Mulford Family History & Genealogy

History

Though few in number, there are Mulfords all over the world, mainly in North and South America, Australia, and in England of course. Most if not all Mulfords likely descend from Richard de Mulford (Montfort), of Shropshire and Buckinghamshire, and his grandson Roger de Mulford ("Henry" de Molford) of Shropshire, the father of Roger Molford of Devonshire (probably the same as Roger Mulford of Wiltshire, NOT to be confused with the Mulefords/Milfords of the Manor of Meleford/Milford in Wiltshire).

Established family traditions in America have long maintained that the three founding Mulford brothers (William the Planter, John the Judge, and Thomas the Virginian, of Massachusetts and New York) from whom most if not all Mulfords in North and South America descend, were sons of Sarah of Maidstone and Thomas Mulford of Cadbury in England who was said to be the son of Roger Molford of Cadbury whose father was Wilton Molford of Bishops Nympton, whose father also was named Wilton Molford, son of Thomas Molford of Bishops Nympton, son of Roger Molford of South Molton. Research since has shown, from the Visitations of Devon, that a SUSAN Southcott --having sons "Gilbert" (William), John, and Thomas-- did marry a Thomas Molford from Cadbury (in the Parish of Chulmleigh, County of Devon/Devonshire, England) who was the son of Roger Molford of Cadbury in Chulmleigh, son of William --NOT Wilton-- Molford of Garliford (in the Parish of Bishops Nympton, Devonshire), son of William --again not Wilton-- Molford of Garliford, son of Thomas Molford of Garliford, son of Roger Molford of South Molton, Parish of South Molton, Devonshire.

Very compelling, then, are the misspellings. Since anyone seeing actual English records would have known the two Williams were not Wiltons, these traditions must predate later research in the English records, thus confirming the authenticity of these traditions. Early Mulford genealogy was recorded in family Bibles, including the Kings Bible given to Thomas Mulford and Mary Gardiner Conklin II (of East Hampton, New York) when they married. Such genealogy was of course handwritten, and in such an ancient form that the name William was misread repeatedly as Wilton (with 'iam' being mistaken as 'ton').

One longstanding rule, of history in general and genealogy in particular, is that "Traditions in local communities, passed down the generations by word of mouth usually have their basis in fact, so should not be lightly dismissed." --The Parish Church of Northam, by David W. Gale.

Even though it is reported from the Visitations that all the Molford sons died young and childless in England, no bodies ever were recovered. Having joined the Puritan rebellion (given that the American brothers William, John, and Thomas were Puritans) they would have been outcasts in their own family who were of course loyalists, as evidenced by their cooperation in the Visitations. The brothers were simply disinherited and written off as dead, missing probably in some early skirmish between Puritan and Royalist factions.

Legal notice by the courts was recorded, in England, of the deaths of John and "Gilbert" (a name used interchangeably with William in various documents of the period), but again, no evidence exists of the recovery of any of their remains, and in fact there are hints to the contrary.

When it comes to Thomas the third Molford brother, however, not even so much as a legal notice of death exists. Although his death is assumed in various accounts derived from the Visitations, the Visitations are not legal documents, and in fact modern historians do not regard Visitations, and accounts based on them, to be entirely reliable, especially in matters such as this.

This third Molford brother, later known as Thomas Southcott Mulford or Munford (being called Southcott in honor of his mother's father), was the one who married Sarah of Maidstone and appeared eventually in America, both in Virginia and in the vicinity of Boston, Massachusetts, along with his own sons William Mulford and John Mulford of New York and Thomas Mulford of Virginia. They being named after their father and uncles, just as their father and uncles in turn had been named after their father and uncles.

Sarah and Thomas Southcott Mulford were not, therefore, the same couple as Susan Southcott and Thomas Molford of Cadbury, both of whom died in England according to their legal wills in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. Thomas Southcott Mulford was, therefore, the grandson of Roger and Amy Molford of Cadbury and the son of Thomas and Susan Southcott Molford of Cadbury, grandparents of the William, John, and Thomas who came to America, all three of whom were born much too late to have been the children of Thomas and Susan.

Sarah and Thomas Southcott Mulford were in later generations confused with his parents. Sarah of Maidstone has, therefore, been incorrectly called Sarah Southcott, being confused with Susan Southcott, her mother-in-law The two names, Sarah and Susan, do look much alike, especially in old handwritten documents. Again, this is clear evidence that our traditions of descent from the Molfords of Devonshire must have predated research in English record, since anyone reading the English records would have known that the wife of Thomas Molford of Cadbury was not named Sarah, but Susan, and that she did not come from Maidstone, Kent as did Sarah.

A good number of clues confirm that the American Mulford line really does descend from the Molfords of Devonshire. For instance, the first wife of William Mulford I (of East Hampton, New York) was Sarah Akeres, also spelled Akers, daughter of Thomas Akeres. The Akers or Akeres family, it is well documented, were from Devonshire, in Exeter, not far from South Molton.

Furthermore, William's son Thomas (husband of Mary Gardiner Conklin II) had his own name and son David's name --in both instances-- spelled Molford (with an O, just like the family in Devonshire) on young David's tombstone which can still be viewed at the South End Cemetery in East Hampton, showing that at least in private this line of Mulfords continued calling themselves Molford. Taken together with all the other clues, this very solid piece of evidence positively links these Mulfords to the Devonshire family.

Just like the Mulfords of East Hampton, the Molfords of Devonshire were a family of lawyers, engaged in municipal government, just like the Mulfords of Shropshire also. No real evidence supports recent theories that the Mulfords originated anywhere else.

Name Origin

Mulford, in the case of the family of Milford or Meleford in Wiltshire (also spelled Muleford), was merely a scribal misspelling which that family itself did not use, and thus the name Mulford proper did not derive from Milford as some suppose. Most if not all Mulfords in fact descend from the Richard de Mulford (Montfort) family of Buckinghamshire, Shropshire, and Devonshire, descendants of Simon de Munford (Montfort), the father of Richard de Montfort (also spelled Moford).

This is shown on the Molford Coat of Arms, in the Duke's coronet --in gold (restricted by English heraldry to persons of close royal descent)-- and by the pure white swans (emblematic, in England, of royalty). In most cases such symbolism is merely decorative and not indicative of descent, since most coats of arms were not authenticated at their inception, but the Molford Arms, unlike most, were authenticated at a very early date, at a time when heraldic prescription was not permitted, and thus the Molford emblems mean exactly what they depict, that the Molfords descend from a Duke of especially high royal status.

The only such Duke ever named Molford (or Moford, as his name then sometimes was spelled) was Simon de Montford the Duke of Narbonne in France and Lord High Steward of England, father of Simon de Munford and grandfather of Richard whose son Edward (grandfather of Roger de Mulford) adopted the new coat of arms (resembling the arms of Buckinghamshire) after the original Montford arms had become defamed in England in the wake of Simon de Munford's rebellion and defeat.

Richard, Simon's youngest son, took no part in his father's revolution and remained loyal to his uncle the King, for which reason Richard's life was spared. It has been assumed, without proof, that Richard died or was killed in childhood, about the same time as his father. This is because, from about that time forward, Richard and his heirs went ordinarily by the more English spelling of their name: Mulford. (It has been acknowledged by some historians that Richard did in fact alter his surname, even assuming for a time the name of Wellesbourne, from his wife Mary Wellesbourne.)

In French pronunciation (where the T is silent and the N nasalized) the name Montford or Montfort sounds (at least to English ears) very much like Mulford, as though there were an L in it, and so it came to be spelled. Many French words and names in this way came to be spelled with an L among the English.

Mulford comes therefore from two French words, Mont and fort, meaning "from the mountain fortress," or in other words, "from the castle on the hill." The "ford" in Mulford comes then not from the English word "ford" for a crossing as has been assumed, and thus the Mulfords do not come from a mountain crossing, mule crossing, mole crossing, muddy crossing, sandy crossing, or any other sort of crossing purported by some, but from the castle on the hill --Castle Montfort-l'Amaury to be precise, ancestral home of Simon de Montford and his heirs, just outside Paris, in the Ile de France region (not to be confused with Montfort-sur-Risle, in the Normandy region of France).

Spellings & Pronunciations

The name originally was spelled (usually) with an O, sometimes U depending on location, and at one time had no L. Some elder Mulfords even today pronounce the name traditionally "Moford," as though the L were silent, sometimes with a bit of a nasalized N sound in place of the L, causing many throughout our history to write the name as Munford.

Nationality & Ethnicity

Mulford is an English name and was originally French (as Munford and Montford). Some say the Montfords of Montfort-l'Amaury were also Basque in origin. NOT to be confused with the Montfords/Montforts of Montfort-sur-Risle in Normandy, France and of Dover, England, including Hugh, Hugo, and Ralph, who were of no relation to the Montfords/Montforts of Montfort-l'Amaury.

There is also no relationship to the Mulefords/Milfords of the Manor of Meleford/Milford in Wiltshire. Mulford does NOT derive from Milford as assumed by some. The Milfords of Wiltshire (including Adam de Meleford, father of brothers Richard de Muleford and John de Muleford, and John's son Edmund de Muleford) usually spelled their name Meleford and in fact never called themselves Muleford or Mulford, which was simply a scribal mistranscription occurring only in some instances. The Meleford/Muleford line in fact died out completely, with Edmund de Muleford having no male heirs and leaving only a daughter named Agnes or Anne who therefore inherited all of his property.

Famous People named Mulford

*Princess Diana Spencer of England (14th-great-granddaughter of Roger Molford of Cadbury), mother of Prince Harry and William Duke of Cambridge, future King of England.

*Howard Dean, Governor of Vermont, U.S. Presidential contender, and Democratic Party Chairman, (direct descendant of Judge John Mulford of East Hampton, New York, and of John's brother Thomas Mulford the Virginian, though some say, instead of Thomas, John's brother William, through William's unlikely daughter Elizabeth, likelier daughter of Thomas).

*David Campbell Mulford (direct descendant of Judge John Mulford, brother of William Mulford I, of East Hampton, the Hamptons, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York), U.S. Ambassador to India 2004-2009.

*Clarence Edward Mulford (direct descendant of William Mulford I of East Hampton), author of Hopalong Cassidy and numerous short stories.

*Brigadier General John E. Mulford (direct descendant of Jeremiah Mulford I of East Hampton, son of Mary Gardiner Conklin II & Thomas Mulford of East Hampton, son of William Mulford I of East Hampton), confidant of President Abraham Lincoln in secret negotiations between Lincoln and the Confederacy.

*Prentice Mulford (direct descendant of Jeremiah Mulford I of East Hampton), humorist, author, and New Thought pioneer.

Early Mulfords

These are the earliest records we have of the Mulford family.