The "D" family's history survived because :

A certain Hubertus De La Ffelde was said to be with William The Conqueror when William invaded England.
Hubertus was rewarded with wealth, rank, land and property.
The family surname was unique in the British Isles at that time.
Three family members became Sheriff of Dublin.
At least two family members were advisers to the King.
The surname and it's many variants, were recorded in litigation and land transfer documents.
Several family members achieved high military rank and their escapades were recorded in historical documents.

The name Delderfield evolved as follows :

Delderfield History :

Delderfield family members lived and worked in and around the Tring area for many centuries. Straw plaiting was a major cottage industry in the Tring area. The straw was plaited for the hat industry in Luton, Beds.

The Delderfield family, like so many others, lost a large number of members killed in active service. Many are buried in military cemeteries in Europe. Our records include references wherever possible.

Places named after family members include :

Heroes who have contributed to site content include :-

Tom Parry : Researcher
Robert (Bob) Delderfield : Researcher
(Click on this hyperlink to view Bob's Delderfield one-name study)
David Murphy : Researcher
Tom McKinney : Researcher
Alan J Delderfield : Contributed photos of Aldbury
Eric J Dryden : Supplied information about Ronald Frederick
Robin F Delderfield : Contributed family photos and information
Claire Delderfield : Cousin and confidante
Arthur James Delderfield : Family information
Keith Delderfield : Photos of Tring and information

Extracts from books (if not quoted, the source is unknown) :

Hubertus De La Feld received large grants of land from William the Conqueror and settled near Halifax, England, where the family became numerous and had many learned and noted men - From the Field family's genealogical records.

It is probable that Hubertus De La Feld from Alsace-Lorraine near Colmar, was the first of his race that emigrated to England and that he came over with William the Conqueror.

He was of the family of Count de la Field, which can be traced back to the darkest period of the Middle Ages - about Sixth Century.

The family is of a very ancient German extraction and was for ages seated at Feldkirch, in the Austrian Tyrol and also at the Chateaux of La Feld, in Alsace, in which latter place extensive ruins still remain.

John Delafield having greatly distinguished himself in the imperial service against the Turks and having taken a standard from the enemy at the Battle of Zenta in Hungary was in 1697 created a Count of the Holy Roman Empire by Emperor Leopold I and the dignity to descend to his heirs for ever.

Richard De La Ffelde brought £493 2s 10d from Dublin Castle to the King in London in 1218. He had been in John's service even before he became King. In later years he seems to have been in the Exchequer.

Sir Thomas Delafield married Katherine, daughter of Sir Thomas De Rochfort, who was the granddaughter of Edmund Duke of Somerset, who was the grandson of John of Gaunt, father of Henry IV. They had a son, Sir John Delafield whose niece of his father's side married the great-grandfather of Anne Boleyne. The family was therefore connected by marriage to Queen Elizabeth I and Kings Henry IV, V and VI.

Reference books about the family :

Delafield, The Family History, by John Ross Delafield

Pedigrees of Delafields or De La Feld

Population, Economy & Family Structure in Hertfordshire in 1851

Aldbury, the Open Village & Aldbury People : 1885-1945

Waddesdon & Over Winchendon

Reference books about the family (cont.) :

Irish and Anglo-Irish Landed Gentry, by John O'Hart

Encyclopedia of Heraldry or General Armor, Edition of 1844 by John Burke

A Genealogical & Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage & Baronetage of the British Empire, 1853

An extract from Irish Roots Magazine :

At a distance of about two miles from Oldtown, we cross the Broadmeadow Water at the entrance to Fieldstown House, in the demesne of which is an old burial ground with some remains of an ancient church dedicated to St. Catherine. This locality derives its name from the ancient family of de la Field or Feld, who came over to England with William the Conqueror, and obtained possession of these estates about the year 1200, retaining them until 1479, when they passed by marriage to the Barnewall family. The ancestral castle of the Counts de la Field stood in a pass of the Vosges Mountains in France, and its lords were owners of extensive estates in both Alsace and Lorraine. Some ruins of their ancient chateau and its chapel still remain in the Vosges - a picturesque yet melancholy memorial of this distinguished family - Unknown

Family information from unknown sources :

Intense interest in the medieval lived on in the arena of book illustration. The romance of the medieval history … la Scott is captured in a series of paintings commissioned for a history of the Delafield family. In 1929, John Ross Delafield, the owner of Montgomery Place, hired Stanley Arthurs (1877-1950) to paint a cycle. The series began with a scene of "Richard de la ffelde" overseeing carpenters in France, 1203, and concluding with the arrival of John Delafield in New York in 1784, an event that marked the start of the family in the United States.

This Anglo-Norman family, who settled in Fingal were originally lords of a district in Alsace. Hubert de la Field is recorded as a tenant in Buckinghamshire in the reign of William the Conqueror and also a John de la Field in 1109. His descendants came to Ireland at the beginning of the thirteenth century having been granted lands in Fingal. The name Fieldstown is retained to the present day, as is the surname Field, but in time the lands passed to the Barnewall family through the female line. Captain James de la Field supported Silken Thomas and in the attack on Dublin, commanded a detachment which attempted to capture Dublin Castle.

Historical Notes of the De la ffelde Family.

"The Family of De La Field, still indissolubly identified with this
locality, (Fieldstown, Dublin) notwithstanding their total estrangement
from its possession, were originally derived from Alsace, and long
resided in the chateau that bears their name, situated in a pass of the
Vosges mountains, about three days' journey from Colmar. They were
also lords of considerable possessions in Lorraine. The ruins of their
castle and its chapel yet remain, and afford a picturesque but
melancholy memoriai of "the splendour of the Counts of la Field”, as
styled by du Chesne, who records the tributes they claimed, the retinue
and hospitality they maintained, as well as the difficulties they
encountered in the early wars of Germany and France, notwithstanding
the assistance they received from the Earls of Flanders, and the House
of Hapsburg, to both of which they were allied by marriage: "La croix d'or
de la Feld luisant parmi les, En courageux defi lances des armées de la
France." (The gold cross of Feld shining among, In courageous
challenge, lances of the armies of France. )

A cadet of this noble line came over to England about the time of
the Conqueror, and, accordingly, Hubert de la Field is recorded as a
tenant /in capite /in Buckinghamshire, in the third year of the reign of that
monarch, as is also John de la Field in 1109."

Quotes about genealogy :-

The danger in tracing your family tree is that you may find an ancestor hanging from a branch, either by his neck or by his tail - George Bernard Shaw.

A genealogist is a person who will trace your ancestors as far back as your money will go - Oscar Wilde.

I don't know who my grandfather was, I am much more concerned who his grandson will be - Abraham Lincoln.

Quotes about genealogy from unknown sources :-

"Those of us who trace our ancestors live in the past lane".

"A successful genealogist able to trace all his ancestors over twenty-four generations would have found 16,777,216 of them".
This webmaster feels that only 2 people per generation are our actual ancestors, the others are just relatives.  Two doubled up 24 times produces the number 16,777,216, but I fail to see the connection.   If you know better, please elucidate.

The study of family history is called Genealogy, from the Greek words for race and theory.

Alan Fitzjohn has forwarded his current Coat of Arms construction :
(Just click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized graphic)

Alan's description : "The Coat of Arms of John Delafield, who died in Aylesbury in 1737, was the great - grandson of John Delafield, who features in the Delderfield Family Tree and who was born in Waddesdon, Bucks in 1560. The Coat of Arms has been constructed in accordance with the Windsor Herald of the College of Arms’ description. Namely ;- “Sable on a cross flory or, a lion rampant gules” and the Crest “ A ring dove wings expanded proper, holding in the beak an olive branch or” and the Motto “Insignia fortunae paria “. To translate this into modern English :- a Black Shield with a gold cross, having “fleur-de-lys” shaped ends to each arm of the cross, in the centre of which is a rampant red lion. The Crest is a grey collared dove holding a gold olive branch in its beak. The Motto is “ My desire and my fortune are matched”. "

David Coppin, who found the De la Field button that is featured on our Delderfield News Page, made the following comments  :-

The reference books translate the motto as "my desire and my fortune are matched"! I also read that "the motto, as well as the honourable coat, is said to have been given to an ancestor of this family (the De La Fields) , who was created a count of the Holy Roman Empire after the battle of Zenta". The description I have for the coat is "a dove, wings expanded, in mouth an olive branch". I must sadly confess that when I dug it out of the ground there was a lot more gold paint showing, however, there was also a lot of grot on it which made it hard to see some of the letters and the engraving.  Inevitably in the process of washing and cleaning the gold paint came away along with the grot.  Although I am normally careful not to over-clean my finds, I found it very difficult with this particular item to get the right balance. One thing I will do is ask the farmer if he knows of any links with the land and the De La Fields/ Delafields.

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