Chapter 1: Origin of the Shurtleff Family in England: The First Four Generations in America

** All Text on these chapter pages has been copied verbatim – with permission – from this book: “Shurtleff Family Genealogy & History – Second Edition 2005” by William Roy Shurtleff & his dad, Lawton Lothrop Shurtleff ** Text in pdf convert to word doc – any spelling errors from the book may or may not have been fixed. **

The ancestors of the Shurtleffs in America almost certainly came from England. Early genealogists assumed, but never proved, that our Shurtleff family was descended through one William Shirtlef from the Shiercliffe (various spellings) family of Ecclesfield, a town just north of Sheffield. Even after exhaustive research this connection remains to be proved.

As genealogist Roy Shurtleff wrote in 1976: “From information now at hand, I feel that this genealogy cannot, with certainty, go further back than the ten year old boy who was apprenticed to Thomas Clarke, a carpenter, September 2, 1634, in the Plymouth Colony.”

In Benjamin Shurtleff’s 1912 genealogy, the opening lines of volume 1, page 1, state: “William Shurtleff, b. in England, May 16, 1624, probably in the parish of Ecclesfield*, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, in that portion called Hallamshire;…” “” See appendix.” In the appendix, a list of early baptisms (vol. 2, p. 554) states: “William Shiercliffe, son of Nicholas, May 16, 1619″—a date exactly five years earlier! In Roy Shurtleff’s 1976 genealogy, the opening lines are identical to the opening lines in Benjamin’s book cited above; both use the date May 16, 1624.

However research conducted from 1999 to 2002 by Kay Allen has uncovered new evidence. Kay, whom we hired, is an accredited genealogist living in California, with 32 years experience, and a specialty in medieval genealogy. We now have strong circumstantial evidence (but not positive proof) that William Shurtleff, our immigrant ancestor, was actually baptized on 16 May 1619—exactly five years earlier than the first date given in our two earlier family genealogies. This baptism is recorded in the parish baptismal registry of Ecclesfield, in the West Riding of Yorkshire (LDS film #897,284).

How do we know this William Shurtleff was our immigrant ancestor? By process of elimination. The two other William Shurtleffs baptized in Ecclesfield between 1606 and 1624 could not have been ours. It is very important to note that neither Benjamin nor Kay was able to find a record for a William Shurtleff born in Ecclesfield on 16 May 1624.

Then why did Benjamin use the year 1624 rather than 1619? Kay Allen believes he did this based on two assumptions—rather than on documentary evidence. The first assumption was that all apprenticeships end at age 21. The earliest record we have of our William Shurtleff in the New World appears in the Plymouth Court Orders (vol. 1, p. 70). It states: “September 2, 1634. William Shetle [Shurtleff] hath put himselfe an apprentice to Thomas Clarke for the the terme of eluen [eleven] years from the 16th of May last” [i.e. from 16 May 1634]. Thus, assuming he was age 21 when the 11-year apprenticeship ended, he must have been age 10 when it started. Therefore, Benjamin concluded, William must have been born in 1624. However, Benjamin’s assumption appears to be incorrect. If the apprentice is an orphan or a pauper, the apprenticeship indenture might be for a period ending after the 21st birthday. Kay believes that our William must have been older than age 10 when he “put himself an apprentice…” since no ten-year-old child would have been considered legally competent to act on his own behalf in a matter such as this. Kay believes William was between 14 and 16 years of age when his apprenticeship started.

The second assumption was that the apprenticeship indenture would have to have been made on William’s birthday, hence the supposed birthday of May 16. While Kay says the assumption is not true, William’s apprenticeship may nevertheless have started on his birthday.

Therefore, even though there is a record in Benjamin’s appendix showing that one William Shurtleff was baptized on 16 May 1619 in Ecclesfield, Benjamin chose to ignore it based on his assumptions that William must have been baptized in 26 May 1624—even though he could find no record for that date. Kay believes that it was our William who was baptized on 16 May 1619—as the baptismal record clearly shows.

Our family’s surname originally comes only from only one locality in England, near the town of Sheffield (see map). In the 13th century the earliest known form of our surname first appeared as a place-name in a grant to land in the northern part of Sheffield located on a steep hillside in “the fee of Chyrclif, with wood and meadow, etc.” The first element in our surname is the Old English word scir which means “bright.” The second element is the suffix —cliffe which refers to a hillside—therefore “bright hillside.”

The first written evidence of a settlement on this site dates from the year 1334, when one Nicholas de Shirecliffe of Shirecliffe (also spelled Shercliffe) was referred to in the court rolls of the manor. That year he was taxed as a resident of Ecclesfield, the township and parish immediately to the north of Sheffield. By this time the surname had become hereditary.

By the 16th century a dwelling named “Shirtclif Haull” (1556), later “Shirrcliffe Hall” (1570), was recorded on this land. Today it is known as “Shirecliffe Hall.”

For the years from 1334 to 1499, researchers have found 14 documents from in and around Sheffield that mention our surname. For 1500 to 1607 an additional 36 documents have been found.

Our early family surname was variously spelled. The earliest records of residents of Ecclesfield with our surname, dating from the 1300s, show the spelling as “de Shercliffe” (1334), “de Shireclyf” and “de Shirclyf” (1379), and “Sharcliffe” (1390). During the 1400s we find: “Shirclyffe” (1405), “Shercliffe” (1409), “Shircliff” (1430), “Shiercliffe” (1437), “de Shirclyff” (1440), “Shyrclyff” (1453), “Shirtclyff” (1465). After 1600 in Ecclesfield and “Sheffield” we find: “Shircliff”, “Shirtclife”, and “Shiercliffe”. At no time between 1334 and 1607 in England do we find our surname starting with the letters “Shurt.” It was spelled in fifty different ways, as the vowels e, i, u, and y were very promiscuously used in both syllables, according to individual caprice or fashion. Our immigrant ancestor, William, spelled his surname “Shirtlef.” It was also spelled “Shettle”, “Shertcliffe,” “Shirtley,” “Shurtley,” “Shurtlife,” “Shirtleiffe,” “Shirtliffe,” etc., but his children spelled theirs “Shurtlef,” and his grandchildren finally spelled it “Shurtleff.”

The First Generation of Shurtleffs in America. The earliest known Shurtleff to arrive in America was William Shirtlef. His name was spelled in many ways, but he signed his name “Shirtlef” in his later life. He was born on 16 May 1619, probably in England, perhaps in the parish of Ecclesfield, about five miles due north of the famous town of Sheffield. Nothing is known of the parentage of William Shirtlef, the exact time of his arrival in New England, or the causes that led him to leave his native land at such a tender age. Living near the gathering place of the Pilgrims, he became one of the first settlers of the town of Plymouth, and thus one of the forefathers of New England. From September 1634 he apprenticed himself to Thomas Clarke, a carpenter in Plymouth, for eleven years. Thomas had arrived in Plymouth on the ship Ann in the summer of 1623.

William Shurtleff (Shirtlef) was married in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on 18 October 1655 to Elizabeth Lettice. She was born in England in 1636, the daughter of Thomas and Ann Lettice. William and Elizabeth had three sons; all were born, married, and died in Massachusetts.

1. William Shurtleff, born in 1657 in Plymouth, died 4 Feb. 1729 or 1730 in Plymouth. * Underlined name denotes our direct ancestor.
2. Thomas Shurtleff, born about 1659 in Plymouth. Married Sarah Kimball on 21 May 1713 in Plymouth. Died about 1733, probably in Plympton, Massachusetts.
3. Abiel Shurtleff, born 23-30 June 1666 in Marshfield. Married Lydia Barnes on 14 Jan. 1695 or 1696 in Plymouth. Died 28 Oct. 1732 in Plymouth.

William Shurtleff, our immigrant ancestor and the father of these three children, was killed by lightning at the age of 42, on 23 June 1666 in Marshfield, Massachusetts, just before the birth of his third son.

During the life of our William Shurtleff (1619-1666): James I (ruled 1603-1625) was king of England; the famous King James Bible, commissioned by him, had been published in 1611. Manhattan Island was purchased from Indians for $24 and named New Amsterdam (1626). Boston was settled by colonists (1630). Maryland was founded as a Catholic colony with religious tolerance (1634), and Providence, Rhode Island, was founded by Roger Williams as a democratically ruled colony with separation of church and state (1636). Harvard College was founded in Oct. 1636; today it is the oldest U.S. college or university.

The Second Generation of Shurtleffs. Our William (1657) was the first Shurtleff born in America. Commonly spoken of by his kinsmen as “William the Surveyor,” he was “the eldest son and heir apparent” as he was styled in ancient documents. “He passed the chief part of his life in Plymouth, where he held substantial offices of honor, as well as of labor and trust, within the gift of his fellow townsmen. He was for many years one of the selectmen of the town.” Captain of a military company, he was often called “Captain Shurtleff.” In 1694 he was a delegate to the Provincial Assembly, then town treasurer from 1695 to 1704.

He married Susanna Lothrop on about 20 Oct. 1683 in Barnstable, Massachusetts. She was born on 28 Feb. 1663 or 1664, the daughter of Barnabas Lothrop and Susanna Clark. William and Susanna had 13 children, all but the last born in Plymouth, Massachusetts

1. Jabez Shurtleff, born 22 April 1684, died 22 Jan. 1761 in Plymouth.
2. Thomas Shurtleff, born 16 March 1687, died before 23 May 1730 in Plympton, Massachusetts.
3. William Shurtleff, born 4 April 1689, died 9 May 1747 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
4. Susanna Shurtleff, born March 1691, died 27 July 1763 in Plympton. Married Josiah Cushman on 29 Dec. 1709 in Plympton.
5. John Shurtleff, born the middle of June 1693, died before 26 March 1757 in Windsor, Connecticut,
6. Barnabas Shurtleff, born 17 March 1695 or 1696, died 18 May 1759 in Plympton.
7. Ichabod Shurtleff, born 8 Nov. 1697, died 1782 or 1783 in Eastbury (the eastern part of Glastonbury, now Buckingham), Connecticut.
8. Elizabeth Shurtleff, born 28 May 1699, died unmarried before 1730, probably in infancy.
9. Mary Shurtleff, born 22 Dec. 1700, died unmarried before 1730, probably in infancy.
10. Sarah Shurtleff, born 8 June 1702, died 30 May 1746 in Plympton.
11. Samuel Shurtleff, born about 1703, baptized 3 Sept. 1704, died in early 1757 in Marshfield, Massachusetts.
12. Abigail Shurtleff, born about 1705, baptized 24 March of 5 May 1706, died after 26 June 1774.
13. Nathaniel Shurtleff, born 2 Dec. 1707 in Plympton, Massachusetts, died 5 Sept. 1785 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Occupation: tailor.

Susanna Lothrop Shurtleff died on 9 Aug. 1726 in Plympton, Massachusetts. William Shurtleff died in 1729 or 1730 in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

During the life of William Shurtleff of the second generation (1657-1729/1730): William Penn signed a treaty with the Delaware Indians and made payment for Pennsylvania lands (1683). The witchcraft delusion took place at Salem, Massachusetts; 20 people were executed by special court (1692). French settlements were established in Mississippi and Louisiana (1699). America’s first regular newspaper was started in Boston (1704). Slaves revolted in New York; 21 were executed (1712).

The Third Generation of Shurtleffs. John Shurtleff married Sarah (Carver) Lucas on 23 March 1726 in Plympton. She was born 14 Dec. 1692 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the daughter of Benoni Lucas and Repentance Harlow. They had seven children, all born in Plympton, Massachusetts:

1. Susanna Shurtleff, born 5 Dec. 1727. Married Seth Griswold 13 June 1751 in Bolton, Connecticut. Died before 1757 in New York.
2. William Shurtleff, born 7 April 1730, a twin. Married Hannah Cady in Nov. 1753 in Tolland, Connecticut. Died 25 Dec. 1801 in Chesterfield, New Hampshire.
3. Benoni Shurtleff, born 7 April 1730, a twin. Married Submit Pike 23 July 1753 in Southboro, Massachusetts. Died about 1803 in Berlin, Vermont.
4. Mary Shurtleff, born 29 Aug. 1732. Married Joshua Bush 21 July 1762 in Enfield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Nothing more about her is known.
5. Lothrop Shurtleff, born 21 Dec. 1735. Married Submit Terry 15 Nov. 1764 in Enfield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. She was born on 18 Jan. 1740 in Enfield, the daughter (and 9th child) of Benjamin Terry and Hannah Pease. He died 1 April 1810 in Compton, Compton Co., Quebec, Canada. We do not know where he was buried. She died 18 Dec. 1815 in Compton, Compton Co., Quebec, Canada.
6. Lucy Shurtleff. Married a Mr. Crane and had several sons. Nothing more about her is known.
7. Amos Shurtleff. “Was of Tolland, Connecticut, in 1762.” Nothing more about him is known.

Sarah Lucas Shurtleff died 2 Nov. 1738 in Plympton, Massachusetts. John Shurtleff died in 1757 in Windsor, Connecticut.

During the life of John Shurtleff of the third generation (1693-1757): Benjamin Franklin, flying a kite in a storm, proved lightning is electricity (1752). The French and Indian War began when the French occupied Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh; 1754). The British moved the Acadian French from Nova Scotia to Louisiana (Oct. 1755).

The Fourth Generation of Shurtleffs. Lothrop Shurtleff married Submit Terry on 15 Nov. 1764 in Enfield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. She was born 18 Jan. 1740 in Enfield, Massachusetts, the daughter of Benjamin Terry and Hannah Pease. Lothrop and Submit had six children, all but the second born in Tolland, Windham Co., Connecticut:

1. Submit Shurtleff, born 29 Jan. 1766. Married Pearly Roberts on 30 April 1789 in Grantham, Cheshire Co., New Hampshire. Died in Plainfield, New Hampshire.
2. Mary “Polly” Shurtleff, born 4 May 1768 in Lyme, Massachusetts. Married Charles Scott on 1 March 1793 in New Grantham, Cheshire Co., New Hampshire. Born in 1758, he died on 3 Nov. 1827 in Grantham, New Hampshire. Polly died 3 Nov. 1827 in Grantham, New Hampshire.
3. Asaph Shurtleff, born 23 Jan. 1770. Married Rachel Ann Whitmore Elderkin on 31 Aug 1797 in Plainfield, Vermont. Died 8 Sept. 1835 in Compton, Compton Co., Quebec, Canada.
4. Asenath Shurtleff, born 23 Feb. 1772. Married William McCray on 24 Sept. 1800 in Ellington, Tolland Co., Connecticut. Died 16 Oct. 1822 in Ellington, Connecticut.
5. Amos Shurtleff, born 22 Jan. 1775. Married Nancy Brown. The place and date of marriage are unknown. Born on 25 Nov. 1770 in Candia, New Hampshire, Nancy died on 9 March 1837 in Stanstead, Quebec, and was buried at Brown’s Hill, Stanstead Co., Quebec. Amos died 3 March 1837 in Stanstead, Stanstead Co., Quebec, Canada. Buried in Brown’s Hill, Stanstead Co.
6. Hannah Shurtleff, born 11 May 1778. Married John Stimson on 30 Jan. 1820 in Shipton, Richmond Co., Quebec, Canada. Died Jan. 1860 in Hatley, Quebec.

Note that with this generation, the family moved from Massachusetts (its home for about 130 years—since at least 1634) slightly southward to Connecticut. In 1757 Lothrop Shurtleff was called “of Windsor, Connecticut.” In 1758, before his marriage, he settled in Tolland, Connecticut.

During the life of Lothrop Shurtleff of the fourth generation (1735-1810): The Boston Tea Party was held to protest the Tea Act (1773). The First Continental Congress was held in Philadelphia to protest British measures (1774). Rhode Island abolishes slavery (1774). Declaration of Independence approved (1776). The Articles of Confederation were passed and France recognized the independence of the 13 colonies (1777). Britain and the U.S. signed a peace treaty, ending the Revolutionary War (1783). Constitutional Convention opened at Philadelphia with George Washington presiding (1787). George Washington was chosen president of the United States (1789). The Bill of Rights went into effect (1791). The capital of the U.S. was moved from Philadelphia to Washington, DC (1800). Louisiana Purchase (1803). Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806). Importation of slaves to the U.S. was outlawed (1808).

Where our Shurtleffs lived. We do not know in what year our immigrant ancestor, William Shurtleff, arrived in the British Colonies of North America. But in 1634 he apprenticed himself to Thomas Clark in Plymouth, Massachusetts. For the next 130 years (1634-1764) our direct ancestors lived in Massachusetts. For the first 70 years they lived in Plymouth. Then, in 1707, a part of the large town of Plymouth (located about 10 miles west of the center of today’s Plymouth) was renamed Plympton. The first 12 children of Capt. William Shurtleff (second generation) were born in Plymouth, but his 13th child was born in Plympton, where our ancestors lived for the next 60 years.

Then for the next 33 years (1764-1797) they lived in Connecticut, just to the south of Massachusetts. Lothrop Shurtleff (fourth generation) married Submit Terry in Enfield, Connecticut, and all of their children but one were born in Tolland, Connecticut. Their second child was born far to the north, in Lyme, New Hampshire.

Then they began to move north. In 1790 Lothrop and Submit appear in U.S. census in New Grantham, New Hampshire. In 1797 Asaph Shurtleff (fifth generation) married Rachel Elderkin in Plainfield, Vermont, only about 50 miles south of the Canadian border. They lived in Vermont for only about one year before moving southeast to join Asaph’s parents in New Grantham, New Hampshire, where they lived for about 2 years.

Then Lothrop’s and Asaph’s families left the United States in about 1803 and moved to Quebec, Canada, where they and their descendants stayed for the next 27 years, living first in Compton, then Hatley, then Sherbrooke, then back to Hatley. Lothrop Shurtleff (sixth generation) married Ruth Atwood Little in Quebec and all of their children were born in Quebec. Finally these seventh generation children began to trickle back to the United States, starting in about 1863, when Samuel Shurtleff was married in Kentucky and Thomas Shurtleff, his brother, arrived in California.

From the 1870s until the present our direct Shurtleff ancestors have lived mostly in northern California.

By 1839, when Samuel Shurtleff was born, some 700 or 800 Shurtleffs had been born and raised their families in New England. Benjamin Shurtleff said in 1912 that, “little more than a century

before, one parish in Plympton (now Carver), Massachusetts, contained more legal voters by the name of Shurtleff than could be found within the rest of the commonwealth of Massachusetts and perhaps all of the United States.”

A map of distribution of the Shurtleff surname in the United States, based on the 1880 census, shows Massachusetts to have the highest concentration (1 in 900), followed closely by California (1 in 1,000), then Illinois (less that 1 in 10,000).

How much do we know about our early Shurtleffs? The lives of the first two generations are extremely well documented, in part because they lived in America’s most famous early town, Plymouth, Massachusetts. In Descendants of William Shurtleff by Benjamin Shurtleff (1911) we find six pages of information about our immigrant ancestor plus a plate showing his autograph and the autographs of his three children. Many additional documents and photos are found in the appendix of volume 2 (p. 555-568). The same book contains 14 pages of documentation on Capt. William Shurtleff of the second generation plus photos showing his gravestone, his wife’s grave­stone, and a deed he wrote to his brother in 1708.

Most of this information also appears in the 1976 revision of Benjamin’s book by Roy L. Shurtleff. For excellent context, background, and additional details on some our Shurtleffs and their wives, see Plymouth Colony: Its History and People 1620-1691, by Eugene A. Stratton (1986, Ancestry Publishing).

We have little documented information about the third and fourth generations of our Shurtleffs, somewhat more about the fifth, and even more about the sixth, and much more about the seventh; the fourth, fifth and sixth generations are the subjects of the next chapter.