The Hatfields Westchester

THE HATFIELDS OF WESTCHESTER A GENEALOGY OF THE DESCENDANTS OF THOMAS HATFIELD of New Amsterdam and Mamaroneck, whose Sons Settled in White Plains, Westchester County, New York Compiled by ABRAHAM HATFIELD, F.G.B.S. 1935 Published by the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Printed and Bound in U. S. A. RUTLAND, VT. THE TUTTLE COMPANY 1q35 1'HOT08TA1' OF DEED EXECUTED BY THO'.\L\S 1-L\TFlELD ON SEPT. 21, Hi~Hi. Xotiee his age is irn:urredly giYc11 ;1s 21) y<>:trs. (See page 13.) FOREWORD One of the most curious effects of our times has been the destruction of the family or clan as a unit, and while in the smaller towns and in the co~try some attempts are still made to keep the family spirit alive; it is surely doomed by the modern method of living and the individualistic attitude of the near past is slowly changing to a mass movement of the peoples who are sorting th~mselves according to business trades and occupations. The destruction of the family or clan was largely accelerated by the exodus of young men to new and undeveloped countries, where parental control was impossible, and marriages were frequently made in directions where there could be no family knowledge, thereby serving but more fully to destroy the clan spirit. The result of the wide dispersal of famil ies in new countries was inevitably the cause of a break that could not be mended, owing to the not infrequent lack of vital records. The writer's research work took him far afield and in endeavoring to trace all the various lines of the family it was not an unusual occurrence to receive a letter from some of the more outlying members of the family inquiring "Who are we?" or "Please tell us about our family." It was frequently the writer's good fortune to be able to give the information required, thereby tying the lost members to the greater body. It is a source of great satisfaction to a descendant to know that his ancestors are such that he may endeavor to be a worthy descendant and it also gives him something to live up to. It does not require or need a supposed or proven descent from nobility, for some of the best lines in our country have no such point of starting, and in many instances it might not be an asset. Colonel Charles E. Banks is quoted as having said-speaking of Americans of Royal descent-"Why do these people want to show that their family has de teriorated?" The compilation of the Hatfield Genealogy was started about 25 years ago and, as is usually the case, it was very slow work during the early years. The first real assistance came when I met Prof. James Taft Hatfield, who had inherited the work of his brother, Marcus Patten Hatfield, who in turn had received the original notes started by his uncle, Edward Hamilton Hatfield. As was usually the custom in the earlier days of genealogical research work, references were seldom kept and much of the data now considered so necessary was entirely omitted. In addition the records obtained from Prof. Hatfield were largely silent as to the women of the family. Nevertheless the notes proved a most wel come addition, as many of the sources from which the information had been col lected are now closed forever. These records were also the foundation upon which the research work in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia was begun. Sometime after securing the Marcus Patten Hatfield notes, the research settled in Westchester County, and owing to the ravages of the American Revolution in that section, real difficulties were encountered. It was bad enough to have to contend with the destruction caused by the American and British Armies, 6 THE HATFIELDS OF WESTCHESTER but to this was added senseless wrecking by the "Cow Boys" and "Skinners" irregular bands of guerrillas ostensibly taking one side or the other but in reality stealing and wrecking for their own ends. The wonder is that so much survived. This seemingly impossible situation was largely solved through the interest that Mrs. Robert Dewey Bristol (Theresa May Hall) had in untangling the knot. Mrs. Bristol from a purely personal interest in Westchester County affairs spent years of her life in digging into all sorts of records, and through her kindly help and great knowledge which she placed at my disposal the confusion was slowly brought to order, and I can only express my deep gratitude for the assistance which she so freely gave. Some years ago I was fortunate in making the acquain tance of Mr. George N. Hatfield of St. John, New Brunswick, and through his most valuable and energetic help the records of the Loyalist branch of the Hat fields, who were compelled to go to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, were slowly gathered. Only one who knows can appreciate all the work entailed in getting this information. I also wish to make due acknowledgment to: Mrs. P. B. Wright, Berkeley, Calif., Mrs. William E. Yandell, Brooklyn, N. Y., Miss Florence L. Hatfield, Roxbury, Mass., Willia.m Moses Hall, Chatham, N. Y., and Mrs. Edith H. White, White Plains, N. Y., for their help in the compilation that has enabled us to place on permanent record many facts and much data that-but for the united efforts of all those interested-would have been lost forever. Those of the Hatfield family who may read these lines can but dimly appreciate the long toil that was necessary to conclude this work. In closing I desire to express my great appreciation for the assistance given to me by Mr. Howard 8. F. Randolph, Miss Minnie Cowen, and Mrs. Gertrude A. Barber in preparing this genealogy for the press. ABRAHAM HATFIELD THE HA TFIELDS OF WESTCHESTER The attempt to compile a genealogy of a family who had settled and lived in Westchester County, New York, from the time when it was under Dutch govern ment, of necessity requires a more or less extended history of the town or section where the family was located. The various governments that succeeded each other, namely the Dutch, English and Continental (later called the government of the U. S.), caused much shifting of the population as well as of titles of the land. Notwithstanding that the Dutch patents to the land were all confirmed by the English, certain Englishmen of wealth and influence were able to acquire large land holdings, and in consequence occupied a position that threw the less affluent into comparative obscurity. The family histories of many of these influential English Colonists, as well as the more prominent Dutch, have been written in detail and included in the various county and town histories; while others who had fully as much to do with the developing and building up of the country were overlooked or only casually mentioned. The present intention is to give a history of the Hatfield family, thought to be descended from Thomas Hatfield of Leyden, Holland, and his wife Ann (Ham den) Cox, but the lives of the different members of the family were so interwoven with the lives of others that it soon became evident that it would be necessary to tell the story of many of these connected families, as well as of the Hatfields. The tale begins with Thomas Hatfield, an Englishman who followed the Puri tan exodus into Leyden, Holland, but nothing has so far been found in the Leyden records to show that he was there immediately after the exodus from England, and it is quite likely that he reached Holland at a later date. A large part of the Leyden congregation emigrated to America. The writer was in Leyden for some time during the year 1912 and tried to unearth some hitherto undiscovered records. He was informed by the Curator of the library in Leyden that the ground had been most carefully covered by the Rev. Martyn Dexter and later by his son, Morton Dexter, and the chance of discover ing anything new was exceedingly small. The only vital records found were the banns on April 17, 1621, of Thomas Hatfield to Anna Hentem (Hamden), widow of Valentine Oocxs ( Cox}, and their marriage two weeks later. He is described as "Thomas Hadvelt (Hatfield), wool eomber, young man, unmarried, from England accompanied by John Garle, bis acquaintance."© Ann (Hamden)@ Cox was accompanied by Jane Lens. They were married on l\'.Iay 1st, 1621. That Thomas Hatfield remained in Leyden is proved by the fact that he witnessed the betrothal of Robert Warrener on March I, 1624. ©Leyden Documents Relating to the Pilgrim Fathers, p. xiv, and The New England and Holland of the Pilgrims, pp. 610 and 616. @Perhaps Hampden or Hinton. 8 THE liATFIELDS OF WESTCHESTER The following extract from an article by John Reynolds Totten in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (Vol. 49, p. 195) gives an excellent account of the connection between the Leyden and New Amsterdam Hatfields. "Thomas Hatfield went 'from England' to Leyden, Holland and was of the congregation of Rev. John Robinson, of Leyden, at the time of his marriage. Exhaustive search of the Leyden records of that time showed the existence in Holland of but one Hatfield, viz.: the one above recorded. "Two Hatfields appear in America in the years 1660 and 1665. Matthias Hat field in New Haven in 1660 where he took the Oath of Fidelity,@ and subse quently in Elizabethtown, N. J., in 1665, where he likewise took the same oath.

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