Re: Camfields: Revolution, Berkshire County militia, Massachusetts--etc.
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In reply to:
Re: Camfields: Revolution, Berkshire County militia, Massachusetts--etc.
Diane Tuck 6/19/11
Hello, Diane.
That's only the tip of the iceberg on the spelling of the Camfield name. I did a book back in 1996 that lists even more.I like to say that I'm one of the intelligent line of the family, that the other branches weren't too literate and went along with changes in their surname by oblivious record-keepers and the like. Which is pretty much true.
However, while my immigrant ancestor in the mid-1630s was Matthew CAMFIELD, he also had a contemporary settling elsewhere in Connecticut at about the same time, by the name of Thomas CANFIELD.
In any case, I believe we all descend from one ofthe Norman knights who accompanied William the Conqueror in 1066. His surname at the time was merely de Camville, indicating he was of the community of that name in France. It is said that the name Camville changed to Camfield at some early time in the Northamptonshire area, from whence emigrated by ancestor Matthew (b. 1604 in Harlestone).
It's likely we share a family tree, although Matthew is the only known emigrant with the Camfield name from Northants. Cost of my hard-book is prohibitive due to the size and limited printing. However, I did donate copies to a few major libraries, including the NEHGS in Boston and New York City public library (and a few forgotten others). I believe I also still have a couple of unbound copies salvaged from the printers that I could butcher for parts and send along the salient portion to you for a few bucks mailing and handling.
Much more detail has blossomed on the Internet since my research 15-20 years ago. But so much of what's available is just plain repeated erroneous junk it can get discouraging.
Regards,
Cousin Tom
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