The mystery of John Field

[ElizabethHerts]

This emanates from my Jeffcoat family.

There was a long-running Chancery case involving the Purser and Jeffcoat families, amongst others. Samuel Purser had married his cousin Ann Jeffcoat in 1800. Ann was the daughter of my 4xgreat-grandparents, Joseph and Mary Jeffcoat from Upper Winchendon, Bucks., who were Quakers.

Some background:
Samuel and Ann farmed at Moreton-in-Marsh and thrived. Unfortunately, the couple was never blessed with children, but they were close to their nephews and nieces. There was another Purser-almost Jeffcoat marriage when Rebecca Jeffcoat Freeman, daughter of Ann's sister Rebecca, married Isaac Purser. Samuel Purser took the couple under his wing and bought a fam at Hook Norton for them to farm. Sadly, Rebecca died young, and Isaac remarried.

Meanwhile, Samuel Purser died in 1852 and Ann in 1853. Samuel's will stipulated that the farm at Hook should remain with Isaac for the rest of his life. When Isaac died in 1869 the will had to be sorted out, but a family member contested it and it went to Chancery.


The case wasn't settled until 1882, and some shares were unclaimed, including that of a John Field.

Apparently John Field was a mystery to most of the family, but it seems he was the product of a second marriage of one of the Jeffcoat girls. The candidate we have is that he was the son of Sarah (Jeffcoat) from a second marriage to John Field.

Sarah's first marriage was within the Quaker faith - she married William Hemmings in 1794 and they lived at Brailes in Warwickshire. Her two sons attended Ackworth School in Yorkshire. However, William Hemmings died in 1801.

When Sarah's mother, Mary Jeffcoat, died in 1828, Sarah Hemmings is only mentioned in the will in relation to her daughter Hannah Hemmings. There is no mention of the surname Field and no indication of whether Sarah is still living or not.

I've never established what happened to Sarah or anything about John Field.

There is a marriage for a Sarah Hemmings and John Field in 1813 at Meppershall, Bedfordshire, but I have yet to find a birth for a son John Field.