Pitfield A genealogy Researched & compiled by Hugh Pitfield 2019 [email protected] www.pitfield-family.co.uk Introduction In 1982 I thought it might be interesting to look into my family history. I started The Dorset Family out knowing very little apart from the fact that my father, and his father, came from The majority of the charts and notes in this volume relate to the Dorset family and Southampton in Hampshire. I quickly found that there were far more references to the show the known Pitfold/Pitfield descendants of Robert Pytfolde of Allington, Dorset name Pitfield in the county of Dorset than anywhere else, and I established that my (1516-1586). Details of the origins of this family are included in the Dorset Family own Southampton Pitfields originated in Dorset. Preface. Soon after starting on my genealogical quest I made contact with Michael Pitfield from Buckinghamshire who had already been doing some work on the Pitfield family. He Petfield, Peatfield, Patefield, Pilfield, Pilfold etc had established that most of the Pitfield lines are descended from a Robert Pitfold of There are a number of family names, in various parts of Britain, that sound similar Allington in Dorset who had ten sons and who died in 1586. Michael and I worked to Pitfield. Some of these names are well established and in some cases their use together for some years on the Pitfield lines and found that we were both descendants predates the name Pitfold, that later evolved into Pitfield. On occasion Pitfield might of Sebastian Pitfold, the youngest of Robert’s sons. Together we started to put more be written as Petfield or visa versa, which can cause problems when researching. In flesh on the bones of our pedigrees. other instances these other family names have occasionally been written as Pitfield, with that spelling becoming the norm for a certain individual and for the generations Michael Pitfield still does small pieces of Pitfield research and is heavily involved with that follow on. I have done very little research into the families of Petfield, Peatfield, the Dorset Online Parish Clerks (OPC) where he has published much material relating Patefield etc but wherever the name changes into Pitfield I have researched the lines to the parish of Fordington (http://www.opcdorset.org/). I would like to acknowledge as much as possible, often working back to when the name change took place. Many the help and support that I have received from Michael over many years. of these family lines are connected to families that originated in Lancashire - see below and the Lancashire section of these tables. Other Pitfield families, whose names has I have continued to follow up Pitfold/Pitfield references wherever I can find them, with evolved from other names, are shown elsewhere in these tables. the aim of connecting them all together. These tables and notes show the results of my research. They are the sixth set of tables that I have produced on paper and Unconnected Families incorporate revised interpretations of previous research, as well as new references After the Dorset tables I have included a number of charts that show some family uncovered in the last few years. I hope that by leaving copies with Record Offices and groups that I have been unable to connect with the main lines. Genealogical Societies they will be available for many years to come for anybody who has an interest in the Pitfield family. Lancashire Pitfields The name Pitfield is also present in the county of Lancashire. These Pitfields are not These tables do not show every Pitfields who has ever lived, as I have many references connected with the Dorset family. Details of the origins of this family are included in to individuals or small family groups found outside of Dorset and Devon, that I have the preface to this section. been unable to connect with the main lines. I have shown the vast majority of those named Pitfield who appear in the 1911 census in England, Scotland and Wales, where I have been able to connect them to earlier generations. For those Pitfields who were married or born after 1911 I have relied on information passed onto to me by individual family members over the past few years. I have decided not to show any living Pitfield on these tables (including myself) for the sake of individual’s privacy and possible exposure to identity fraud. If you had a grandparent whose name was Pitfield there is a very good chance that he/she will be shown on the tables that follow, allowing you to follow your line back through the generations. How to navigate the tables The numbering on the Dorset family tables follows the seniority of Robert’s children – the 10th child of Robert Pitfold (1516-1586) - namely Sebastain Pitfold (1570-1613) - are thus, for example, all tables that start with 8 show the descendants of Robert’s eighth son interconnected. (Henry). Robert Pitfold himself, as the “founding father” of the Dorset family is shown on Table Dorset 0. There are a number of unconnected tables at the end of the Dorset section. These shown small family groups who I cannot link with the main lines. If you find a person of interest and wish to trace their Pitfield ancestors then the tables can be followed back by dropping the last digit in the number that used in a table to navigate to its predecessor. Thus, the person who heads Table Dorset 10.1.1.4.1.3 will also be shown on Table Dorset 10.1.1.4.1 together with the generation or generations who precede him. The graphic below shows how the tables that show the descendants of Dorset 0 Dorset 1 Dorset 2 Dorset 3 Dorset 4 Dorset 5 Dorset 6 Dorset 7 Dorset 8 Dorset 9 Dorset 10 Dorset 10.1 Dorset 10.1.1 Dorset 10.1.1.1 Dorset 10.1.1.2 Dorset 10.1.1.3 Dorset 10.1.1.4 Dorset 10.1.1.1 Dorset 10.1.1.3 Dorset 10.1.1.4.1 Dorset 10.1.1.4.2 Dorset 10.1.1.4.3 Dorset 10.1.1.4.1.1 Dorset 10.1.1.4.1.2 Dorset 10.1.1.4.1.3 Dorset 10.1.1.4.2.1 Origins of the Pitfields In Dorset and Devon the surname Pitfield evolved gradually from that of Pitfold/Pytfold/Pytefolde I have been unable to prove any connection between the Berkshire family and the Dorset family during the seventeenth century, with the Pitfold form staying in use until a later date in some but I think it is highly likely that John of Allington may have moved from Berkshire to Dorset. parishes than in others, and with some individuals being referred to as Pitfield alias Pitfold. The Robert Pitfold (1516-1586) of Allington named his eldest son Richard which could be significant as earliest Pitfold traced in Dorset was John Pytfolde, who was taxed at Allington in 1525 and 1545. it was a popular name in the Berkshire family. Despite lengthy research nothing else has been discovered regarding John and he appears to have no ancestors in Dorset, which seems to imply that he came from elsewhere in the country. Still earlier references exist, in the records of Waverley Abbey, in the county of Surrey, which list a After John Pytfolde of Allington there appears Robert Pitfolde (1516-1586), who was probably the Phillip Pytfold who was ordained a subdeacon in 1459 and a priest in 1462. These references may son of John. A good deal is known about Robert and he is the “founding father” of a large group be significant as there was a Pitfold Manor near Haslemere, Surrey, a few miles from Waverley of Pitfield in Dorset and elsewhere and he is the ancestor of most of the individuals shown in this Abbey, which was in existence as early as the tenth century. No connection between the manor of booklet. Pitfold and the emergence of Pitfold as a surname has been proved, but it is a possibility as many surnames came from place-names. A property called High Pitfold, near Haslemere, exists today. An early family grouping has been found in the Berkshire parish of Brightwalton, who appeared to have used the surname PITFALL and PITFOLD. The Manor of Brightwalton was held by the Earlier still is William Pitfold of London, who was a member of the Guild of Merchant Taylors and Abbey of Battle in Sussex. a Freeman of the City of London. In 1398 he is listed in the Pardon Rolls as William Pitfold alias William Self. He died in 1422 and left a will that has not survived. In the Manorial Court Rolls for Brightwalton, dated 1508, a William PITFALL is listed as a juror. The same document lists a Richard PYTVALE as a member of another jury and a Richard PYTFALL as The earliest recorded instance of the name Pitfold that has been found is a John Pitfold, who was a member of a third jury. Elsewhere in the same document it is noted that a Richard PYTFOLD listed as a Man-at-Arms, under Captain Sir William de Windsor in the Standing Force in Ireland in was appointed to the office of deacon. 1374. Sir William was Viceroy of Ireland and the husband of Alice Perrers, mistress of Edward III. In a later Manorial Court Roll, that covers the years 1512-1529, a Richard Pitfall and a John Pitfall A book on the origin of surnames, published during the 19th century, suggested that the Pitfield are listed in the same jury and a Richard Pitfall is listed in two further juries.