William Symmery. Origin: Old Family Name.

William Symmery, yet another Scotsman, was granted 100 acres in the Pettys area of Long Island in September 1790. His land was bounded by that of the sea on two sides and the lands of John Dowland and Philip Fry. The land was later commuted to Arthur Newman.

Mary Symmery, wife of Frances Ballanger, gave birth to a son, Samuel, before 6 September 1768 on New Providence, so at least one member of the family was in the Bahamas before the rumbles of war began in the 13 American Colonies.

His land grant refers to the grantee as “William Symmery, a Loyalist,” and he was exempt from paying quit rent for 10 years. This William Symmery may have been a Loyalist, not an Old Inhabitant. It should be noted that a “William Simmery and child William Brockley, family of three,” were passengers on the transport ship Charlotte, which sailed from St. Marys, East Florida, to New Providence on 23 June 1784, so it is also possible that Symmery was one of those old East Florida residents who never lived in any of the American colonies to the north. Symmery also received a grant of 120 acres on New Providence.

Reference: DM, Land Grant.