Person talk:Joseph Butterfield (5)

This page was a mess [22 October 2013]

[These comments were moved from the narrative section and the page was "cleaned up". As is obvious from the following comments, this page was constructed from ancestral files, meaning it is a hodge-podge of misinformation. It appears to be three! people on one page (mostly easily distinguished by referring to their wives: Elizabeth Richardson, Sarah Fletcher, and Eunice Heald, though not that those women actually are correct). Ironically, the cited source is for the Joseph Butterfield who married Sarah "Fletcher" [really, Colburn], the only marriage not attached to this page. This confusion is of course, why there are multiple ideas for the birth and death dates. ]

Ancestral File Number:<AFN> 34ZT-XM Birthdate specified in Reference. Says that he was born in Chelmsford and then moved early in life to Dunstable, living in the section of town known as Tyngsborough, where he died in 1757. Also mentions that he had a daughter Deborah who was the wife of Col. Samuel Moor of Litchfield. Only daughters listed in Ancesral file are Sarah, Eunice, Dorothy, and Lydia. No Dorothy [Deborah?] is listed. [Appears to be a copy of History of Chelmsford, the wrong Joseph Butterfield.]

Ancestral file reports birth as 1675 and death as 1749/1750. [This sounds like the Joseph who married Eunice Heald.]

Ancestral file reports birth as 6 Jun 1680. Also reported in "The Butterfields of Middlesex"

So, looking more carefully at the Butterfields of Middlesex, which is hopelessly confused:

p. 4 Joseph Butterfield [#5] and Lydia Ballard: Children include Joseph [#13], b. 6 June 1680. Probate document in 1728 shows father was survived by widow Lydia, son Joseph, and two daughters, wives of Simon Tompson and Ephraim Waters. [The birth record for Joseph born on 6 Jun 1680 names his parents as Nathaniel and Deborah. The birth of the son Joseph in this family was apparently not recorded, but based on his marriage in 1697, would be about 1675.]

p. 5 [#7] "Joseph Butterfield, probably a son of Jonathan and Mary (Dixon) Butterfield, married Elizabeth, daughter of Ezekiel and Mary (Bunker) Richardson, of Chelmsford." Children: Joseph [#19], John, Josiah. [Note: Dracut VR: marriage of Joseph Jr of Nottingham to Elizabeth Richardson, (int.) 29 Nov 1741. However, that is the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Colburn) Richardson, so not the right marriage. Richardson Memorial p. 51 says the daughter of Ezekiel and Mary Richardson was b. 1692, "seems to have m. Jospeh Butterfield, 1741". It was not that Elizabeth who married in 1741 and she proceeded to have several children, which would not happen for a women b. 1692. So possibly this is a cross-generational mistake.]

p. 6 [#13] "Lieut. Joseph Butterfield was born in Chelmsford, 6 June 1680. He married Sarah, daughter of Ezekiel Fletcher." Children: Benjamin, Joseph, Reuben, daughter m. Mr. Small, Deborah m. Mr. Moore, Sarah m. Mr. Coburn, Hannah m. Edward Coburn. [The birth record in Chelmsford clearly identifies his parents as Nathaniel and Deborah. There is a marriage record to Sarah Coburn in Concord 1709 before any children are born. There is no sign of any marriage to Sarah Fletcher. This might be confusion with his brother who did marry a Sarah Fletcher.]

p. 7 [#19] "Joseph Butterfield, [son of #7] was born in Chelmsford (west part). He married Dorothy, eldest daughter of Gershom and Hannah Heald of Concord. They dwelt in Westford, where his name appears on the earliest tax list. He died in 1741, leaving widow and six children. The eldest son came of age in 1749, when the widow petitioned the court..." [dated 8 Dec 1749, wife to Joseph Butterfield lat[e] of Westford Deceased mentions Eleazer age 21, Hannah 20, Martha 18, Joseph 16, Ebenezer 13 and Dorothy 10.] [Note: Chelmsford VR: marriage of Joseph Butterfield to Dorothy Heild (int.) 14 May 1727. Could not be son of #7 by a 1741 marriage and location is wrong. This is a son of an unmentioned Joseph, who married Eunice Heald.]

Note: No Joseph marrying Eunice Heald is mentioned in this source. [Note: Chelmsford VR: Josaph Buterfield to Eunes Hale 21 Jan 1696-7]

The death information in the Butterfields of Middlesex is better since it is somewhat anchored by fact given in wills. However, the death date on this page, 4 Apr 1736 in Dunstable is a fiction. Joseph Butterfield Jr. of Dunstable, who m. 1741 Elizabeth Richardson, d. there 4 Apr 1786, and the death date above is a clear typo of that date. There is no death record for 1736.

The birth information on this page, 28 Jan 1675, is not found in any record. While a birth in 1675 seems appropriate based on the marriage, no such birth is recorded in Chelmsford, Concord, or other towns.

The source cited Source:Waters, Wilson. History of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, p. 139, says "Joseph Butterfield, Dunstable, son of Joseph and Lydia (Ballard) Butterfield, was born in Chelmsford, June 6, 1680. He removed early in life to Dunstable, living in the section of the town now Tyngsborough, where he died in 1757. His daughter, Deborah, was the wife of Col. Samuel Moor of Litchfield." This describes a different Joseph Butterfield, this one.

I hope eventually to add more facts to this page if I can get access to various wills. --Jrich 16:26, 22 October 2013 (UTC)