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

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

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

Smithfield, Rhode Island Smithfield is a town that is located in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. It includes the historic villages of Esmond, Georgiaville, Mountaindale, Hanton City, Stillwater and Greenville. The population was 22,118 at the 2020 cen ...

. 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 c ...

, pastor of the

First Baptist Church in America The First Baptist Church in America is the First Baptist Church of Providence, Rhode Island, also known as the First Baptist Meetinghouse. It is the oldest Baptist church congregation in the United States, founded in 1638 by Roger Williams in Pr ...

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 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. Putnam Pike ( U.S. Route 44) runs west through the town center of Gl ...

, and in 1666 Steere is recorded as a witness of the Inman Purchase in northern Rhode Island, which was acquired from the Indian,

Quashaamit Quashaamit (also known as William of Blewe Hills and William Minnian or William Awinian and Quashawannamut; prior to 1640/72) was a bilingual Praying Indian sachem or sub-sachem, and teaching minister, possibly affiliated with the Nipmuc, (Massachu ...

. John Steere helped divide the purchase with Edward Inman and John Mowry. During

King Phillips War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

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.http://steerefamily.com/

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