Richard Mansfield (abt. 1610 - 1655)

Born about 1610 in Exeter, Devon, England [uncertain]

Husband of Gillian (Drake) Field — married 10 Aug 1636 (to 10 Jan 1655) in St Mary Arches' Church, Exeter, Devon, England

Descendants

Died 10 Jan 1655 at about age 45 in New Haven Colony

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Richard Mansfield migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 218) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Disputed Origins

No records have been found to connect Richard Mansfield to Sir John Mansfield so he has been removed as Richard Mansfield's father. John Mansfield and Isabel Leigh have also been removed as parents of Richard Mansfield. The only source for that connection is an Ancestry tree, and that John Mansfield died in 1601, prior to the birth of Richard, about 1610. Sir John Mansfield left a last will and testament, and the only son who is mentioned is a son named John.^{[1] [2]}Therefore it is very unlikely that Richard was his son. This idea is pure speculation.

The research of Horace Mansfield et. al. published in 1885 as "The Descendants of Richard and Gillian Mansfield Who Settled in New Haven" did not find documentation of Richard's parentage. However, Horace Mansfield does indicate the possibility of Richard's relationship to a Sir John Mansfield as follows in this exerpt:

"Exeter, the place from which he emigrated, has been a City, and governed by a Mayor, etc., ever since the year 1200. There was a Sir John Mansfield, Knight, Mayor of the City a few years before the first emigration to New England. He was also 'Master of the Minories', and Queen's surveyor under Queen Elizabeth. There was a 'rich merchant', a Mr. Marshall, in Exeter, who advanced considerable money to John Mansfield, a son of the above Sir John, to enable him to come over and settle in New England. He came in the Regard, in 1634, settled in Charlestown, had a family, and died about 1670, but there are no descendants, at least by the name of Mansfield. Probably this Mr. Marshall who Gov. Winthrop calls 'that rich merchant,' in his History of New England, was the same as the James Marshall, who sold all his possessions in New Haven to Richard Mansfield, and perhaps, or probably, Richard was also a son of Sir John. In the List of the 123 first grantees of New Haven, Richard Mansfield has Mr. affixed to his name, with only seven others in the whole List, with that title. The title of Mr. (Master) at this time was far more honorable than that of Esquire two hundred years later.^[3]

But here is the excerpt from which he drew those conclusions, taken from Winthrop's Journal, p. 140-141:

The Regard, a ship of Barnstable, of about two hundred tons, arrived with twenty passengers and about fifty cattle. One thing I think fit to observe, as a witness of God's providence for this plantation. There came in this ship one Mansfield, a poor godly man of Exeter, being very desirous to come to us, but not able to transport his family. There was in the city a rich merchant, one Marshall, who being troubled in his dreams about the said poor man, could not be quiet till he had sent for him, and given him £50, and lent him £100, willing him withal, that, if he wanted, he should send to him for more. This Mansfield grew suddenly rich, and then lost his godliness, and his wealth soon after.

From The History of the Colony of New Haven to Its Absorption into Connecticut by Edward Alias Atwater, Forgotten Books, 2012.:

p. 3

Next to the premises of Mr. Preston were those of Richard Mansfield, who came to Quinnipiac with the other planters as a steward for Mr. Marshall who was perhaps of London when he engaged in the enterprise, but afterward of Exeter. There was presumably no house on Mr. Mansfield's lot; for he was at first in the service of Mr. Marshall, and afterward, when Mr. Marshall had abandoned the idea of coming, bought of him his lot at the corner of Elm and Church Streets. This became the Mansfield homestead.

p. 145

Mr. Marshall has already been mentioned in connection with Richard Mansfield, who was his representative and agent.

Biography

Richard Mansfield came from Exeter in Devonshire, England and settled in 'Quinnipaic' in 1639 as shown by a deed of land from James Marshall of Exeter recorded in New Haven land records, Vol. 1.^[4] He established a large farm at a place called the "East farms" on what in 1885 was the "present North Haven Road" where he lived until his death on 10 Jan 1655.^[5][6]

His wife was Gillian Drake, whom he married on August 10, 1636 in Exeter, Devon, England^[7][8]. Their children were Joseph, born about 1636^[9] or 1637 and Moses, born about 1639^[10] or 1640.

Richard's birth year of 1610 is an estimate based on his 1636 marriage to Gillian Drake. He was married in Exeter, so it is also assumed that he was born in Exeter, but it's not certain.

Probate

The inventory of Richard Mansfield, late of New Haven was taken "about the month of May 1655."^[11]

DNA

There are currently 2 men in the Mansfield yDNA Project at Family Tree DNA who can trace their Mansfield line to Richard Mansfield. On the Mansfield Project yDNA colorized chart you can see their kit information. Based on those tests, we know that Richard Mansfield's haplogroup is R-M269.

Sources

1. ↑ Will of John Mansfielde, the National Archives, PROB 11/98/137,
2. ↑ Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), Vol. II, p. 130, EURE 13
3. ↑ Mansfield, H., "The Descendants of Richard and Gillian Mansfield Who Settled in New Haven", 1885.
4. ↑ Mansfield, p. 2
5. ↑ Mansfield, p. 2
6. ↑ Donald Lines Jacobus, "Families of Ancient New Haven", Vol V, page 1137.
7. ↑ Marriage-Richard Mansfeild 10 Aug 1636 Exeter, St Mary Arches to Jilian Drake, Devon, England, Anglican, South West Heritage Trust, Archive, reference 332A/PR/1/1, Record set Devon Marriages, Category Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers), Subcategory Marriages & divorces, Collections from United Kingdom
8. ↑ Marriage-Richard Mansfield, 1636, Exeter St Mary Arches, Devon, England, Boyd's marriage index, 1538-1850, England, Boyd's Marriage Indexes, 1538-1850, Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers), Marriages & divorces, United Kingdom.
9. ↑ Mansfield, p. 5
10. ↑ Mansfield, p. 5
11. ↑ “New Haven Probate Records, Vol. 1-2, 1647-1703”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L92K-G9NY-W : 5 March 2021), , New Haven, Connecticut, FHL microfilm 007626739, image 38. New Haven Probate Record, 1647-1687, Vol. 1, Part 1, page 57.

See Also:

• Jacobus, Donald Lines. Notes on New Haven Families, NEHGR (Boston, 1912) Vol. 66, Page 308