The Fairfields Ancestors and Descendants

By Kathryn Fairfield Knight

The story begins with the migration of ancestors John and Elizabeth Fairfield with their young son, Walter, from England to Massachusetts sometime in the 1630s. They lived lives typical of small-town pioneers of that era and at the same time laid the foundation for future descendants of the Fairfield family. Follow this historic lineage through the passages of time from the Revolutionary War to World Wars I and II, from Wenham, Massachusetts, to Minnesota and then onward to the Pacific Northwest.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 27, 2016
• ISBN: 9781514439784

Kathryn Fairfield Knight

Kathryn Fairfield Knight was born on her great-grandparents’ farm near Osakis, Minnesota. She grew up in Washington State and now lives in Boise, Idaho, with her terrific husband.

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Copyright © 2016 by Kathryn Fairfield Knight.

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Rev. date: 03/22/2016

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CONTENTS

Preface

PART 1

FAIRFIELD ANCESTORS

Chapter 1   Early Fairfields: Olde Planters of New England

Chapter 2   Peter Palfrey: Olde Planter of New England

Chapter 3   Walter Knight: Olde Planter of New England

Chapter 4   Elizabeth Knight Fairfield (b. April 1, 1618; d. 1649)

Chapter 5   King Philip’s War (1675–1678)

Chapter 6   Witchcraft Hysteria 1692

Chapter 7   Nathaniel Fairfield, Patriot

Chapter 8   The DAR Connection

Chapter 9   The Fairfield Burying Ground

Chapter 10 Wenham Ice

PART 2

THE DESCENDANTS

Chapter 1   The Fairfields of Minnesota

Chapter 2   The Carlisles and 1862

Chapter 3   Life on the Farm

Chapter 4   A Little Old Sod Shanty on the Plain

Chapter 5   Osakis

Chapter 6   The Shelrus

Chapter 7   Julia Beata Shelru Fairfield, 1879–1966

Chapter 8   The Shelru Sisters

Chapter 9   Karianne

Chapter 10   Blanche Fairfield Teeson’s Story (Aunt Betty)

Chapter 11   MC (Jack) Laven (b. November 28, 1897; d. October 8, 1972)

Chapter 12   World War I, 1914–1918

Chapter 13   L’aven or Lav’en

Chapter 14   This Old House

Chapter 15   851 South 96th Street

Chapter 16   WWII

Chapter 17   Tempus Fugit

Chapter 18   Years Later

Chapter 19   Uncle Bun’s Cabin

Chapter 20   Travels

Chapter 21   The Fiftieth Anniversary

Chapter 22   The Knight Descendants

Acknowledgements

Endnotes

This book is dedicated to Blanche Betty Fairfield Teeson, Elinore Nora, Nonie Fairfield Bentley, and Lilian Laven Erickson, who shared their stories and histories.

Preface

Fairfields Discovered

A Small History Lesson or Why You Too, May Belong to the DAR

(Daughters of the American Revolution)

In 1986, with information from Aunt Betty Teeson (Blanche Fairfield Teeson, born 1906, died December 25, 1993), who supplied me with the name Joshua Fairfield and the date 1808, I fumbled my way using a microfiche from Salt Lake City Genealogy Library to the history of the Fairfields of Wenham, Massachusetts.

I discovered Joshua Fairfield’s parents, Abraham and Polly Fairfield, of Lynn Massachusetts, as well as Joshua’s brothers, George and Perkins, and sister, Mary. This group is listed in the Lynn, Massachusetts, city census around 1812. Abraham is listed as a tanner, which makes sense since Lynn had an important shoe industry during the early 1800s.

Once I found Abraham and Polly, it was easy to break through our deadlock and then reach back in time to Abraham’s parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. In one day, I had the Fairfields of 1808 to Fairfields who lived in 1638 in the area of Salem and Wenham Massachusetts.

It was a momentous occasion for me to see all the Fairfields who preceded the Minnesota Fairfields and to realize they were early settlers of the United States, not far off in time from the Mayflower group of Plymouth. John Fairfield¹ was known as an olde planter and joined the early settlers of New England, namely, William Trask, Rodger Conant, and Walter Knight, who all appeared in Gloucester, Massachusetts, at the fishing stage in 1624.

However, I am ahead of myself. Following the summer of 1986 breakthrough, Larry planned to attend a pathology lecture series in Boston around early November. I decided to tag along and pursue the Fairfield saga in the Massachusetts area.

The first morning in Boston, we awoke to eight inches of snow. Heavy snowfall during the night created early morning delays throughout the city. The advice given was Leave early. Roads are a mess. Give yourself plenty of time. I was lucky. Fortunately, we were prepared for a New England winter with boots, mittens, and hats. I stepped to the curb, and there was a yellow cab. In twenty minutes, I was at North Station. The clock read eight thirty. The train did not leave until nine forty. Sigh!

I learned from the dispatcher that the train did not stop in Wenham; Hamilton was the closest stop. Not ever having been to the area, I was clueless as to what to expect. The train continued through Lynn, Salem, and Beverly; and then as predicted, I climbed off at Hamilton. Deep snow covered the tracks and road as I looked around to see where I was. It was a very small gathering of modern buildings.

I was surprised to see a grocery store, a pharmacy, and—lo and behold—a Talbots store. I felt better already. The snowplow had not been through yet, so I sloshed my way to the Talbots to ask about a bus or taxi to Wenham. The store people were a bit surprised to see me out so early on such a wintery morning. The bad news was no bus or taxi was available. I think they were questioning my sanity when I asked, How far to Wenham, and which way is it? They pointed to A-1 road and explained it was one mile south. I had only until three o’clock to complete my trip, when I had to catch the return trip to Boston, so off I went. On the one-mile walk to Wenham, I did not encounter one person or even a car. I found a sidewalk or trail that ran along A-1; it was not cleared of snow, so the going was a challenge. The air was clear, there’s no wind, and it’s not terribly cold. There were woods on both sides of the road, no buildings for quite a ways, but eventually, after about forty-five minutes, houses materialized on my right. All appeared to be built in the 1600s; each one had a plaque beside the front door indicating just how old it was. Then I arrived at what appeared to be a town square with several large buildings surrounding a center—a large church, a town hall and fire station, a teahouse and restaurant, and the Claflin-Richards House (1664) now owned by the Historical Association. This was Wenham. I immediately knew where I needed to go, and that was the Historical Museum. By now, it was almost 11:00 a.m., and tempus fugit. I approached the front desk and explained who I was and where I was from and what I was seeking in Wenham, Massachusetts. Well, apparently, not many show up from Idaho seeking information about the Fairfields of Wenham because several people came from all directions with books, pamphlets, and sundry historical documents and were genuinely enthusiastic about my presence. I removed my coat, scarf, and mittens and sat down and began going through the various offerings. I started with Wynn Conan’s history, which is a transforming experience all by itself. There’s a vast history of the Fairfields from John¹, including the branch of John². My family is descended from Walter Fairfield, the eldest child of John¹ and Elizabeth Knight Fairfield, who arrived in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1638. John² and Benjamin were born in Wenham afterward. John² and his descendants are the Maine Fairfields; Benjamin died with no issue.

After several hours of working with various historical documents, my head was spinning, and I needed a break. The Historical Museum volunteer suggested I could find lunch at the teahouse. I did find a bowl of hot soup and tea. On the way back, I shot pictures of the town and the few buildings. It is not big. Not knowing at that time when and if I would ever return, I quickly had copies of everything that could be copied, and I bought the book Notes on Wenham History 1643–1943 compiled by Adeline P. Cole. One of the volunteers at the museum, named Marilyn Corning, graciously gave me a tour of the Claflin-Richards House, which had been lovingly restored to its 1664 self and very revealing as to how our forebearers lived in Colonial America. Wenham can be proud of its ability to maintain its historical significance. The museum is a jewel, I believe, run by volunteers who live in the area. Not all live in 1600 houses. Wenham is surrounded by large estates, huge houses, rolling hills, and riding and polo establishments. We are talking wealth. Even the teahouse is run by volunteers, and the proceeds go toward the towns’ historical business.

By 2:30 p.m., I was considering the need to head for Hamilton to catch the returning three o’clock train to Boston. Marilyn went to college with Wynn Conan’s daughter. She gave me the daughter’s married name, and I did call her upon my return to Boston to ask if I could buy a printed copy of her dad’s history, but she said no, as they had only copies made for grandchildren. Oh well, I tried. Bless the volunteer though; she gave me a ride in her car to Hamilton so I didn’t have to walk back the mile. I even had time to check out the offerings at Talbots before the train arrived to deliver me back to North Station in Boston. It was a most satisfying day.

I have indeed returned to Wenham several times. Once, when my son David ran the Boston Marathon, we rented a car to drive north to Wenham following the race so he could see from whence he came. David and I were privy to a private tour of the 1600 Peabody house in Beverly. We drove into the driveway just to check it out, and the caretaker came out to offer us a closer view. This house has the original fireplace, windows, and floors. The first owner arrived in the area on the Zouch Phoenix with Peter Palfrey, Walter Knight, and the crew in 1624.

A search in the Beverly and Salem Cemeteries was a total waste of time. Anyone dying in 1646, such as John Fairfield, would probably have been buried near the family home or somewhere on the property and probably wrapped in a sheet of some sort, deep enough to keep animals from digging it up. He died long before the graves in the Fairfield Burying Ground were noted.

Driving farther north to Gloucester to view the area where the fishing stage was located, we found a plaque on a huge rock indicating the individuals who were there drying cod for shipment back to England in 1624. Of those were Rodger Conant, William Trask, and Walter Knight.

Another time, I went on purpose to do work on my genealogy. I explained the renderings on the Fairfields at the Massachusetts Genealogy Library in Boston. I walked over to the Old North Church and inspected the cemetery there, as I had found evidence that Walter Knight was buried in the area in 1653, but it turned out the dates were wrong. He could have been buried there, but the cemetery was not established until 1663 or such, and he died in 1653.

This trip, I was lucky to meet Rupert Lilly, Wenham Historian, at the Wenham Museum, and he escorted me around town to visit the Fairfield Burying Ground on William Fairfield Drive and to see houses still being occupied that were once Fairfield homes; one was owned by Elijah Fairfield and Lois Lovering, who produced the boys who fought in the Revolutionary War. He was hoping the present owner would give us a tour but did not; we did walk in the yard and view the property, probably a smaller acreage than when Elijah owned it. These homes have been so extensively remodeled to accommodate modern plumbing, electricity, heating, etc. that one wonders if anything is left of the original structure. Nevertheless, it is a treat to see homes built and occupied in the early 1700s still being used and enjoyed. The Elijah and Lois Lovering Fairfield house was occupied by them and their large family during the Revolutionary War. Their three sons, Nathaniel (our ancestor), Samuel, and Benjamin, all served in the revolution.

Mr. Rupert Lilly drove me once again to the Fairfields Burying Ground on William Fairfield Drive. It is located on the road in front of the teahouse, about two miles. Turn right on William Fairfield Drive, and go a half block to the small hillock on the left, where the oldest monument is, that of William Fairfield, who died in 1742. A small sign hanging indicates Fairfield Burying Ground. William is the eldest son of Walter and Sarah Fairfield. Walter is the eldest son of John¹ and Elizabeth Fairfield, the original olde planter of 1638. Our ancestor was William’s youngest brother, Nathaniel.

In 1638, three people sailed from England (we assume) and landed in the small settlement of Charlestown, Massachusetts. They purchased a house, later sold it, and moved north to Salem and then to Wenham. In 1638, John Fairfield, Elizabeth Knight Fairfield, and their small son, Walter, had received a grant of land, eighty acres, where ten are in meadow. In May 1640, he bought eighteen acres more from William Fisk, a part of the original grant of Samuel Smith. On this piece of land, he built his house and lived (near the Hamilton Shopping Center), and the property on the west end (where the burial ground is) he rented. During 1640–1646, the Fairfields produced two more sons, John² and Benjamin. John Fairfield died in December 1646; Benjamin was about six months old, John² five years. John¹ left an extensive will (which is enclosed), providing for his sons, who were minors. His will and inventory showed the original eighty-acre grant, plus the land where he lived and a comfortable, well-appointed farmhouse and a well-tilled and productive land.

Early grants (1636–1637) were given to Frances Felmingham, later owned by Henry Chickering, a fellow passenger on the Mary Anne out of Suffolk, England, and to Reverend John Fiske and Samuel Smith.

Richard and William Dodge received grants in 1637, which were on the border of Wenham in Beverly. Joseph Batchhelder received two acres of meadow plus twenty acres of tillable land. He sailed from England in 1636 with wife, Elizabeth; one child; and a servant. He was the first representative to the legislature from Wenham.

All of these individuals were neighbors of our John Fairfield in 1638.

PART 1

Fairfield Ancestors

Chapter 1

Early Fairfields: "Olde Planters of New