Many people who have visited our website have asked us about the origination
of the Stanchfield name. So we have done some extensive research on the subject.
We have explored the genealogy sections of local Los Angeles area public
libraries, talked to "old-timer" family members, and we have exhaustively combed
the internet.
Our main source of information comes from a book called "The History of the
Town of Leeds". This was an early pioneer settlement in Androscoggin County,
Maine. This book was written around 1910 by J. C. Stinchfield.
There is also another valuable resource called the Stinchfield-Stanchfield
Family book, which was written by Roger A. Stinchfield in 1963. This "blue book"
points out that the original name may have been Stenchfield, then Stinchfield,
and then Stanchfield for many of us who moved west.
Tracey Stanchfield Morris is currently working on getting the Stinchfield-Stanchfield book online. Click here to see what she's got so far.
NEW - Jan Lokensgard, the manager of the Stinchfield-L mailing list, has asked everyone who is interested in Stinchfield/Stanchfield family history to please sign on to the mailing list, which is located here.
Using the above sources, we have traced our heritage back to our earliest
American ancestor, who was John Stinchfield. He was born in Leeds, England
October 12, 1715. His wife was Elizabeth Burns, who was born in the north of
Ireland of Scottish parentage, December 21, 1713. He met her on board the ship
that brought him to America in 1735. They were married two years later in New
Gloucester, Massachusetts where they lived until 1755. They had six children.
The town of Leeds, Maine was established June 10, 1780 by two of the sons,
Thomas and Rogers. We are decendents of another of the sons, James.
Below is a decendency chart:
Via the internet, we have discovered many other people bearing the
Stanchfield name. We have met people in such far-flung areas as Indiana, New
York, and even Newfoundland.
Please do not hesitate to e-mail us
if you have any questions or comments, or if you have any information that we
should include on this site. Our hope is to make this the consummate repository
for information on the origins of the Stanchfield name.