Chatfield Heritage

FAMILY LINE AND HISTORY

Ship “St. John”

OUR CHATFIELD HERITAGE
Chatfield: English
Literal translation: Field of the wildcat
Emigrated: 1639, from North Mundham, The County of  Sussex, England on the ship St. John
Settled: In Guilford, Connecticut in Rev. Henry Whitfield’s Company
Religion: Church of England, then became Congregationalists and Dissenters
Occupation: Farmers

HENRY CHATFIELD & JANE (SHEPARD) WICKHAM
Henry and his wife Jane were born and died in England
Their three sons who emigrated to New England: Francis Chatfield, Thomas Chatfield, George Chatfield

1. Francis Chatfield
Born: Feb 24, 1615/16, North Mundham, County of Sussex, England
Died: 1657 (age 30/31), Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut
Buried: unknown
Emigrated: 1639 (age 24), England to Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut
Francis died without family

2. Thomas Chatfield
Born: 1620/21, North Mundham, County of Sussex, England
Died: Jun 22, 1866 (age 65/66), Suffolk Co., New York
Buried: South End Cemetery, East Hampton, Suffolk Co., New York
Emigrated: 1639 (age 17), England to Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut
Thomas migrated to Long Island, New York to raise his family
Married: 1648, Ann Higginson
Two children: Anne/Admah Chatfield, Elizabeth Chatfield

3. GEORGE CHATFIELD
Our line descends from George, the progenitor of the majority of the American Chatfields
Born: Mar 20, 1623/24, North Mundham, County of Sussex, England
Died: Jun 8, 1671 (age 47), Killingworth, Middlesex Co., Connecticut
Buried: (probably in Old Cemetery), Killingworth, Middlesex, Connecticut
Emigrated: 1639 (age 15) from North Mundham, County of Sussex, England on the ship St. John to New England as an original inhabitant of Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut
Removed: 1663, Killingworth, Middlesex, Connecticut
Occupation: Farmer
Religion: Puritan
Planters: Planted the English colony of Guilford, Connecticut

Married (1): Mar 29, 1656, Sarah Bishop, Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut
Note: There MAY have been a daughter born to George & Sarah:
1. Abigail Chatfield

Married (2): Mar 19, 1658/59, Isabel Nettleton, Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut
Three children:
1. JOHN CHATFIELD
1661 – 1747
2. George Chatfield, II
1668 – abt 1735
3. Mercy Chatfield
1671 – unkn

Chatfield Coat of Arms

CHATFIELD COAT OF ARMS
The arms of the CHATFIELD FAMILY were granted in 1564 and recorded in the
Heralds College at London, England and are thus described:
MOTTO: “Fidus ad extremum” (faithful to the end)
ARMS: Argent, a griffin sable on a chief purple, three escallop shells, argent
CREST: An heraldic antelope’s head erased argent, ducally gorged or

The ‘griffin’ is a fabulous animal used in heraldry, combining the eagle and the lion, and was used by those having both temporal and spiritual authority, as for example, the early church barons.
The ‘escallop shells’ indicate the ancestor of the family made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
The ‘antelope’ is symbolic of unswerving fidelity.
‘Ducally gorged’ means with a ducal crown around its neck.
In heraldic language ‘chief’ means the upper part of the shield.
‘Argent’ signifies silver, which is an emblem of purity.
‘Or’ is gold, which indicates sterling worth.
‘Sable’ is black, and is indicative of antiquity.

CHATFIELD ORIGIN
The CHATFIELD FAMILY is of Sussex origin and doubtless derived its name from Catsfeld, a parish in southeastern Sussex, one mile from the famous Battle Abbey, which was built on the spot where King Herold fell in the Battle of Hastings or Senlac. As early as 1300 the family was established in Mid-Sussex, the first of the name there of whom records have been found being William de Cattefeld, who in 1327/38 and 1332/33 was taxed in subsidies in the Township of Street, in the very center of the county and about twenty-five miles west of Catsfeld.
For over three centuries the family continued in Street and the adjoining parishes of Ditchling and Chailey; but after 1332/33 there is a gap of about 120 years, covering four or five generations, concerning which no records have been discovered.

(On the ship, St. John) George Chatfield, with brothers Thomas and Francis, left England and arrived in Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut in 1639. They were part of Rev. Henry Whitfield’s Company and were original inhabitants of Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut, where they appear on lists of Planters in Jun 1639 & 1650. “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 Connecticut. 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.”…

George married a Sarah Bishop in Mar 1656, daughter of John and Anne in Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut. She died childless in Sep 1657. His second marriage was to Isabel Nettleton, daughter of Samuel and Mary of Milford, New Haven, Connecticut, on Mar 29, 1659.
Source: Sheffield Family – Related Families. Genealogical Research in England. The Early History of Southampton, Long Island, New York, with Genealogies, by George Rogers Howell, M.A., by Weed, Parsons & Company, 1887.
Re-compiled by: Cheryl (Chatfield) Thompson.

TWO BROTHERS & FRIENDS: A CHATFIELD HISTORY & GENEALOGY
In the year 1639 the three Chatfield brothers—George, Thomas, and Francis—migrated from Sussex County, England to what is today Guilford, Connecticut. Francis died unmarried in 1646, but George and Thomas lived to sire large families from whom most American Chatfields descended.

The Chatfield family is of Sussex origin and undoubtedly derived its name from Catsfield, a parish in southeastern Sussex County, one mile from the famous Battle Abbey, which was built on the spot where King Harold fell during the Battle of Hastings. The name of Chatfield, as we now pronounce it, was originally two words, composed of the word “field” meaning “meadow”, prefixed either by “Catt” meaning a wild cat or by the old English personal name Ceatta or Catta. Its literal meaning is therefore: “field of the wild cat”—or Ceatta’s field. From time to time the two words have been combined and changed, such as dropping the “e” in Ceatta and substituting “h”, making it Chatta Field. This took place about 1150, and we find in the early part of the 13th Century, as recorded in ancient English documents, the name is spelled Chattafylde; and later there is mention of a Solomon Chatfylde—one “t” and an “a” being deleted—moving to a “coast town” about 1215 or 1217. In other documents we find the name spelled several different ways: in 1215 it was Chatfyld; in 1262, Chatfelde: in 1320, Chatfeld; 1335, Chatfeilde; and in 1430, Chatfield, the spelling most frequently used in America as well as England.
Source: TWO BROTHERS & FRIENDS: A CHATFIELD HISTORY & GENEALOGY, Compiled and written by Harry E. Chatfield, Chatfield Family Publications, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1996

Note: from Colin Chatfield, our English Chatfield cousin and fellow researcher from across the pond: “The translation is only that of many suggested. Ceatta etc. Ceatta of Lichfield is an obscure Anglo Saxon saint of the Catholic Church. Nothing proven so should not be implied as definitive. e.g. there are two villages in the UK: Catfield and Catsfield. The use of might, could is more appropriate.”

CHATFIELD LINEAGE: BORN IN ENGLAND
(early dates approximate)
THOMAS CHATFIELD (abt 1450 – aft 1523) & WIFE (NAME UNKNOWN)
Six children: JOHN CHATFIELD, Robert, Thomas, William, Roger, Richard
JOHN CHATFIELD (abt 1475 – 1550/60) & ALICE STAPLEY (abt 1475 – 1505)
Three children: RICHARD CHATFIELD, John, Robert
RICHARD CHATFIELD (1500 – 1586) & ELIZABETH BRANE (abt 1514 – abt 1555)
Eight children: Nicholas, FRANCIS CHATFIELD, Joane, George, Thomas, Elizabeth, John, Richard
FRANCIS CHATFIELD (1531/32-1594) & ANNE PECKHAM (1536 – 1602/03)
Ten children: Richard, Francis, GEORGE CHATFIELD, Thomas, Joane, Robert, William, Edward, James, Drew
GEORGE CHATFIELD (abt 1566 – 1619) & MARGARET _____ (abt 1566 – 1637/38)
Five children: HENRY CHATFIELD, Richard, Jane, Jane, Sarah
HENRY CHATFIELD (1588 – 1635/36) & JANE WICKHAM/WYKEHAM (abt 1588-1638/39)
Six children: Mariam, Francis, Jane, Sarah, Thomas, GEORGE CHATFIELD
GEORGE CHATFIELD (1623/24 – 1671) & ISABEL NETTLETON (1638/40/43 – abt 1700)
Three children: JOHN CHATFIELD, George, Mercy (Note: Isabel and the three children were born in America)

CHATFIELD LINEAGE: BORN IN AMERICA
JOHN CHATFIELD (1661 – 1746/47) & ANNA HARGER (1666/67 – 1748)
Ten children: Daniel, Sarah, Mary, Abigail, John, Hannah, Lt. John, Samuel, EBENEZER CHATFIELD, Solomon
EBENEZER CHATFIELD (1703 – abt 1789) & ABIGAIL PRINDLE (1704 – 1789)
Six children: Ebenezer Jr., Abigail, ELNATHAN CHATFIELD, Mindwell, Lemuel & Levi (twins)
ELNATHAN CHATFIELD (abt 1733 – 1778) & HANNAH NORTHRUP (1728 – abt 1790)
Four children: Rebecca, JOEL CHATFIELD, Isaac, Sarah
JOEL CHATFIELD (1757 – 1836) & RUTH STODDARD (1760 – 1831)
Seven children: ISAAC CHATFIELD, Lyman, Almira, Oliver Stoddard, Charlotte, Thirza, Joel Raymond
ISAAC CHATFIELD (1787 – 1861) & LUCY TOMLINSON (1787 – 1872)
Eleven children: Lucius Napoleon, Lucy Almira, Albert Alonzo, LEVI TOMLINSON CHATFIELD, Nathan Stoddard, Ruth Ann, Charles Henry, Charlotte Ann, Marie Antoinette, Gilbert Lafayette, Georgianna A.
LEVI TOMLINSON CHATFIELD (1813 – 1848) & LOVINA MASTICK (abt 1810 – 1858)
Four children: ISAAC WILLARD CHATFIELD, Clark Samuel, Charles Henry, Ellen Charlotte
ISAAC WILLARD CHATFIELD (1836 – 1921) & ELIZA ANN HARRINGTON (1839 – 1911)
Nine children: Ella Clara, Clark Charles, Elmer Ellsworth, Phil Van Wert, Jacqueline A., CHARLES HENRY CHATFIELD, Myrtle Lovina, Grace, Calla Mabel
CHARLES HENRY CHATFIELD (1870 – 1942) & NELLIE BELLE CHAMBERLIN (1873 – 1956)
Ten children: Charles Joseph, Leo Willard, Howard Francis, Roy Elmer, Nellie “Nella May” Mary, Gordon Gregory, Verda Agnes, Arden Sherman, Jacqueline “Ina”, NOREEN ELLEN “BABE” CHATFIELD
NOREEN ELLEN CHATFIELD (1915 – 1968) & CARL JOHN CLEMENS (1905 – 1986)
Five children: Gordon Lawrence Clemens, Carleen Barbara Clemens, Elizabeth Ann Clemens, Claudia Clemens, CATHERINE FRANCES CLEMENS

Henry Chatfield, NEHGSR Vol 70, 1916, pg 135

2019, Catherine (Clemens) Sevenau and Gordon Clemens.