In 1859 Fredrick Holden published a small book "The Descendants of Banfield Capron...". In that work he detailed as much information as he was able to gather at the time of Banfield Capron and the first few generations of of his descendants. Using Holden's book as a starting place, I began to try to fill in some of the data missing on those first generations and expand the lines beyond the 1859 cutoff of his work. The data contained on this site is the result of that effort. The information comes from many sources. Published genealogies, local histories, family bible records, files of other researchers and internet web sites to name a few. Much of this data is unconfirmed by me. Therefore this information should be used by others as merely a starting point to establish their own linage. I welcome corrections and additions.
As of 01 June 2008 this data base contains information on approximately 15,600 descendants of Banfield Capron. Some corrections and/or additions provided by visitors to this site are still pending. I'll get them incorporated as time allows.
Where Did Banfield Capron Come From?
Frederic Holden in his "Descendants of Banfield Capron..." included several narratives, related to him by various people, regarding Banfield Capron's origins. One of these narratives stated that Banfield "...was from the northerly part of England, and that the town joined Wales." He went on to conclude that from the information Banfield was from the town of Chester in Cheshire.
After years of searching any record I could locate on Cheshire and/or Chester I (nor any other researcher) have ever found ANY Capron ever having lived in either Chester or Cheshire. Several years ago while reading Peter Coldham's book "Emmigrants In Bondage" I found several Caprons listed. They were all from Devonshire. I started looking at Devonshire records and found several Capron families but none in the time that Banfield Capron and his family would have lived there. I then remembered another part of Banfield's history from Holden's book. It mentions that after he had been in America for a time a family he had known in England by the name of Callender came to America and he became reacquainted with them and later married one of the daughters of the family. In another passage it states that the father of the family was John Callender and the daughters name was Elizabeth. So I started looking at Devonshire records for Callenders. I found in the Church records for the town of Chulmleigh an entry for an Elizabeth Callender, dau. of John Callender, born in 1661. Also while looking at Devonshire records I noticed there were several Banfield families scattered around. Most were located in and around Exeter but there were a few located in the northwest part of Devonshire.
A short break here for a geography lesson. Devonshire is located in the southwest part of England. The southern borders are on the English Channel. The western borders are on the Atlantic and the northern border is on the Bristol Channel across from Wales. There are 2 seaports on the Atlantic shores as well as several on the southern coast. Chulmleigh is in the northwest part of Devonshire about 15 miles from the Bristol Channel. Somerset is to the northeast and Cornwall is to the southwest of Devon.
Now for a summation. Fact: Devonshire was the home of Capron and Callender families. Fact: Banfield is a rather uncommon given name. Fact: Devonshire, while not directly bordering on Wales is separated only by a few miles of water from Wales. Fact: There are several families of Banfields in Devon. Fact: There was at least one Callender family in Devonshire in the 1660s with a daughter named Elizabeth whose father was named John. Fact (tho unproven): Banfield Capron knew a Callender family in England who later came to America.
Based on the above information I've arrived at a working hypothesis that Banfield Capron was from Devonshire not Cheshire. That he probably lived in the northwest part of Devonshire. And that Banfield was the maiden name of his mother or grandmother or the surname of his grandfather. Now all that is left is to prove it.
Need Help With Lost Caprons
At the top of this page you will see a link labeled "Unconnected Caprons". These are Capron surnamed people who I have been unable to link into one of Banfield Capron's lines. The Capron surname in America is fairly unique and I think it more than likely these folks connect in some way. Please take a few minutes to look thru the list and see if recognize any of them and have any information that will help identify and link them to a descendant line of Banfield Capron.
As of 01 June 2008 this data base contains information on approximately 15,600 descendants of Banfield Capron. Some corrections and/or additions provided by visitors to this site are still pending. I'll get them incorporated as time allows.
Where Did Banfield Capron Come From?
Frederic Holden in his "Descendants of Banfield Capron..." included several narratives, related to him by various people, regarding Banfield Capron's origins. One of these narratives stated that Banfield "...was from the northerly part of England, and that the town joined Wales." He went on to conclude that from the information Banfield was from the town of Chester in Cheshire.
After years of searching any record I could locate on Cheshire and/or Chester I (nor any other researcher) have ever found ANY Capron ever having lived in either Chester or Cheshire. Several years ago while reading Peter Coldham's book "Emmigrants In Bondage" I found several Caprons listed. They were all from Devonshire. I started looking at Devonshire records and found several Capron families but none in the time that Banfield Capron and his family would have lived there. I then remembered another part of Banfield's history from Holden's book. It mentions that after he had been in America for a time a family he had known in England by the name of Callender came to America and he became reacquainted with them and later married one of the daughters of the family. In another passage it states that the father of the family was John Callender and the daughters name was Elizabeth. So I started looking at Devonshire records for Callenders. I found in the Church records for the town of Chulmleigh an entry for an Elizabeth Callender, dau. of John Callender, born in 1661. Also while looking at Devonshire records I noticed there were several Banfield families scattered around. Most were located in and around Exeter but there were a few located in the northwest part of Devonshire.
A short break here for a geography lesson. Devonshire is located in the southwest part of England. The southern borders are on the English Channel. The western borders are on the Atlantic and the northern border is on the Bristol Channel across from Wales. There are 2 seaports on the Atlantic shores as well as several on the southern coast. Chulmleigh is in the northwest part of Devonshire about 15 miles from the Bristol Channel. Somerset is to the northeast and Cornwall is to the southwest of Devon.
Now for a summation. Fact: Devonshire was the home of Capron and Callender families. Fact: Banfield is a rather uncommon given name. Fact: Devonshire, while not directly bordering on Wales is separated only by a few miles of water from Wales. Fact: There are several families of Banfields in Devon. Fact: There was at least one Callender family in Devonshire in the 1660s with a daughter named Elizabeth whose father was named John. Fact (tho unproven): Banfield Capron knew a Callender family in England who later came to America.
Based on the above information I've arrived at a working hypothesis that Banfield Capron was from Devonshire not Cheshire. That he probably lived in the northwest part of Devonshire. And that Banfield was the maiden name of his mother or grandmother or the surname of his grandfather. Now all that is left is to prove it.
Need Help With Lost Caprons
At the top of this page you will see a link labeled "Unconnected Caprons". These are Capron surnamed people who I have been unable to link into one of Banfield Capron's lines. The Capron surname in America is fairly unique and I think it more than likely these folks connect in some way. Please take a few minutes to look thru the list and see if recognize any of them and have any information that will help identify and link them to a descendant line of Banfield Capron.