*Capt. Thomas Chatfield
Birthdate: circa February 16, 1620
Birthplace: North Mundham, Sussex, England

Death: Died June 22, 1686 in East Hampton, Long Island, New York, United States

PARENTS
Son of Henry Chatfield and Jane Wyckman
Named in their will

MARRIED
Ann Higginson on 1648 in Guilford, New Haven, CT. dau. of Rev. Francis and Anna (Herbert) Higginson of Leicester, England and Salem, MA

CHILDREN
Anne/Admah Chatfield
Elizabeth Chatfield

SIBLINGS
Brother of Elizabeth Chatfield; Miriam Ingram; Francis Chatfield; Jane Chatfield; Sarah Chatfield, George and 1 other

Half brother of Sarah Wickham; Thomas Wickham; Miriam Wickham; John Wickham; Bernard Chatfield and 3 others

EMIGRATED:
In 1639, from North Mundham, Sussex, England on the ship St. John

IMMIGRATED:
In 1639, the three sons of HENRY CHATFIELD & JANE WICKHAM, to Guilford, Connecticut in Rev. Henry Whitfield’s Company
1.Francis Chatfield (b: 1615/16, age 24); Francis died without family.
2.Thomas Chatfield (b: 1620/21, age 17); Thomas migrated to Long Island, New York to raise his family.
3.GEORGE CHATFIELD (b: 1623/24, age 15); who remained in Connecticut.

PLANTERS
Planted the English colony of Guilford, Connecticut

RELIGION
Congregationalists or Dissenters (emigrated as they did not want to be members of the Church of England)

OCCUPATION
Farmers

NOTES: Capt Thomas Chatfield (son of Henry Chatfield and Jane Wichham) was born 16 Feb 1620/21 in North Mundham, Sussex, England, and died 1687 in East Hampton, Suffolk, LI, NY.
He married Anne Higginson on 1648 in Guilford, New Haven, CT.
He was b. abt 1621 in Sussex, England and d. bef. 1687 at East Hampton, Long Island, NY.

He was named in the wills of both his parents and md. at New Haven, CT abt 1648, Anne Higginson.

She was b. abt. 1627, the dau. of Rev. Francis and Anna (Herbert) Higginson of Leicester, England and Salem, MA.

He immigrated to New England in 1639, with two brothers, in the company of Rev. Henry Whitfield, and settled at Guilford, New Haven, CT.

REV WHITFIELD
Henry Whitfield was one of the founders of Guilford, Connecticut.
It was first settled in 1639 after being purchased from Native American leader Wequash.
The place was named for Guilford in Surrey, the native place of many of the colonists.
After negotiating with the local Native Americans, who were represented by their squaw sachem (female chief) Shaumpishuh, the group purchased land halfway between New Haven and Saybrook.

"For twenty years Whitfield was a conformist of the established church but through many of those years his home had been a place of refuge for the pious nonconformists. This ministry was viewed with disapproval by the reigning English hierarchy of the day as more and more restrictions were put upon the leaders of the Church. Those who did not obey the regulations handed down by the Archbishop were persecuted and chastised, sometimes to the point of imprisonment and even loss of life. When he was cited to appear before the High Commission Court and censured for his actions, Whitfield resigned his position in 1638 as head of the Ockley Church and made his plans to join others in emigrating to New England. Two of Whitfield's old friends had already settled plantations in CT. It was decided that the young families from Kent, Surrey and Sussex who had become followers of the Rev. Whitfield because their principles and opinions were similar to his own would also settle in this southern part of New England."..."The voyage on the ship "St. John", captained by a Mr. Richard Russell, was actually begun about May 20th."
A few years later Thomas went to New Haven, and abt. 1650 he removed to East Hampton, Long Island.
"Sheffield Family --- Related Families."
"Genealogical Research in England."
"The Early History of Southampton, LI, NY", with Genealogies, by George Rogers Howell, M.A., published by Weed, Parsons and Company in 1887.
By: Cheryl (Chatfield) Thompson.
~~~~~
CHATFIELD BOOK
Thomas Chatfield and Ann Higginson
Author: LaRae Halsey-Brooks Date: 10 Nov 2000 12:00 PM GMT
Surnames: Chatfield, Higginson, Stansborough, Stratton, King, Pelletreau
Classification: Biography
~~~~~
THOMAS CHATFIELD and ANN HIGGINSON
Thomas Chatfield, the first of this name on Long Island, came to East Hampton quite early.
He had a brother Francis who settled in Guilford, New Haven, CT, and another brother George, who settled in Killingworth.
Thomas removed from Guilford to New Haven, where he married Ann d. of Rev. Francis Higginson, and thence to East Hampton.

Mr. John Chatfield of B.H. has an old parchment having thereon a picture of the arms of the family, probably brought to this country by his ancestor Thomas Chatfield above mentioned.
The description of these arms in heraldic language is: Or, a griffin segreant sable, on a chief purpure three escallops argent.
Crest: An heraldic antelope's head, erased, argent, attired and ducally gorged gules. Motto with coat of arms: Che sara sara.

CHILDREN
1 Thomas d. before 1687 and had ch.
2 Anna b. 1649 (m. 1670, Josiah Stanbury/Stansborough),
3 Thomas b. 1652 and
4 John who had w. Mary, but whether ch. I know not.
3 Capt. Thomas d. Mch. 20, 1712, had s.
5 Thomas b. 1686.
5 Thomas (called Judge on the East Hampton, LI, NY records) d. Jan. 12, 1754, m. May 26, 1707, Hannah Stratton b. June, 1687, and had ch.
6 Mary (who m. 1st Joseph King who d. 1732 and m. 2nd Francis Pelletreau Sept. 4, 1734, and he d. in London 1737 leaving one d. Hannah b. Nov. 12, 1735),
7 Anna b. Oct. 8, 1709,
8 Thomas b. Sept. 12, 1712,
9 John b. Mch. 8, 1716, and
10 Esther bap. 1720.
~~~~~

The following from: A HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF EAST HAMPTON, NY, Henry P. Hedges pp. 249-250.

CHATFIELD FAMILY
Mrs. Anna E. Rose, nee Chatfield, has contributed the following record of the ancient and intellectual Chatfield family, from which stock in East-Hampton have sprung those who in New-York, New Jersey and other States have attained eminence:
There is a tradition in the Chatfield family that the father of the three brothers, Thomas, George and Francis, who first came to America, was Henry, of Sussex, England. Thomas Chatfield, the first of that name in East-Hampton, had a brother Francis who settled in Guilford, Conn., and, as far as can be learned, died unmarried.
Thomas had also a brother George who settled in Killingworth, Conn.
Edward Crane Chatfield, a lawyer, of Minneapolis, and the seventh in descent from this George above mentioned, is searching the genealogy of the Chatfield family in all its branches.
He states that, while finding some of the name in nearly every State of the Union, he has not been able to find any descendants of Thomas except on Long Island.

The Chatfield Coat of Arms is now owned by John G. Chatfield, of Bridge-Hampton, who inherited it from his father, John H., and as far as is known it is believed to have been brought from England to Connecticut, and then to East-Hampton by the first Thomas Chatfield, ancestor of John.
Mr. George R. Howell, in his history of Southampton Town, states that the Chatfield Coat of Arms is on parchment. This is a mistake, as it is painted on an oak slab.
It also varies a very little from the one Mr. Howell gives in his history.
Thomas Chatfield 1 moved from Guilford to New Haven where, in 1639, he married Ann, d. of Rev. Francis Higginson.
He moved to East-Hampton at a very early date, as we find his name on the East-Hampton records as early as 1651.

THOMAS 1 died before 1687; had ch. Anna 2, b. 1649; Thomas 2, (in some papers called Capt. Thomas) b. 1652, and John 2, who had w. Mary but I know of no child.

CAPT. THOMAS 2, b. 1652, d. March 20, 1712, had son Thomas 3, b. 1680.

THOMAS 3, (called Judge on the East-Hampton records) b. Aug. 25th, 1680, d. Jan. 13, 1754, m. Hannah Stratton, who was b. June, 1687, and had ch. Mary 4, b. Sept. 12, 1707, (who Sept. 9, 1731 m. Joseph King, he died Nov. 6, 1732, then Mary m. Francis "Peltrow," Sept. 4, 1734. Her first ch. Hannah b. Nov. 12, 1735. "Pelltrow" died in London, Sept. 14, 1737. Mary m. 3d Mr. "Gilston," Feb. 23, 1738. After that marriage she had a son b. Dec. 24, 1738, who d. Feb. 21, 1739; dau. Mary b. Aug. 10, 1744; dau. Anna b. Aug. 28, 1747). Anna 4 b. Oct. 8, 1709 (who m. John Mulford, April 1, 1731, had ch. John b. Feb. 22, 1732; Mary b. April 10, 1735; Hannah b. Sept. 4, 1736; Phebe b. June 18, 1739; Jerusha b. March 19, 1741; a son b. Jan. 16, 1744; Esther b. Nov. 16, 1749). Thomas 4, b. Sept. 12, 1712; John 4, b. March 8, 1716.

THOMAS 4, b. Sept. 12, 1712, d. Jan. 1, 1743, m. Nov. 11, 1735, Abigail Mulford, had ch. Phebe 5, b. Dec. 25, 1740; Elnathan 5, bap. 1742;

JOHN 4, b. March 8, 1716, d. Sept. 24, 1801, m. Dec. 15, 1739, Jane, dau. of Lewis Mulford, who was b. 1716, d. 1753, and had ch. Mary 5, b. Sept. 16, 1740; John 5, b. Nov. 30, 1741; Thomas 5, b. July 9, 1743; Hannah 5, b. Jan. 1, 1745; Lewis 5, b. July 28, 1746; Jane 5, b. June 1, 1748, d. Sept. 29, 1810; Henry 5, b. Jan. 17, 1750, and Elizabeth 5, b. Sept. 29, 1751, (who married a Russel and moved to Connecticut). This complete family record of Judge Thomas Chatfield 3 and family was copied from the Judge's Bible printed in Oxford, England, in 1725, and now in possession of John G. Chatfild, of Bridge-Hampton.

HENRY 5, b. Jan. 17, 1750, d. Jan. 8, 1839, m. Annie (???) b. 1754, d. April 28, 1802, had ch. Sarah 6, b. 1776, d. April 15, 1783.

THOMAS 5, b. Dec. 25, 1740, had ch. Thomas 6, bap. 1760; John 6, bap. 1772; Julianna 6, bap. 1775, in East-Hampton.

CAPT. HENRY 5, b. July 9, 1743, had ch. Henry 6, b. 1788,
d. 1804, m. Rebecca Mulford had ch. Henry M. 7, b. 1801; Phebe 7, b. 1803, d. 1881. (Phebe m. John Baker, had ch. Hannah, Francis, Margaret and Rebecca.) This Henry 6 removed to Plattsburg, NY, where I believe he died, when his widow and children returned to East-Hampton. John 6 b. 1782, d. June 17, 1837, d. s. p.

HENRY M. 7, b. 1801, d. March 29, 1867, m. Nancy Havens, had ch. Julia A. 8, b. 1824, and d. Oct. 1895, (she m. Samuel Howell, had ch. Wm. H. b. Aug. 1849, d. Nov. 20, 1887; Elmer E. b. Jan. 11, 1864.) John 8, b. Jan. 20, 1826, d. Dec. 26, 1865, m. Esther E. d. of Henry Edwards, Oct. 1857, had ch. Anna 9, b. Jan. 11, 1859, (who m. Stephen E. Rose had d. Ernestine, b. March 19, 1880); John 9, b. Oct. 2, 1861; Lydia H. 9, b. July 18, 1863 (who m. J. Everett Hand in June, 1888) and Henry Havens 9, b. March 17, 1866, he m. Charlotte M. Peterson, had ch. Harry E. 10, b. Aug. 19, 1894, d. Oct. 1895.

Henry H. 9 is a Counselor at Law and he and John 9 reside in Bridge-Hampton, NY He was b. abt 1621 in Sussex, England and d. bef. 1687 at East Hampton, Long Island, NY. He was named in the wills of both his parents and md. at New Haven,cCT abt 1648, Anne Higginson. She was b. abt. 1627, the dau. of Rev. Francis and Anna (Herbert)

Higginson of Leicester, England and Salem, Essex, MA.
He immigrated to New England in 1639, with two brothers, in the company of Rev. Henry Whitfield, and settled at Guilford, New Haven, CT.
"For twenty years Whitfield was a conforminst of the established church but through many of those years his home had been a place of refuge for the pious nonconformists. This ministry was viewed with disapproval by the reigning English hierarchy of the day as more and more restrictions were put upon the leaders of the Church. Those who did not obey the regulations handed down by the Archbishop were persecuted and chastised, sometimes to the point of imprisonment and even loss of life. When he was cited to appear before the High Commission Court and censured for his actions, Whitfield resigned his position in 1638 as head of the Ockley Church and made his plans to join others in emigrating to New England. Two of Whitfield's old friends had already settled plantations in CT. It was decided that the young families from Kent, Surrey and Sussex who had become followers of the Rev. Whitfield because their principles and opinions were similar to his own would also settle in this southern part of New England."..."The voyage on the ship "St. John", captained by a Mr. Richard Russell, was actually begun about May 20th."
A few years later Thomas went to New Haven, and abt. 1650 he removed to East Hampton, Long Island.
"Sheffield Family --- Related Families."
"Genealogical Research in England."
"The Early History of Southampton, LI, NY", with Genealogies, by George Rogers Howell, M.A., published by Weed, Parsons and Company in 1887.
By: Cheryl (Chatfield) Thompson.

More About Thomas *****Chatfield, Id Capt.:
Immigration: 1639, England to Guilford, New Haven, CT in 1639
Military: Captain
Residence: 1639, Guilford to New Haven, New Haven, CT to Long Island, NY

More About Capt Thomas Chatfield and Anne Higginson:
Marriage: 1648, Guilford, New Haven, CT.

Thomas Chatfield signed a land deed between Lion Gardiner and Wyandanch, East Hampton, July 14, 1659.

From Jack Graves of The Easthampton Star, on web page www.easthamptonstar.com/971106/col2.htm:
I guess it's a good time, with the town's 350th anniversary coming up and all, to announce that I am, so I'm told, descended from one of the town's founding fathers, Thomas Chatfield.
My mother, who keeps track of such things, told me this quite a while ago, and I, of course, quickly forgot, but with the hoopla attendant upon the tricentquinquagenary i am reminded of my distinguished forebear, whose name, according to Jeannette Edward's Rattray's "East Hampton History", first turned up in the records in 1651.
One of the few listed in the town records as "Gentleman", he served as Town Clerk, she said, off and on from 1653 until his death, "before 1687", and "was probably Collector of Customs, 1670, for the town of Easthampton."
I marveled when I read, on page 244 that Thomas Chatfield had drawn, on June 4, 1736, a 236 acre lot at Chatfield's Hill, an elevation on the road between Easthampton and Sag Harbor, a lot that ran between the two towns, and included this hill with a fine view. It remained in the family until after the Revolution; then had to be sold because of the "Dayton Measles". A merchant pedlar, Ebenezer Dayton, from Bethany, Conn., arrived in Easthampton on a Saturday evening with goods for sale. On Sunday morning he had symptoms of measles, but insisted on attending the church service and thereby advertising his wares.
Indignation arose, so that early Monday morning he left town. He was pursed by a few young men, overtaken, and brought back to the village. They rode him on the rail through the street, and duncked him repeatedly in Town Pond. Nearly one hundred took the measles and several died. Col. Aaron Burr, than a young lawyer, took the case for the pedlar and won it. The jury awarded $1,000 damages against the young men. One was a Chatfield, whose father to raise money for payment of the damages incurred by his son sold Chatfield Hill to a Latham.
And so, folks, that's the way it goes in our family. Having performed a civic duty, we were done out of our land by the man who was to go on to murder Alexander Hamilton and later stand trial for treason!

There is a tradition in the Chatfield family that the father of the three brothers, Thomas, George and Francis, who first came to America, was Henry, of Sussex, England. Thomas Chatfield, the first of that name in East-Hampton, had a brother Francis who settled in Guilford, Conn., and, as far as can be learned, died unmarried. Thomas had also a brother George who settled in Killingworth, Conn. Edward Crane Chatfield, a lawyer, of Minneapolis, and the seventh in descent from this George above mentioned, is searching the genealogy of the Chatfield family in all its branches. He states that, while finding some of the name in nearly every State of the Union, he has not been able to find any descendants of Thomas except on Long Island.
The Chatfield Coat of Arms is now owned by John G. Chatfield, of Bridge-Hampton, who inherited it from his father, John H., and as far as is known it is believed to have been brought from England to Connecticut, and then to East-Hampton by the first Thomas Chatfield, ancestor of John. Mr. George R. Howell, in his history of Southampton Town, states that the Chatfield Coat of Arms is on parchment. This is a mistake, as it is painted on an oak slab. It also varies a very little from the one Mr. Howell gives in his history. Thomas Chatfield 1 moved from Guilford to New Haven where, in 1639, he married Ann, d. of Rev. Francis Higginson. He moved to East-Hampton at a very early date, as we find his name on the East-Hampton records as early as 1651.
CHATFIELD'S HILL. On the present main road from East-Hampton to Sag-Harbor rises an elevation long known as "Chatfield's Hill," some one-and-a-half miles south thereof, and stretching west nearly to the line between the towns. In the division made June 4th, 1736, Thomas Chatfield drew the 46th lot, containing 236 acres, bounded northwardly by Joseph Conkling's lot, eastw ardly by Sag-Harbor highway, southwardly by the town commons, and westwardly by the line between the two towns. In this lot Chatfield's Hill, conspicuou s in itself and also in the view therefrom is located. It is now in the possession of the children of George B. Brown, deceased, whose mother was a Latham, and inherited from her father, and he from his father. The transfer from the Chatfield to the Lath am family is associated with one of the most singular and exceptional events that ever occurred in the tranquil and law-abiding town of East-Hampton. Gifted with the power of speech it could tell this story: of Ebenezer Daytona merchant and pedlar.

History of East Hampton, New York

Born February 16, 1620/21 in North Mendham, Sussex, England
Died 1686 in Easthampton, Long Island
Married 1648 Guilford, New Haven Colony, Anne Higginson daughter of Rev. Francis & Anne Higginson


1639 - Came to America with brothers Francis and George,with Rev. Henry Whitfield, landed in July at New Haven
Thomas 18 yrs, Francis 22, George 15 years. Both parents had passed away, Henry by March 3, 1636/37 (will proved) and Jane by March 2, 1638/39 (will proved)

1639 - Founded Guilford in September
1645 - Francis opposed the combination of the Guilford plantation with that of New Haven, for this on 14th August, 1645, he was arraigned before the magistrates and deputies
1647 - Brother Francis died at Guilford probably unmarried, estate divided between George and Thomas
1648 - Married Anne Higginson in Guilford, New Haven Colony
1650 - 1651 Removed to Easthampton, probably among the first settlers (Easthampton founded 1648 )

State Library

East Hampton History

Chatfield

The name of Chatfield is no longer found in East Hampton. The last Chatfield living in Bridgehampton is Benton Chatfield, who is unmarried. His aut, Mrs. Stephen E. Rose (Anna hatfield, 9th generation) who was born in the old homestead in Mecox, wrote to Chatfields all over the country in preparing a Chatfield genealogy for Judge Henry P. Hedges' History of East Hampton, 1897.
at that time the family had a hatfield Coat of Arms painted on an oak slab and brought, tradition from England to Connecticut and thence to East Hampton by Thomas Chatfield who died there before 1687; also the family Bible of Judge Thomas hatfield, 3rd generation, printed 1725 in England. These have disappeared. After the death of John Chatfield, 9th generation, the old home was rented and later sold.

Miss Nellie L. Russell of Brookhaven, L.I., a descendant of Thomas Chatfield, gave the East Hampton Library (1948) some Chatfield-Russell family notes, and said that Miss Gladys Chatfield of East Haven, Conn. had a family coat of arms. In data ompiled by Charles T. Chatfield, 1936, it sates that the family were landed gentry in England, with arms granted 1564 by the Herald's College in London under Queen Elizabeth. Acording to Charles Chatfield's notes. Thomas Chatfield of Bedleys, Parish of Ditchling, County Sussex, England, had six children; Thomas , John, Richard, Francis, Thomas and Henry. Henry married Jane Wickham and had three sons, Thomas, George and Francis, all of whom came to America in 1639.
They first lived in Guilford, Conn. Thomas came to New Haven, and then to East Hampton, at a very early date for we find his name in the records here in 1651 and was probably among the first settlers. He is one of the few listed in the town records as "Gentleman". He served as Town Clerk off and on from 1653 until his death; then his son Thomas held that office, both alternating with Thomas Talmadge. Captain Thomas (2) was elected Supervisor, 1701; and his son Thomas (3), alled "Judge Thomas Chatfield" in the records, was made Supervisor of East Hampton in 1741.

Henry Whitfield was an ordained preist of the Established Church and was Rector of Ockley in Surrey. His sympathy with Puritans and Independents ( later Congregationalists ) brought him into conflict with his bishops. He resigned his living and in 1639 sailed westwards, taking with him most of his large family and those of twenty four men who had also agreed to sign his "Guilford Covenant". There were others that were judged too young to sign.
Whitfield was then aged 47 - a kind of father figure to his flock, who were mostly farmers and gentlemen drawn from Surrey, Sussex and Kent. In America he elected to settle at Menuncatuck ( later called Guilford ), landing at New Haven in July. It is beleived three ships made the voyage.
Negotiations then went forward to buy land from the Menuncatuck Indians, and not until the end of September did the whole band of white people trek along the Indian trail - men, women children, dogs, cattle and furniture. It was late in the year to build, but "The Henry Whitfield House" was speedily erected; some of the Indians carried the stoneson hand-barrows. This not only served as a meeting house, but as a garrison against attack by hostile Indians or Dutch settlers. It became known as "The Old Stone House", and it still stands, being restored as recently as 1939 in time for its tercentenary.
The Covenant, which certainly had a Surrey origin, is sometimes called "The Stay-together Covenant". Just how well this has been observed may be judged from the fact that fifteen of the original twenty five families still have descendants amongst the citizens of Guilford, Conn..
A complete list of signatures is as follows;
Robert Kitchel, John Bishop, Francis Bushnell, William Crittenden, William Leete, Thomas Jones, John Jordan, William Dudley, Richard Guttridge, John Hoadley, John Housegoe, John Mepham, John Permely/Parmelin, William Plane, John Stone, Henry Kingsnorth, Thomas Cooke, Abraham Cruttenden, Thomas Naish, WIlliam Halle, Thomas Norton, Henry DOude/Dowd, Francis Chatfield and Henry Whitfield.
More names are recorded in 1650. Some of the originals are missing, young men have reached amturity, or others have joined the community;
Jno Higginson(probably son of Francis Higginson, who later became a Rev.), George Hubbard, Mr. Samuel Disborow, Thomas Jordan, John Scranton, George Bartlett, Jasper Stillwell, Alexander Chalker, Thomas Betts, Richard Bristow, Jno Parmelin Jr., John FOwler, Edward Benton, John Evarts, Thomas Chatfield, Richard Hues, George Chatfield, John Stevens, Benjamin Wright, John Linsley, John Johnson, John Sheader, Samuel Blackley, Thomas French, Stephen Bishop, Thomas Stevens, William Boreman, Edward Seweres, George Highland and Abraham Cruttenden Jr.

History Of Easthampton

Where They Came From And Why

Most of East Hampton's first settlers had been in America for ten, fifteen, or even twenty years before coming here. Non, as far as we know, had been passengers on the Mayfower athough some mariied into Mayflower families. They rossed the Atlanti, most of them, in the great Puritan migration from England which followed the granting of a charter to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629.
Judge Henry P. Hedges' "History of Easthampton" (1897) gives as the original nine settlers:

Joshua Barnes, Robert Bond, John Hand, Daniel Howe, John Mulford, Robert Rose, John Stratton Sr., Thomas Talmadge Jr., Thomas Thomson.

Bond, Howe, Rose and Thomson soon moved away. Judge Hedges says that the following became very early associates:
Thomas Barker Joshua Garlicke Charles Barnes Stephen Hand
William Barnes William Hedges Samuel Belknap Jerimiah Meaham
Nathaniel Bishop John Miller Richard Brookes John Osborn
Thomas Chatfield Thomas Osborn Ananias Conklin Thomas Osborn Jr.
Fulke Davis Samuel Parsons Raph Dayton Richard Shaw
Wiliam Fithian Wiliam Simonds Lion Gardiner Jerimiah Veale

In 1650 and 1651, others were here:

Nathan Birdsall Rev. Thomas James Jerimiah Daily Luke Lillie
William Edwards Vinson Meigs Capt. Josiah Hobart Benjamin Price

Many of these names soon disappeared from Easthampton. Fourty-seven early famiies are represented in the Genealogies, which form the greater part of this book.

Many of these names soon disappeared from Easthampton. Fourty-seven early famiies are represented in the Genealogies, which form the greater part of this book.
Some of our 17th century forefathers were born into gentry, some were ministers or merchants, others tenant-farmers or servants. But most were strudy yeoman who came from the rih agricultural district in and around Maidstone in Kent and so, in the early years, they called the new settlement "Maidstone". The name appeared in town records occasionally as late as 1663 and has persisted in various ways to this day. There is
a Maidstone Club,Maidstone Lane, Maidstone Park and East Hampton has several business establishments bearing the name "Maidstone". Every once in a whilesomeone starts a movement to change East Hampton's name back to Maidstone.
David Gardiner in his "Chronicles of East Hampton" (1871) said that serfdom was almost unknown in Kent; that to say oyour father was born in Kent meant that you were free-born. Quoting: "A Man of Kent was an honoable appellation. Here prevailed the custom of Gavelkind, to the exlusion of the unequal laws of primogeniture: all lands were divided equally among the sons, and in default among the daughters. A Kentish yeoman, about the time of our chronicles, passed for a plain man of plentiful estate, and desired to answer in all respets to the name of "Goodman". He went on to quote an old rhyme:

History Of Easthampton

Where They Came From And Why

Most of East Hampton's first settlers had been in America for ten, fifteen, or even twenty years before coming here. Non, as far as we know, had been passengers on the Mayfower athough some mariied into Mayflower families. They rossed the Atlanti, most of them, in the great Puritan migration from England which followed the granting of a charter to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629.
Judge Henry P. Hedges' "History of Easthampton" (1897) gives as the original nine settlers:

Joshua Barnes, Robert Bond, John Hand, Daniel Howe, John Mulford, Robert Rose, John Stratton Sr., Thomas Talmadge Jr., Thomas Thomson.

Bond, Howe, Rose and Thomson soon moved away. Judge Hedges says that the following became very early associates:
Thomas Barker Joshua Garlicke Charles Barnes Stephen Hand
William Barnes William Hedges Samuel Belknap Jerimiah Meaham
Nathaniel Bishop John Miller Richard Brookes John Osborn
Thomas Chatfield Thomas Osborn Ananias Conklin Thomas Osborn Jr.
Fulke Davis Samuel Parsons Raph Dayton Richard Shaw
Wiliam Fithian Wiliam Simonds Lion Gardiner Jerimiah Veale

In 1650 and 1651, others were here:

Nathan Birdsall Rev. Thomas James Jerimiah Daily Luke Lillie
William Edwards Vinson Meigs Capt. Josiah Hobart Benjamin Price

Many of these names soon disappeared from Easthampton. Fourty-seven early famiies are represented in the Genealogies, which form the greater part of this book.

Many of these names soon disappeared from Easthampton. Fourty-seven early famiies are represented in the Genealogies, which form the greater part of this book.
Some of our 17th century forefathers were born into gentry, some were ministers or merchants, others tenant-farmers or servants. But most were strudy yeoman who came from the rih agricultural district in and around Maidstone in Kent and so, in the early years, they called the new settlement "Maidstone". The name appeared in town records occasionally as late as 1663 and has persisted in various ways to this day. There is
a Maidstone Club,Maidstone Lane, Maidstone Park and East Hampton has several business establishments bearing the name "Maidstone". Every once in a whilesomeone starts a movement to change East Hampton's name back to Maidstone.
David Gardiner in his "Chronicles of East Hampton" (1871) said that serfdom was almost unknown in Kent; that to say oyour father was born in Kent meant that you were free-born. Quoting: "A Man of Kent was an honoable appellation. Here prevailed the custom of Gavelkind, to the exlusion of the unequal laws of primogeniture: all lands were divided equally among the sons, and in default among the daughters. A Kentish yeoman, about the time of our chronicles, passed for a plain man of plentiful estate, and desired to answer in all respets to the name of "Goodman". He went on to quote an old rhyme:

"A knight of Gales, and a gentleman of Wales, and a laird of the North Countrie,

A yeoman of Kent, with his yearly rent, wil buy them out all three".

One might wonder, if they where so well off, why these men of Kent of Kentish Men who became progenitors of so many East Hampton citizens of today joined that body of more than 20,000 Puritans who left England between 1628 and 1640?
Western civilization was torn apart three hundred years ago much as it is today. There was one war after another. Established governments were falling left and right. It was a hard time for Kings and a far harder time for common people. A New World came to light just when it was most needed.
In the reign of Queen Elizabeth I it had become the fashion for anyone with money to spare, to "venture" it abroad. People took shares in ships and cargoes being fitted out for exploration and trade and did very wel by it. When Elizabeth died in 1603 and King James I mounted the throne of England the first attempts were made to found permanent English colonies in the New World. At first it was hard to find brave sould who would exchange known hardships at home for a wilderness holding unknown terrors. Then James, a shifty monarch, who ould not command respect, issued his edict to the rapidly increasing Puritans that if they would not submit to his Church of England Bishops, he would "harry them out of the land".
Englishmen had egun to think for themselves as they never had before. They ould read the Geneva Bible printed in 1560, or the King James Version printed in 1611; if they were unable to read they could have it read to them. The Bible became the one book familiar to every Englishman and oftenhis whole literature. People could think or talk of little else. King James' theory of the Divine Right of Kings became increasingly haard to swallow. Then the Thhirty Years' War in Germany created a slump in English trade, there was a depression which made the prospect of new lands still more attractive. The depression lasted through King James' death in 1625, into the reign of Charles I and into the civil war of 1641. When King Charles surrendered to the Puritans in 1646 the Divine Right of Kings idea exploded. King Charles lost his head in 1649, just as East Hampton pioneers were drawing lots for Main street homesteads.
Cromwell's victory over the Royalists brought no rush back to the mother country. That process had begun, the transformation of Europeans and their culture by the wilderness that produced by 1776, to quote Carl Bridenbaugh the historian: - "the new people and civilization that Turgot called "The hope of the world"."
Charles and Mary Beard in their "Basi History of the United States" (1944) summed up the reasond why our forefathers crossed the sea:
"A desire to get away from the devastation of the endless wars and conflicts in Europe."
"A resolve to flee from the snatching and selling of men for service in the armies of kings and princes constantly engaged in wars."
"A longing for an opportunity to find honest and honorable work and create better homes for themselves and their cildren."
"An eagerness to escape religious persecution and to found communities in which they could worship God in their own ways, free from the domination of church and government officials trying to enforce conformity to other faiths".
And one more thing - these immigrants must have had some quality that made them different from their neighbors who stayed behind in the Old World and suffered. "That something was a quality of energy, enterprise, daring, or aspiration that was to be a power in the course of American history, immediately and by transmission through coming generations." They had what our grandmothers called "gumption".
Available sources do not tell in every case where East Hampton's early families came from in the od country. Their respective reasons for puling up stakes and removing to America, we can only surmise. With all the documents and acount books, that have come down from old times here, few go back far enough to mention the old homes overseas.
It is known that Lion Gardiner left Holland in 1635 and siled from London in a "small Norsey bark of 25 tons," for the Connecticut River mouth where he, a capable soldier and engineer, was to build a fort for his friend, Governor John Winthrop Jr. and they named the plae Saybrook after its cheif backers, Lord Say and Lord Brook. When Lion Gardiner bought the island that now bears his name and is now part of East Hampton Township, he called it first "Isle of Wight". This may point to Lion Gardiner's origin in, or connection with, the English Isle of Wight that lies off the coast of Hampshire not far from Portsmouth and Southampton, just across the English Channel from Cherbourg.
Settlers who ame from in or around Maidstone, included the Bakers, Daytons, Hedges, Hands, Osbornes and Strattons. The Edwards family is said to have come originally from Wales, but left Maidstone for America. Mulford descendants are divided between claiming Devonshire or Maidstone as their place of origin. The Parsons family is said to have come from Devonshire, too, but that family is represented in Maidstone today and very likely was in the 1600's. Ne settler named Miller certainly came from Maidstone; but family tradition here claims two kinds of Millers, with one Scotish branch coming from raig Miller: this is a dispute of long standing which has never been settled.
The Kings and the Bennettts are said to have come from Dorsetshire; the Chatfields and the Tillinghasts from Sussex. The Talmadges left Hampshire for America; the Sherrills were from Devonshire, the Hunttings and the Paynes from Suffolk. The first Barnes hailed from Norfolk; the first onklin from Nottinghamshire; the Toppings from Bedfordshire. The Strong and Jones families came from Somersetshire. No one knows where the first Nathaniel Dominy was born, but there were Dominys living in Somersetshire not very long ago. Jeremy Veale (Jerimaih Vail) was born somewhere in the West of England.

Children of Thomas Chatfield and Ann Higginson are:

33 i. Admah (Annah) Chatfield, born 1649 in New Haven, CT; died 1686; married Josiah Stanborough July 24, 1670 in bel. Southampton, Long Island, NY.
ii. Elizabeth Chatfield, born 1651; died January 1747/48; married Edward Joanes.
iii. Thomas Chatfield,Capt., born 1652 in Easthampton, LI, NY; died March 20, 1711/12.
iv. John Chatfield, born Aft. 1652.
v. Sarah Chatfield
vi. Mary Chatfield

Thomas Chatfield, the first of this name on Long Island, came to East Hampton quite early. He had a brother Francis who settled in Guilford, CT, and another brother George, who settled in Killingworth. Thomas removed from Guilford to New Haven, where he married Ann d. of Rev. Francis Higginson, and thence to East Hampton.

Mr. John Chatfield of B.H. has an old parchment having thereon a picture of the arms of the family, probably brought to this country by his ancestor Thomas Chatfield above mentioned. The description of these arms in heraldic language is: Or, a griffin segreant sable, on a chief purpure three escallops argent. Crest: An heraldic antelope's head, erased, argent, attired and ducally gorged gules. Motto with coat of arms: Che sara sara.

1 Thomas d. before 1687 and had ch. 2 Anna b. 1649 (m. 1670, Josiah Stansborough), 3 Thomas b. 1652 and 4 John who had w. Mary, but whether ch. I know not. 3 Capt. Thomas d. Mch. 20, 1712, had s. 5 Thomas b. 1686.

5 Thomas (called Judge on the E.H. records) d. Jan. 12, 1754, m. May 26, 1707, Hannah Stratton b. June, 1687, and had ch. 6 Mary (who m. 1st Joseph King who d. 1732 and m. 2nd Francis Pelletreau Sept. 4, 1734, and he d. in London 1737 leaving one d. Hannah b. Nov. 12, 1735), 7 Anna b. Oct. 8, 1709, 8 Thomas b. Sept. 12, 1712, 9 John b. Mch. 8, 1716, and 10 Esther bap. 1720.

Source: The Early History of Southampton, L.I., New York, with Genealogies, by George Rogers Howell, M.A., published by Weed, Parsons and Company in 1887.)