Lawrence Litchfield (abt. 1615 - bef. 1649)

Born about 1615 in England [uncertain]

Husband of Judith (Dennis) Peakes — married about 1640 in Scituate, Plymouth Colony [uncertain]

Descendants

Died before 16 Feb 1649 before about age 34 in Scituate, Plymouth Colony

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Lawrence Litchfield migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Parentage

The parentage of Lawrence Litchfield of Barnstable and Scituate is unknown, and no reasonably plausible candidates have been proposed.

Date of Birth

Lawrence's date of birth is uncertain. The earliest record of him is as an adult inhabitant of the town of Barnstable in 1639. He was therefore born no later than 1618. Based on the fact that his first child was born about 1641-2, he was probably born no earlier than 1612. It is therefore likely that Lawrence was born sometime in 1612-1618, with 1615 being a reasonable midpoint.

Disputed Origin, Immigration, Initial Settlement in New England

In his 1855 NEHGR article "Genealogy of the Descendants of Lawrence Litchfield," Abner Morse stated that Lawrence had "numerous connexions" with men from Egerton, Kent who immigrated with Rev. John Lathrop aboard the Griffin in 1634 and initially settled in Scituate before moving to Barnstable about 1640.^[1] Based on this premise, Morse implied that Lawrence may have come from Kent and immigrated aboard the Griffin and said that Lawrence initially settled in Scituate before moving to the town of Barnstable by 1643.^[1] In probable reliance on Morse, a number of secondary sources (e.g., Cutter and Whittemore) adopted some or all of these assertions.^[2][3]

All of those assertions, however, are quite speculative and have little or no evidentiary support. The evidence of Lawrence's earliest presence in New England is a 1643 list of townsmen of Barnstable which states that he settled in Barnstable in the spring of 1639. While the entries in that record for a number of other Barnstable townsmen indicate that they moved there from Scituate, the entry for Lawrence does not. Moreover, there is no evidence that shows that Lawrence had any association with any of the "men of Kent" until after 1639 and no evidence that he lived in Scituate prior to 1646.

The one piece of evidence that suggests that Lawrence may have been in Scituate prior to 1646, is the fact his father-in-law, William Dennis, is known to have been a resident of Scituate by 1643. It is therefore reasonably plausibly that Lawrence met his wife in Scituate before moving to Barnstable in the spring of 1639.

From the reliable evidence:

• There is no reasonable basis for suggesting Lawrence's place of birth or origin, beyond the proposition that it is likely that he was born in and immigrated from England.
• Based on the 1643 record referenced above, it appears that Lawrence immigrated to New England sometime in spring of 1639 or earlier; however, his date and means of immigration are unknown.
• There is no evidence that he settled in New England at any location prior to Barnstable, although it is possible that he may have.

Settlement in Barnstable; Move to Scituate

As discussed above, a 1643 list of townsmen of Barnstable states that Lawrence settled there in 1639.^[4] He also appears in other lists of inhabitants of Barnstable in 1640^[5] and 1643.^[6][7] There is no record of him in Barnstable after 1643. The first record indicating that Lawrence had moved to Scituate is the record of the birth of his daughter Dependence in February 1646/7.^[8] It therefore appears that Lawrence lived in Barnstable from 1639 until moving to Scituate sometime between 1643 and February 1646/7.

Military Company of Massachusetts

The records of the Military Company of Massachusetts (later called the Ancient and Honorable Military Company of Massachusetts) show that Lawrence joined as a member in 1640-1. While the Military Company conducted its exercises in Boston, since (i) Barnstable records list him as a resident in 1640, (ii) there are no records of him as a resident of Boston and (iii) the Military Company only trained on the first Monday of every month,^[9] it is likely that Lawrence merely visited Boston once a month for training and never resided there.

Marriage

Lawrence married Judith Dennis, daughter of William Dennis.^[10][11] The fact of their marriage is established by William Dennis's will made after Lawrence's death, which refers refers to "my son in law William Peakes and my daughter Judith his wife" (Scituate vital records include an entry for the marriage of Judith Lechfeeld (Lawrence's widow) and William Peaks in Scituate on October 2, 1650.^[12]) and includes bequests to Remember Leichfeild, Dependance Leichfeild and Experience Leichfeild.^[13]

Lawrence and Judith were probably married about 1640.^[10][11] Their date of marriage is based on the estimated date of birth of their first child. They were almost certainly married somewhere in the Plymouth Colony, but in which town is uncertain. Based on Lawrence's residency in Barnstable starting in the Spring of 1639, they may have been married there. However, based on the fact that Judith's father, William Dennis, was living in Scituate by 1643, it is also possible that they were married there.

Children

Lawrence and Judith had the following children:

1. Experience, b. probably sometime in 1641-2 in Barnstable,^[14] never married,^[14] d. August 1, 1673 when he slipped while carrying a heavy piece of timber onto a ship and it fell on his head^[14]
2. Remember, b. probably about 1644 in Barnstable,^[15] m. probably sometime in 1666-70 Henry Luce,^[15][16] d. probably after November 1708^[15]
3. Dependence, b. February 15, 1646/7 in Scituate,^[8][17] probably never married,^[17] d. after 1672^[17]
4. Josiah/Josias, b. April 3, 1648,^[18] m. February 22, 1671/2 Sarah Baker in Scituate,^[12][18] d. before January 1707/8 (date of inventory of estate)^[18]

Death

The last record of Lawrence as a living person is the will of Thomas Rickard of Scituate, dated November 14, 1648, which includes a bequest to "Laurance Letchfeild."^[19] Since (i) Scituate records show a marriage between Judith Lechfeeld and William Peaks^[12] and (ii) the will of Lawrence's father-in-law William Dennis, dated February 16, 1649/50, refers to "my son in law William Peakes and my daughter Judith his wife,"^[13] Lawrence must have died, and his widow married William Peakes, sometime before the date of the will. Lawrence therefore died sometime between November 14, 1648 and February 16, 1649/50.

Records

• 1640. Laurence Lichfield included in list of inhabitants of the town of Barnstable in 1640.^[5]
• 1640-1. Lawrence Litchfield included in list of new members of the Military Company of Massachusetts recruited in 1640-1^[20]
• 1643. A list of the townsmen of Barnstable Jan. 1643-4, includes Lawrence Litchfield of B., Spring 1639 [indicating that he first settled in Barnstable in Spring 1639]^[4]
• 1643. Lawrence Litchfield included in a list of the inhabitants of Barnstable in 1643^[6]
• 1643. Laurance Lichfield included in the August, 1643 list for Barnstable township of males able to bear arms between the ages of 16 and 60^[7]
• 1647. Dependance, d. of Larance Lechfield, born February 15, 1646/7 (recorded in Scituate)^[8]
• 1648. Will of Thomas Rickard of Scituate, dated November 14, 1648 includes a bequest to Laurance Letchfeild^[19]
• 1649. Will of William Dennis of Scituate, dated February 16, 1649/50, refers to "my son in law William Peakes and my daughter Judith his wife" and includes bequests to Remember Leichfeild, Dependance Leichfeild and Experience Leichfeild.^[13]
• 1650. Judith Lechfeeld [Lawrence's widow] married William Peaks in Scituate on October 2, 1650.^[12] [Note: Based on date of 1649 will above, the date for this marriage must be incorrect.]
• 1657. Judith, wife of William Peaks testifieth that her former husband, Lawrence Litchfield, lying on his death bed, did send for John Allen and Ann his wife, and desired to give their youngest son Josiah, to be their adopted child--where-into all consented. Signed: John Allen, Ann Allen, Judith Peaks.^[21][22]

^{[16] [3] [2] [11] [10] [18] [17] [15] [14] [23] [13] [19] [9] [4] [1] [5] [12] [8] [20] [7] [21] [6]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Abner Morse, "Genealogy of the Descendants of Lawrence Litchfield," The New England Historical and Genealogical Register for the Year 1855, Volume IX, p 181
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} William Richard Cutter, A.M., Genealogical and Family History of Western New York (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1912), vol. 1, p 316
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Whittemore, H., "Genealogical Guide to the Early Settlers of America, Vol 3,", p 327
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} "Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families, Volume I," 1888, p 332
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Simeon L. Deyo, "History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts," 1890, p 369
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} "Barnstable, MA: Town Records, 1640-1793." Records of Barnstable, Massachusetts. CD-ROM. Boston, MA.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009.)
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, Miscellaneous Records, 1633-1689," 1857, p 193
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3} Vital Records of Scituate, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume I - Births," New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1909, p 217
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Oliver Ayer Roberts, "History of the Military Company of the Massachusetts now Called the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, 1637-1888," 1895, p 11
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2} W. J. Litchfield, "The Litchfield Family in America, Part One, No. 1," October, 1901, p 15
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2} Torrey, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004, p 467
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4} Vital Records of Scituate, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume II - Marriages and Deaths," New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1909, p 178
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3} W. J. Litchfield, "The Litchfield Family in America, Part One, No. 1," October, 1901, p 18
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3} W. J. Litchfield, "The Litchfield Family in America, Part One, No. 1," October, 1901, pp 26-34
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3} W. J. Litchfield, "The Litchfield Family in America, Part One, No. 1," October, 1901, pp 34-36
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} Charles Edward, "History of Martha's Vineyard, Volume III," 1911, p 55
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3} W. J. Litchfield, "The Litchfield Family in America, Part One, No. 1," October, 1901, pp 36-37
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3} W. J. Litchfield, "The Litchfield Family in America, Part One, No. 1," October, 1901, pp 37-60
19. ↑ ^{19.0 19.1 19.2} W. J. Litchfield, "The Litchfield Family in America, Part One, No. 1," October, 1901, p 13
20. ↑ ^{20.0 20.1} Oliver Ayer Roberts, "History of the Military Company of the Massachusetts now Called the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, 1637-1888," 1895, p 99
21. ↑ ^{21.0 21.1} Samuel Deane, "History of Scituate, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement to 1831," 1831, p 306
22. ↑ Litchfield family in America, Publication date 1901, Topics Litchfield family (Lawrence Litchfield, d. 1649 or 1650), genealogy, Publisher [Southbridge, Mass. : W.J. Litchfield] Collection allen_county; americana. Digitizing sponsor MSN, Contributor Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center (https://archive.org/details/litchfieldfamily11sout/page/12/mode/2up) p. 12
23. ↑ W. J. Litchfield, "The Litchfield Family in America, Part One, No. 1," October, 1901, p 19

See also:

• Samuel Deane, "History of Scituate, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement to 1831," 1831, pp 305-6
• Oliver Ayer Roberts, "History of the Military Company of the Massachusetts now Called the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, 1637-1888," 1895, p 107
• Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England: Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register. (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 1860-1862), vol. 3, p 98