John Steere, who Settled in Providence, Rhode Island, about the Year 1660, with Some Account of the Steeres of England
(1890) by James Root
Steere Family Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steere, John 1724 deaths Year of birth uncertain

See also

References

External links