Allen line: The third Daniel Scofield, 1680 to 1745

I wonder what name he went by.  His grandfather was Daniel, as was his father.  Did families use nicknames in colonial times, to help keep the generations straight?  It's fairly easy to trace Daniel I because he died in 1680 and then Daniel II, or Jr., became Daniel Sr. and this Daniel became Daniel Junior. This Daniel, our Daniel, may or may not have had a son also named Daniel, but there were numerous other Daniels down through the years, many of whom stayed in Stamford.  . 

Just because he was born in Stamford, Connecticut and died in Stamford, Connecticut doesn't mean we know a lot about his life, though.  For instance, his birth seems to have gone unrecorded.  It is reported to be as early as 1674 and as late as 1680.  Daniel's parents were Daniel and Abigail Merwin Scofield, who married ion July 12, 1677.  So either Daniel was born sometime after that date or he had a different mother than the one traditionally assigned to him.    The records I found seem to all have dates in the early 1700s so perhaps the early birth records were lost.  (Or maybe I haven't looked in the right places).

Stamford itself was founded in 1640 so it was a well established town by the time our Daniel was born.  It was in the far western part of Connecticut and bordered on Long Island Sound. Many of the residents made their living in trade and on the ocean, fishing or transporting goods to and from other colonial seaports as well as England.  But I don't know for sure how Daniel made his living.

He married Hannah Hoyt April 17, 1701 in Stamford.  She was the daughter of Benjamin and Hannah Weed Hoyt, although there is some slight doubt about this set of parents.  This is the one that makes the most sense to me but facts will always change my mind.

Daniel and Hannah had eight or nine children together, depending on whether you attribute the Daniel mentioned above to this couple.  Other than the births of their children, the only fact I really found about Daniel was from 1701, when his estate (valuation for tax purposes), was listed as 55 pounds and 10 shillings.  He was still young, in his early twenties, so this was a good start to his life. 

And then...silence.  Was he a Puritan, or of another religious belief? Did he hold any town offices?  Was he a good guy, or a scoundrel, or just a man trying to make a living and support his family?  I don't have answers to those questions, and I certainly wish I did.

He may have been ill for some time before his death, because his will was written in 1743 and he died July 15, 1745, in his late sixties or early seventies.  His will leaves personal property, 1/3, to his widow forever and a third in his :mansion house and barn, and land" during her natural life.  Apparently he wasn't concerned that she would remarry.  Four sons got the majority of the estate, with no mention of Charles, also believed to be a son, who was alive and well at the time the will was drawn up.  Daughter Hannah was unmarried at the time of her father's death and was given some income from land until she married, which turned out to be only five months, as well as a small cash bequest. 

As for his inventory, it seems to be valued at somewhere around 2200 pounds, but this was, I believe, in "Connecticut money", which was roughly one seventh the value of Massachusetts money at this time.  So to compare to other ancestors, if that is possible, it was not a large estate although he had quite a bit of land, including a home for son Josiah and for son Reuben, besides his own home.  He had a part interest in a flour mill and in what may have been a ship or boat of some kind.  The inventory includes mention of 21 books, so he had some education, or wanted his family to be able to read, anyway.  He didn't have a lot of farm equipment, and only two cows that I can make out, so it's probably safe to think he made his living other than farming.  I also didn't see any mention of guns or ammunition, which may only mean that he had already passed them along to a son.

So that's the story of the third Daniel Scofield, or as much of it as I've been able to find so far.  As always, I'm grateful for this much information but regret that there isn't more.  The search goes on.

The line of descent is:

Daniel Scofield-Hannah Hoyt
Hannah Scofield-Nathaniel Finch
Jesse Finch-Hannah
Hannah Finch-John Bell
Hannah Bell -Thomas Knott
John Wilson Knott-Harriet Starr
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants