Daniel SCOFIELD

Male 1620 - 1670  (49 years)


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  • Name Daniel SCOFIELD  [2, 3
    • "Connecticut Ancestry": Daniel Scofield was in Stamford by December 1641, when his name appeared on a list to be granted a 2-acre homelot with 3 acres of woodland. His name did not appear among the lists of persons who migrated to Stamford with the Rev. Richard Denton fro Wethersfield earlier that year, and he had therefore presumably come from some other place. His brother Richard Scofield, a later settler of Stamford (in about 2655), is known to have come from Ipswich, Massachusetts, and it is possible that Daniel had also come from Ipswich, although no records have yet been found for Daniel prior to his appearance in Stamford.

      Genealogist have pieced together several versions of a Scofield family genealogy, but although several competent researchers have tackled parts of the job, no definitive genealogy has yet appeared. the most comprehensive treatment yet for this family has appeared recently in journal "Connecticut Ancestry", in a series of articles by two members of connecticut Ancestry, researched primarily by Blair C. Scofield of Orem, Utah and prepared for publication by Bob Spiers. Although these articles diligently attempt to identify places in the family for all descendants (and particularly to delineate the lines from the two settlers), they have relied heavily upon secondary sources, and have not contributed a substantial amount of original research except for their valiant attempt to resolve discrepancies among existing Scofield materials.

      In his 1932 book commonly known as "Washington Ancestry", Charles Arthur Hoppin provided a considerable amount of detail on the career of Richard Scofield (his client's ancestor), but also mentioned Daniel's career in Stamford as well. Hoppin found that the surname had its origin in Lancashire, England, first noted in Rochdale, Lancashire in the 13th Century. Variant spellings include: Schofield ( the spelling used by Hoppin as a preferred spelling), Scholefield, Scholfield, Schofeld, Scholefeld, etc. The sometimes used meaning of "School Field" is discounted by Hoppin as an over-simplification. Although Hoppin stated flatly that the two brothers of Stamford "came from the lancashire Schofields," and provided some English data to confirm that this was likely, he was unable to provide conclusive proof of the actual descent (and, to his credit, did not guess at one either). later writers have continued to claim lines to the Rochdale family, but they are not yet confirmed by any rigorous study of primary records, and must be considered possible, at best. The English line for Daniel Scofeld given by the recent "Connecticut Ancestry" articles, is: DANIEL SCOFIELD (Alexander, Cuthbert, James).

      Several other partial genealogies of the family have appeared. "The Scofield Dictionary" and "the Scofields of Northfield, Minnesota," both by Robert LeRoy Scofield, is available on a Connecticut Ancestry Society microfilm. unfortunately, the second half of the Dictionary's alphabetical listings of Scofields has been lost. Nevertheless, this work provided the foundation for much of the later generations in the Blair Scofield compilation.

      Another earlier compilation was prepared by Harriet Scofield of the Western reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, and is known as "A Scofield Survey." This compilation was completed for publication in typescript form by Henry Burdette Whipple in 1972, following Miss Scofield's death on 21 June 1970. the compilation is in outline form and, although it was compiled by a responsible genealogist, is unfortunately not documented, at least in its published form. Another (unrelated ) harriet E. Scofield of Minneapolis also prepared an outline version of a limited Scofield Genealogy.

      Once again, the work of Paul W. Prindle may be used with confidence regarding the early generations of the Scofield families of Stamford. Prindle gives an especially good treatment of the real estate transactions and land holdings for Daniel Scofield, that will not be repeated here. One of those land transactions, a gift of 10 acres from William Graves, deserves special mention since it may indicate a possible relationship to Graves (perhaps related to Scofield's wife).

      The brotherhood of Richard and Daniel Scofield of stamford is proven by a land record in which, "I Rrichard Scofield doe discharge my brother Daniel Scofield of a sertain parsell of the coman fence in the East Field....etc.," dated 11th day, 1st month (March) 1666/67/ It appears that Richard did not arrive in Stamford until about 14 years after Daniel, since the first record there for Richard is the recording of birth of his daughter Elizabeth on 27 November 1655. Clearly, the two brothers had traveled by different schedules, and perhaps different paths as well, prior to their coming together in Stamford. Richard's passage to the New World was well documented in a passenger list, and we therefore know that he was on board the "Susan & Ellen" in 1635. Unfortunately for this present story, Daniel's name did not appear on this same passenger list, and researchers have been unable to determine his time of immigration. Hoppin claims that Daniel Scofield was in Massachusetts "for a brief period of months," and later in Wethersfield for three years before going to Stamford, but none of this is supported with documentation and appears to be a fabrication. To repeat, we simply do not have any records of Daniel Scofield prior to his arrival in Stamford in 1641.

      Scofield and Spiers give Daniel Scofield's birth as "abt. 1616," but without specific reference. Hoppin said that he was "between 50 and 60 years of age" when he died (before 10 February 1669/70), which would give a birth year range of about 1610-1620. Other researchers has come up with a birth year of 1595 for Daniel Scofield, apparently based on earlier work by william A.D. Eardeley. No marriage date has been found, and only his last child's birth was recorded in Stamford in 1657, so no good reasons for speculation on a birth year are found in these areas. About all we can say is that he was probably an adult (21 years of age or greater) in 1641 when he received his land distribution at Stamford, and was therefore born before about 1620, probably in England......


      The will of Daniel Scofield was made at Stamford 1 September 1669 and witnessed by George Slason and John Holly. He designated his wife to be executrix (no name stated) along with his tow sons Daniel and John, executors, and gave legacies to his daughter Sarah and her tow minor children, and to "my other four children" (that is, to Daniel, John Joseph and Mercy) the three sons to have the house and homelot (subject to the widow's thirds) and the residue of the estate equally except for the son Daniel who was to have "ten pounds over plus." He died sometime during the following winter, since his inventory was taken on 10 February 1669/70 (10th day 12th month 1669) by Lt. Francis Bell and John Holly. The will was signed with a mark, as was an earlier deed given to john Mead on 20 February 659/60, indicating that Daniel Scofield was unable to sign his own name and was probably not an educated person. [1]
    Birth 1620  Rochdale, Lancashire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 4
    Gender Male 
    Death Between 10 Feb 1669 and 1670  Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Death Between 04 Sep 1669 and 10 Feb 1670  Stamford, Fairfield Co., Connecticut Find all individuals with events at this location  [5
    Burial North Stamford Cemetery, Stamford, Fairfield Co., Connecticut Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    Person ID I48601  Main Tree
    Last Modified 29 Apr 2015 

    Father Alexander SCOFIELD,   b. Abt 1587 
    Relationship Birth 
    Mother ? UNKNOWN 
    Family ID F00493  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Sarah YOUNGS,   b. 1624, Southolt, Suffolk, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 05 Mar 1697/98, Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 74 years) 
    Children 
     1. Sarah SCOFIELD,   b. Abt 1637   d. Abt 1684 (Age 47 years)  [Natural]
     2. Daniel SCOFIELD,   b. Abt 1650, Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 10 Oct 1714, Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 64 years)
     3. John SCOFIELD,   b. Abt 1651, Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 27 Mar 1698/99, Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 48 years)  [Birth]
     4. Joseph SCOFIELD,   b. Abt 1654, Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Mar 1675/6, Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 22 years)  [Birth]
     5. Mercy SCOFIELD,   b. 09 Nov 1657, Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Bef 1699, Milford, New Haven, Connecticut, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age < 41 years)  [Natural]
    Family ID F09215  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 4 Aug 2012 

  • Sources 
    1. [S4911] Connecticut Ancestry 2007 August Vol. 50 No. 1.

    2. [S03262] RootsWeb: World Connect - Stamford, CT Familes (1641-1935) by Barbara Kaye.

    3. [S01785] Donald Lines Jacobus, Ancestry.com: History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield, (Name: Name: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.;;).

    4. [S02329] Find A Grave Website.

    5. [S02419] Donald Lines Jacobus, History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield, Vol. 1, (Name: Name: Clearfield Company, Inc.;;), 76-3279.