!Initial source: Family group sheet in the FGRA collection of the Family
History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, submitted by Stewart C. Shurtleff,
707 Milo Terrace, Los Angeles, Cal. His sources: Ancient Landmarks of
Plymouth; Desc. of Wm Shurtleff V.1 pg1 by Benjamin Shurtleff (B4D1);
Savages Dict. V4 p92; Hill's Cape Cod Series.
Child #4 added by Lynn Merrill Dewey, 1605 Indiana N.E., Albuquerque,
New Mexico 87110.
There is a Will Sheirclyffe in the IGI, chr 5 May 1622, Ecclesfield,
Yorkshire, England, son of Nicholas, form submission 6934513 88 film 538117.
Then there is a William Shurtleff, born 16 May 1624, England, son of Mr. Shurtleff.
"Descendants of William Shurtleff" states that he had only three
children, William, Thomas and Abiel. However, the appendix contains
several accounts of his death and one states that he had one child
between his knees and two on his lap. Since Abiel was born after his
death, this would indicate four children. The fourth child, added as
stated above, was Martha and a full date was given for her.
!From "Desc. of Wm Shurtleff" by Benjamin Shurtleff, 1912: This
account says William was "probably born in Ecclesfield in West Riding of
Yorkshire, in that portion called Hallamshire". ..... Ecclesfield is about
five miles due north of the famous town of Sheffield and about twenty
from Scrooby, long since shown by Mr. Hunter to be the early gathering
place of the Puritans before they left England for Holland. In this village
at a seat called Whitley Hall and at another called Ecclesfield Hall once
resided the only family of which we have any knowledge, who bore the
name previous to the appearance of William Shurtleff or any other
person of the name in America. Therefore it is not unreasonable to
suppose that he, lliving so near the nestlingplace of the Leyden Pilgrims
and being of an enthusiastic age and ardent temperament, became fired
by the spirit of adventure or inspired with the holy zeal of the Puritans,
and thus became one of the first settlers of the town of Plymouth and
one of the forefathers of New England.
" This name, like others of ancient date, was variously spelled. First it
appears as Chyrclyff, then Sircliff, later Schircllyff, ad afterwards
Shiercliffe. It is spelled fifty different ways as the vowels 3, i, u, and y
were very promiscuously used in both syllables, according to individual
caprice or fashion. In New England the orthography is exceedingly
various in old records, as the name is scarcely spelled twice in the same
way, owing to the fact that writers spelled it according to the sound
received by each. The first comer wrote it Shirtlef and his children
Shurtlef. What induced his grandchildren to double the final letter and
write their name Shurtleff cannot now be ascertained ... There are
Shurtleffs still living around Ecclesfield and at York, but the name is
scarcely known in the South of England. However, there is one who lives
in Ryde, Isle of Wight, and spells his name Shirtliff ... In this family
there exists a tradition that the name Shircleff was derived from
"shire" (a county) and "cleft". Later it was changed to Shirtliff, the
latter being easier to pronounce.
"Nothing is known concerning the parentage of William Shurtleff, 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. He was so young on his first
appearance in Plymouth that he was bound apprentice there to Thomas
Clarke for the term of eleven years commencing 16 May 1634 as is
shown by a record on pg 70, V. 1 of Plymough Court Orders: 'September
2, 1634, William Shettle hath put himselfe an aprentise to Thomas
Clarke for the terme of eleven yeares from the 16 of May last and at the
end of the sayd terms the sayd Thomas is to cloth him with two sutes fit
for such a servant and also eyght Bushells of Indian Corne.'
"In olden times the word 'servant' had a very different signification
from its present use. Then it was generally applied to an apprentice and
to any person who was in the employ of others, or in the words of an old
lixicographer, 'one who serves another.' Now it is used todenote an
individual whose occupation is menial in its nature.
"The Thomas Clarke to whom young Shurtleff was apprenticed, was by
trade a carpenter. He came to Plymouth in the Ann in the summer of
1623. ... In 1643 Mr. Shurtleff was certainly an inhabitant of Plymouth,
where he was enrolled as being of the required age to perform military
service for the colony. Undoubtedly he remained there during the whole
term of his apprenticeship, which terminated in May 1645. Such items
as the following are not uncommon in the old records. The same 'Will
Shertcliffe for breaking the peace upon John Smyth is fyned v/s' on 5
June 1644; and on 2 Oct 1650. the authorities 'present James Cole of the
towne of Plymouth for making a batterie uppon Wiliam Shirtley of the
aforesaid towne.'
"In 1646 Mr. Shurtleff appears in a list of names comprising the
townsmen of Plymouth and at the General Court of the Colony held at
Plymouth 3 June 1656, he first appears in public life being chosen one of
'the Surveyors for the highwaies' for the town of Plymouth. In recording
this event his name is written 'William Shirtley'; and again he is found
serving as juryman on 6 Oct 1657, in a controversy between two
residents of Plymouth. On 7 June 1659 'William Shurtley' was chosen
constable for Plymouth and on the same day, as 'William Shirtley', he
was first on a list of names of 'such as stand propounded to take up their
freedom.' The following entry is made in the Colonial Court Orders under
date of the first of May 1660; probably it is the last during his
connection with Plymouth, of which he was then constable: 'William
Shurtlife and John Carver were admitted freemen att this Court.'
"He probably removed to Marshfield about this time, as his name cannot
be found any later in any of the records of the town of Plymouth. From
an instrument recorded with the Old Colony deeds, it is ascertained that
he sold meadow land in Plymouth to Gabriel Fallowell on 27 Mar 1660, at
which time he was called 'of Marshfield'. Perhaps he was then preparing
to change his place of residence, or had actually done so since the
fifteenth of the previous Sept., when he certainly was a townsman and
office-holder in Plymouth. Nor can it be ascertained that he ever became
a member of the church at Plymouth, although it is known that he was a
member of some church according to statute requisition. Unfortunately
the church records of Marshfield are not in a condition to show where he
was in church-fellowship in that town. His name is not on any list of
freemen which had been preserved among the Plymouth Colonial Records,
owing to the fact that none of them were taken during the time which
elapsed between his admission and death. Nevertheless, on a list of the
freemen of the town of Marshfield, taken for town purposes in 1664 and
preserved in the records of that town, his name occurs with thirty-one
others.
"While in Plymouth he resided on his estate at Strawberry Hill near Reed
Pond and not far from the present bounds of Kingston, after which he
dwelt in the easterly part of Marshfield in the neighborhood of White's
Ferry, near the mouth of the North River, where his dwelling house was
destroyed by fire in the early part of the year 1666 and on this account
he was sojourning at the house of his near neighbor, John Phillips, at the
time of the occurence of the lightning which caused his death." (In the
appendix of this account are the details of this extraordinary event. It
shows that William Shurtleff was in the act of comforting his wife as
she was frightened by the storm, and had taken one of the children from
her, was holding it, with the other child between his knees, when he was
struck dead, but no injury was sustained by the children nor his wife.
However, the neighbor's wife, Mrs. Phillips, and one of the neighbors
sons were both killed. William's third child, Abiel, was born a few days
after the event. Another account says the name Abiel, in Hebrew, means
"God is my Father").
"At the time of his decease Mr. Shurtleff was in possession of his estate
in Marshfield, having bought it a short time previous of Thomas Tilden .
The deed, which was dated 6 July 1670, four years after his decease,
states that thirty-three pounds sterling had been formerly paid for the
same by 'William Shirtleiffe' of Marshfield, then deceased. ... Besides
his land at Strawberry Hill and at Marshfield, he had several grants from
the Court of Assistants. On 3 June 1662 he and twenty-three others had
an allotment of land in the following words: 'It was further graunted by
this court that the abovesaid servants and ancient freemen shall have
libertie in case they can not procure Saconett necke (now Little
Compton) according to the graunt to looke out some other place
undisposed of for their accommodation'. At the Court held on 5 June
1666 less than three weeks before his decease, he had another grant of
land in the following words: 'The court have graunted that William
Shirtliffe shalbee accommodated with land amongst the servants neare
unto the Bay line.' He also had land at 'Punckateesett,' now called
Tiverton; and after his decease his heirs received in his right a
conveyance of land at Saugkonnet from the Indians.
Mrs. Shurtleff was buried with her third husband in the churchyard at
Swansea, now known as the Tyler Point Cemetery, which was in the
southern extreme of Meadow Neck and known as Howland Meadow in
Barrington, R. I. This portion was set off from Swansea in 1718. Her
gravestone can still be seen but its inscription is entirely obliterated.
Mr. Shurtleff was buried in Marshfield, and although a most diligent
search has been made for his gravestone, not a vestige of it has been
found. ... In the same graveyard ... was erected a monument in memory of
the early settlers of Green Harbor (Marshfield). The names of 'William
Shirtley and wife Elizabeth' can be seen on this memorial.
The descendants of Mr. Shurtleff lived during the first three generations
mostly in what now comprises Plymouth County, chiefly in Plymouth and
that part of Plympton which now forms Carver. A little more than a
century ago one parish of the town o Plympton contained more legal
voters of the name of Shurtleff than can now be found within the limits
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and perhaps in the United States.
Branches of the family can now be found permanently settled in various
parts of Massachusetts, nearly every other State in the Union and even in
parts of Canada." Autographs of William Shurtleff and of his three
children are shown in this account.
Change Date: 21 Apr 2002 at 22:37:04
