"Who Was the Father of John Spofford, the 1638 Immigrant to Massachusetts?"
Contents: (You may either scroll down through entire document or use the following links.)
I. The Problem
II. Traditional Sources
III. Some Miscellaneous Thoughts and Mentions relating to the Spofforth Family of Cawood
IV. Sunderland's Article
V. Capt. Ralph Spofforth
VI. Threlfall's Claim
VII. Other Miscellaneous Reasons for Considering a Yorkshire Ancestry for John Spofford
VIII. Summary
IX. Some Suggestions for Future Research and Investigation
X. Notes and References
I. The Problem:
II. Traditional Sources:
There are conflicting opinions regarding the ancestral roots of John Spofford, the 1638 immigrant, who was one of the original settlers of Rowley, Massachusetts, and is the common ancestor of most persons with the name Spofford or Spafford currently living in the United States. (1) For the past 150 years, family tradition has claimed that this immigrant was born c 1612 in Yorkshire and was the son of John Spofford, Vicar of Silkstone, Yorkshire, England. In 1945 F. H. Sunderland of Howden, Yorkshire, published an article in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register presenting a conflicting view of John's ancestry, concluding that it is unknown, and suggesting that John was likely the descendant of another branch of the Yorkshire family. In 1990, John Threlfall privately published Fifty Great Migration Colonists to New England & Their Origins containing a monograph on John Spofford, claiming that this John was the son of Thomas Spufford of Toddington, Bedfordshire, England.
As some of you are aware, I have been investigating these conflicting opinions off and on for the last couple of years. As is so often the case when delving into genealogical questions, what started out as what I thought (actually hoped) would be fairly straight forward, has turned into an extensive project, involving a number of conflicting pieces of data, required many 'side-trips' to check for supporting evidence, and led to many more specific questions than those with which I started.
Following is a discussion covering much of what I have found to date, February 1999. I do not claim to have made an exhaustive or all inclusive study of the topic — there are still many sources to be investigated and verified, here in the United States, as well as in England. Also, there are, no doubt, a number of secondary documents already published of which I am not aware. There is no doubt that this is a continuing question that requires a great deal of additional investigation and research. I would certainly welcome hearing about any and all additional sources that might contribute further to the knowledge of the topic and resolution of this question.
For those of you who may not care to read through the remainder of this rather lengthy document, here is a quick synopsis — Based on what I have found to date, there is good reason to be suspect of the traditional lineage of John's ancestors. However, at this point in time, I am definitely leaning in the direction that, if John, the immigrant, was not the son of John Spofford, the Vicar of Silkstone, he was at least closely related. Further, I suspect very strongly that John, the immigrant, was from somewhere in Yorkshire, and not as John Threlfall claims, descended from Thomas Spufford of Toddington, Bedfordshire. And just to clarify at the outset — I have NOT yet found any primary evidence (birth/baptismal records, wills, etc.) that definitively links John, the 1638 immigrant, with any of his ancestors and, therefore, must conclude at this time that his immediate ancestry remains obscure.
During the last couple of years I have corresponded with several distant 'cousins' and others in the UK, done some additional checking of sources here in the US, and acquired a considerable amount of material relating to the question. I still have many sources to check further and miscellaneous items and clues to follow-up. Following, however, is a summary of where I am currently at in my exploration. In some cases I have provided hyperlinks to the cited references and documentation — when I have been able to scan and reproduce the item without infringing on copyrights, and have had the time to manually key unscannable material. As time permits, additional, pertinent material will be scanned and included at this site as hyperlinked documents. In other cases, I simply cite the reference. In all cases, however, I have endeavored to document all sources as completely as possible to assist others in verifying the data and/or information. I welcome being advised of any omissions or errors.
All of these sources indicate that the father of John Spofford, the 1638 immigrant to Massachusetts, was John Spofford, the Vicar of Silkstone, born c 1588 in Yorkshire.
Jeremiah Spofford writes on pages 24-25:
"We now quote from Burke's 'Visitation of the Seats and Arms of England, Vol. III' ... and John was for many years Vicar of Silkston, from which he was ejected, for non-conformity, in 1663. John, his son, --with many families from that part of Yorkshire, -- was driven during the civil wars to America, .... Mr. Burke is Ulster King of Arms, and his recognition of this connection is sufficient to establish it as a fact that John, the immigrant of 1638, was a son of him of the same name and faith who was made Vicar of Silkston four years later."
Further Notes on Harleian Society/Library:
Harleian Library Pronunciation: [här´lEun, härlE´–]
manuscript collection of more than 7,000 volumes and more than 14,000 original legal documents, formed by Robert Harley, 1st earl of Oxford, and his son Edward, 2d earl of Oxford. In 1753 it was purchased for £10,000 by the British government and with the collections of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton and Sir Hans Sloane formed the basis of the British Museum library.
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From: http://www.myroots.com/
Harleian Manuscripts
What, you may ask, are the Harleian Manuscripts? Briefly, they are the genealogists dreamworld to early English families. Over 20,000 families registered their lineage from the Conquest down to the 17th century. They are a record of the "Visitations", the peripatetic investigation of heralds and pursuivants of English and Welsh families from about 1530 to the close of the 17th century. Also included are some Irish and Scottish families who were picked up because they had arrived and settled in England and Wales from their original domains in those countries. They are recorded in Manuscripts and their folios and are now held in the British Museum in London, England.
Ralph Spofforth does cite a number of specific primary sources in his document -- parish records, wills, etc.-- but none that definitively link John the vicar with John the immigrant as father and son..
I suspect that the pedigrees shown in 1, 2, 3, and 4 above, are all based, more or less, on that of the Harleian Society. While the complete Harleian pedigree of the SPOFFORTH/SPOFFORD family has not been reproduced for this article, the most recent genealogical event shown in the photo copy I have is a marriage between Walter Spofforth of London to Eva Janetta in 1886. Three of the other above works (1, 2 & 3) were published subsequent to 1886, and, while not exactly, closely resemble the pedigree shown by Harleian.
A footnote on page 199 of "Nidderdale" cites Harleian Mss. 799 as the reference for "and that for evermore in the said chantry, my worshipful fader, and Lord Thomas Spofford, late Byschop of Hereford…." Speight also writes (page 202) that he is "indebted" to Markham Spofforth of London and Paul Nelson Spofford of New York City for the Spofford pedigree he includes in his book. Markham is included in the Harleian ped.; and both Markham, b. 14 Mar 1825, and Paul Nelson, living 1905, are included in the Speight ped. This is the same Markham mentioned in two footnotes on pages 335 and 336 of the NEHGR article (# 4 above) as being a correspondent of Jeremiah Spofford. The first footnote says: "Letters from Markham Spofforth, Esq., of Westminster, England, have furnished an interesting genealogy of the family in England, for 200 years; a sketch of which will be given." The 2nd footnote referring to a letter from Markham Spofforth dated 22 Feb 1853, says "I sent your Record to Mr. Burke, the celebrated Herald, who has given a notice of it in his third volume of the Visitation of England. The identity of John Spofford with our family, is fully recognized. Mr. Burke is Ulster King of Arms, and his recognition of the connection is sufficient to give it authenticity."
Was this 'Mr. Burke', Ashworth, or another one? Markham is shown as being a descendant of Simeon, bro. of John the vicar (and John of Cawood).
Markham is also shown as # 39 in the 'Pedigree of the English Family of Spofforth' section of the 1888 Spofford/Spafford genealogy, pages 443 – 449. This pedigree is almost identical with the Harleian pedigree. Paul Nelson Spofford is # 1540 in the 1888 Spofford/Spafford genealogy and his father Paul, (1792 – 1869) is # 526. Paul Nelson Spofford was the First Vice President of The Spofford Family Association, formed in 1886, one of the purposes of the association being to organize the 1888 reunion (2). It is somewhat interesting that neither Jeremiah Spofford or Speight include a birthdate for Paul Nelson Spofford.
On page 337 of NEHGR Vol. 8, Jeremiah Spofford, referring to John Spofford the vicar and other Yorkshire Spoffords, writes:
"We have no means of proving beyond a doubt, our descent from these personages; but nothing is more probable than that the John who came over with a company of Dissenters, and settled at Rowley in 1638, was son to him of the same name and faith, who was made Vicar of Silkiston four years after."
The earliest written source that I have located so far that claims that John, the 1638 immigrant, was the son of John, the Vicar of Silkstone, is the above NEHGR article. Therefore, we can conclude that Jeremiah Spofford was apparently thinking along these lines during the period 1850 – 1853.
To add to the confusion:
III. Some Miscellaneous Thoughts and Mentions relating to the Spofforth Family of Cawood:
Could the Elizabeth and Jane mentioned above be the same as those shown on LDS CDRom (3) as daughters of Thomas SPOFORTH of Cawood and christened: 27 Jul 1599 and 5 Mar 1600, respectively)? Or perhaps, first cousins of daughters of the same name, of John Spofforth of Cawood?
It is also interesting to note that on page 18, Ralph Spofforth (4) mentions that "Jane Spawforth was married 23rd June 1619 at St. Martin's, Coney St., York, to John Smith, Esq. Par. of Selby". He does not show any ancestry for this woman. On the same page, Ralph Spofforth mentions a Rev. Joshua Spofford, Prebendary of Dunnington and later Vicar of St. Martin's, Coney St., York, again no ancestors shown.
In addition, the will for Thomas of Cawoode dated 17 March 1557 and proved 29 October 1558 (5) clearly indicates that he had a brother and a son, both named John. Ralph Spofforth further includes extracts from the Ainstey Act Book showing John Spofforth and William Spofforth, both of Cawood and both dying intestate c 1603, with all goods being granted to a Thomas Spofforth, son and brother respectively.
IV. Sunderland's Article:
In 1945 F. H. Sunderland of Howden, Yorkshire, asked the question "Who was The John Spofford who accompanied The Rev. Ezekiel Rogers in 1638?".(6). Sunderland's article claims that John, the Vicar of Silkstone, was the son of Thomas Spofforth of Wistow, and that the vicar's son John was bap. Sutton in Holderness, 16 April 1626, probably too young to be the 1638 immigrant. Sunderland suggests that "it is more likely that he (the immigrant John) was from Rowley parish, or from Kirk Ella, a parish in the vicinity of Rowley, Yks. where there are recorded in the registers a number of entries relating to the Spofford family, all recorded as Spofford, which spelling of the name has been retained by American descendants." While Sunderland offers no primary evidence to substantiate his claim that Thomas of Wistow was the father of John the vicar, or to document the 16 April 1626 baptismal date of his son, his suggestion seems credible (especially when one considers that Sunderland lived in Howden, a parish very close to Kirk Ella and Rowley) and warrants additional investigation.
It might be noted here that Cawood (see above discussion of Spofforths of Cawood) and Wistow are small villages located south of the city of York and less than 2 miles from each other. It certainly seems possible that the Spofforth families of Cawood and Wistow might be one and the same, at least very closely related.
V. Capt. Ralph Spofforth:
Ralph Spofforth in "A New History of The SPOFFORTH Family" (4) accepts the traditional history, at least as far as John Spofford, the immigrant, being the son of John Spofford, the Vicar of Silkstone. However, he cites the will of Brian Spofforth, b. c 1500 and Rector of Barton le Street in Ryedale from 1536 to 1554, to disprove the lineage claimed by both Burke and Harleian involving the generations between Brian and John the vicar.
While both Burke and Harleian claim that Brian Spofforth's son was Robert, who in turn, was the father of John the vicar, Brian's will clearly indicates that his son was Richard, not Robert. The will also clearly indicates that Richard's mother was Agnes Aslaby, not Alice Faukes (Fawkes) as claimed by the other traditional versions. In addition, Ralph shows two generations between Brian and John the vicar, while the others show only a single generation. Considering that Brian was born c 1500 and John the vicar about 1588, two generations separating them seems the more credible. (This was a concern of my father, Fred A. Spafford (7), and why he, probably mistakenly, suggested that John of Cawood might be the father of John the vicar, rather than his brother. It does seem unlikely, as pointed out by my father, that two brothers, both living to adulthood, would be named John. At the time my father was doing his research during the 1960's, the only sources of which he was aware were the above mentioned Burke, Speight and the 1888 SPOFFORD/SPAFFORD Genealogy.) Ralph Spofforth continues, claiming that Brian's son Richard was born about 1540 and married Agnes Clare, daughter of Gilbert Clare, Esq, of Pontefract, 1565. (Both Burke and Harleian claim that Brian's 'alleged' son Robert married the same Agnes Clare.) According to Ralph Spofforth, this Richard had two sons, Richard, of Crambe (Pronounced "Crumb".), b. c 1565, and John — unfortunately he includes no primary evidence to link the father Richard and son Richard and this relationship must, therefore, be considered conjecture, pending further evidence. The wills of both Richard of Crambe and his wife, Anne, clearly indicate a son John, who conceivably could, as claimed by Ralph Spofforth, have been the Vicar of Silkstone, and father of John the 1638 immigrant.
Thus, Ralph Spofforth claims the following lineage:
Brian —> Richard —> Richard of Crambe —> John the Vicar —> John the 1638 immigrant
While the other traditional versions (Burke, Harleian, Speight, Jeremia Spofford) claim:
Brian —> Robert —> John the Vicar —> John the 1638 immigrant
According to Ralph Spofforth's claim, John the vicar's wife was named Ellin. (See the wills of both Richard of Crambe and his wife Anne.)
Both Capt. Ralph Spofforth (p. 18) and Sunderland considered the Spofforth/Spofford pedigrees published by Burke and Harleian to be filled with conjecture and inaccuracies. They severely discredit much of what is contained therein.
VI. Threlfall's Claim:
John B. Threlfall, in his Fifty Great Migration Colonists to New England & Their Origins, (8) includes a 28 page monograph of John Spofford, the immigrant to Rowley, Massachusetts. This is, perhaps, the most recent of any published writings pertaining to the ancestry of John Spofford. Threlfall makes a claim that is totally different from any of the previous researchers. He asserts that the John Spofford who was an original settler of Rowley, Mass. and married Elizabeth Scott, was the son of Thomas Spufford of Toddington, Bedfordshire — some 130 miles south of Hull, Yorkshire, the point of embarkation of the Rev. Rogers' group of Puritans. He cites a baptismal date for this John of 21 April 1611, which fits the general time frame of John's age according to an affidavit filed in Salem, Mass. in 1662. (Traditionally, John's birthdate is given as simply 1612, probably based on this affidavit which states that he was then 50 years of age.) The existence of a John Spufford bap. 21 April 1611, as well as many of the other Toddington SPUFFORDs mentioned by Threlfall is confirmed by a listing of parish records covering several pages devoted to this family branch in Ralph Spofforth's previously cited works.
In June 1998 I wrote to Mr. Threlfall requesting the reasons for his claim and asked him for any substantiating evidence not included in his book. He replied on 19 July 1998, explaining that while he had "long been aware of the claim that our John Spofford was the son of John Spofford, vicar of Silkstone," he had long before abandoned John, the vicar, as the father of John, the immigrant, when he learned about the Toddington branch through a correspondent in the UK. He indicated in his letter that his claim was based on the lack of primary evidence to provide a link to John the vicar, and having found a name and a few dates in Toddington, "that clinch the case as far as I am concerned". He further replied that everything he has regarding the Spoffords was included in what he has published.
In spite of there being parish records that provide solid evidence that there was a John Spufford baptized in Toddington, in about the right time period, I am rejecting, at this time, Threlfall's claim for various reasons, several of them listed below:
th century to mid 17th century. I have not seen a single instance of the use of SPUFFORD in New England V.R.'s or other documents, or the entire USA for that matter; while SPOFFORD was originally, and still is, commonly used in NE; and SPOFFORTH does appear in early records at least a couple of times. Jerimiah Spofford says "In lease for the Georgetown Farm, the name is twice spelled Spofforth, — it is signed Spofford, — the renewed lease in 1676 is signed John and Samuel Spofforth." (9). Gage confirms the usage of Spofforth several times in the aforementioned lease, its renewal, and transfer. (10) In addition, F. H. Sunderland's (6) suggestion that John was likely from the area around Kirk Ella, Yks. seems credible, but requires substantiating evidence. Thus, a Yorkshire, as opposed to a Bedfordshire, origin for John the immigrant appears quite probable.
For further views and comments by others regarding some of Mr. Threlfall's various publications, I refer the reader to the following articles:
It should be noted here, in support of Threlfall's claim, that Banks (14) also indicates that John Spofford, the immigrant, was from Toddington, Bedfordshire. However, it is my understanding from correspondence received from other researchers, that his work is also sometimes subject to question, particularly those portions based on secondary evidence. Since Banks does not mention a ship name (this work is primarily a ship list) for John Spofford, nor are any references cited, other than his own manuscripts, I am assuming at this point that he used some unnamed secondary source. I plan to visit the Library of Congress, where Banks' original manuscripts are currently located, to check his claim further, the next time I am in the Washington, DC area.
One possible hypothesis which would, perhaps, make Mr. Threlfall's claim somewhat more probable is that the apparent lack of existing wills for Thomas Spufford and his wife, nor any indication of the burial of either in Toddington, as Threlfall points out (p 403), suggest that they might have removed to and died in another parish. It is, of course, possible that they and/or son John found their way to the Rowley area of East Yorkshire sometime between 1620 (the recorded baptism date of their youngest child in Toddington) and 1638. There is, however, no presently known indication of this occurrence, of which I am aware, in either Bedfordshire or Yorkshire. If this is what happened, then one might ask, why did John and his sons, John and Samuel, continue to use the Yorkshire spellings of Spofford / Spofforth, rather than the Toddington Spufford, once they reached New England.
To summarize, I do not feel Mr. Threlfall has made a convincing case for establishing that the John Spufford baptized 21 April 1611 in Toddington, Bedfordshire is the same individual who emigrated to America and settled in Rowley, Mass. He has found a single record of an individual with a unique version of the family name, a variation that, apparently, was never used by the immigrant, John, along with a single date that fits the correct time frame. Further, I believe the results of his efforts would be considerably more credible had they been presented as a suggested, or even probable, solution to the often asked question, "Who was the father of John Spofford, the early settler of Rowley, Mass.?", and had he taken more care to provide appropriate and adequate documentation of his sources. It is, of course, quite possible that future research will prove Mr. Threlfall's claim to be correct, but, without additional, substantive evidence, it is my opinion that his claim remains in the category of mere speculation and conjecture.
VII. Other Miscellaneous Reasons for Considering a Yorkshire Ancestry for John Spofford:
While the following are drawn from secondary sources, at best, when considered together they provide, I believe, reasonable circumstantial evidence to further suggest Yorkshire roots for this immigrant.
VIII. Summary
As stated at the outset of this discussion, I must conclude at this time that the ancestry of the John Spofford who was one of the original settlers of Rowley, Massachusetts is obscure, and should remain classified as such until further, exhaustive investigation proves otherwise. In my opinion (and I make no claim of being more than a strictly amateur genealogist with a special interest in the English roots of the family's history), while he may very well not have been the son of John Spofford, the Vicar of Silkstone, there is strong evidence suggesting that John's roots lie somewhere in Yorkshire, probably not too far from the Hull - Rowley area. Further, if it should subsequently be proved that the immigrant John was, indeed, the son of John the vicar, I suspect that the lineage as indicated by Ralph Spofforth will prove to be fairly accurate. These suspicions and conclusions are based on the evidence detailed in Sections II through V and VII above. I, also, for the reasons mentioned in Section VI, consider Mr. Threlfall's claim to be unlikely.
Although not a topic of this discussion, any direct lines of descent prior to Brian, (c 1500) back to Orm (965), must be considered pure speculation at this time, there being few primary supporting documents or records that currently exist. However, the many mentions and a few still existing documents leave no doubt that the families of SPOFFORTH and SPOFFORD were in existence in Yorkshire during this ancient 500+ year period, and in general, the family can be traced back to about 965. Until such time as the various direct relationships are disproved, we can only accept what has been suggested by the traditional family history, while realizing that they are surely subject to many inaccuracies.
IX. Some Suggestions for Future Research and Investigation:
If I were to continue investigating the origins of John Spofford, I would concentrate on the following (assuming unlimited time, funds and resources, of course
nd Series, Vol. 3; Roberts, Gary Boyd; Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD, 1985. Pages 768, 897 (Extracted from the NEHGR 99:174).
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