If you are still interest in this topic, below is an extract from my notes on the Smithyman limb of my family tree. I have more, including a lineage relevent to myself starting with with Stephen Smithyman (b. about 1610 in Penn, Staffordshire). Most lineages I have come across include a Stephen Smithiman (b. 1686 in Penn, m. Joan Stauford 1706 at Penn, d. 1723 in Wordsley near Stourbridge - he is probably the origin of the Stourbridge Smithyman line). If anyone is interested in the rest of my Smithyman notes please contact me directly.
EXTRACT:
Smitheman, Smitherman, Smithman:
Occupational: ‘The smith-man or smithyman – one who works at a smithy, the smith’s assistant.
The Dictionary cites a reference of a Robert Smythyman from the reign of Edward II (1284-1387).
The earliest parish records found for Smithymans are the baptism of a ‘Rafe ye Bastard of Ales Smithiman’ (Ralph the illegitimate of Alice Smithyman) recorded in Stratford-upon-Avon, parish records in 22 December 1576, and the burial of a Thomas Smithiman at Penkridge, Staffordshire on 1 April 1580. In the 17th Century scattered references of Smithimans from Huntingdonshire, Surrey and Sussex are found as well as Smithymans in Yorkshire and Leicestershire. However, the name and its variants appear increasingly in Staffordshire and Shropshire.
In the 1881 census, the surname occurs most frequently in Staffordshire with 35 individuals, followed by Worcestershire (13), and Warwickshire & Derbyshire with 11. Kingswinford was the town with the highest number of instances at 13, and there is a high probability of close relationship between individuals with the surname. However, there are a number of obvious variations including Smitheman, Smitherman, Smythyman, and Smitham but again these are rare.
Although the connections cannot be proved beyond doubt, most of the branches of the Smithyman family in the West Midlands seem to stem from several generations of Stephen and John Smithimans, their records being found in the parish register of the village of Penn, Staffordshire. From this has been constructed a probable lineage starting with a Stephen Smithiman born in Penn early in the 17th Century.
