Byfield Research Files are Here

I've been trying to organize some of my files and it occurs to me that there is no reason I shouldn't share with everyone.  To access my Byfield files go to to this link https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByJh1OTqQtMVWF80S1Y3MkV0TTg in your web browser or click here --> Byfield Research .

The folders are organized in family hierarchy beginning with Abraham Byfield and spreading out from there.  I don't have the whole tree built yet but hope to do it within the next week or two.  There are a lot of folders to create and files to transfer!

If anyone has research materials they would like to add, send them to me and I'll get them added.  Stories, photos, scans of documents, or whatever.  I hope this will be a place where Byfield researchers can find useful things.

Two Genealogy Books Found

Thanks to Karen West, I now have copies of two Byfield genealogy works that I have been wanting for a long time.  The first is one that I had not heard of before and the second is one that I had heard about but only knew of copies in a couple of libraries.

First is The Lineage of MY MOTHER, J. Bernadine Byfield by Kathleen Anne Schoen.  Bernadine Byfield descends from the George Washington Byfield branch of the family and, more specifically, the branch that ended up in northern Kansas.  The book contains information about the Griffiths, Christs, Ellers, and several other associated families.  This book is about 200 pages and includes many copies of records.

Second is  Byfields by Hallie Opal Newbrey Lala Townley, compiled around 1988 and 1989.  This is another great genealogy beginning with Abraham Byfield and tracing the branches for each of his children.  This book is about 135 pages long.

I've scanned both of these books and have them as PDF files.  I would like to make these works publicly available as electronic files or as print-on-demand paper books.  Before I do that, I would really like to have the permission of the authors or their heirs.  I'd be grateful if anyone can point me the right direction.  In the mean time, if you are interested in either of these, just message me.

Sarah Bovard Diary and the Scott County Byfields

Thanks to Jan Beasley for pointing me to the Sarah Bovard diary on Genweb.  Sarah kept a diary for several years beginning in 1859.  She mentions many of the families in the area in her diary entries.  The diary has been transcribed, annotated, and indexed so, it is a great resource in addition to being really interesting just to read.

As a side project I'm thinking of trying to map out the families in Sarah's area of Scott county.  I'd like to have a visual aid to help in placing people and families as I read through Sarah's diary entries.

BYFIELD - Four Generations -- Available Now!

The proofs have been checked and the book has been published.  It is available now on Amazon.

If you are a Byfield or have a Byfield ancestor and live in the U.S., then you are probably a descendant of Abraham Byfield and Patience Corbin.  This book is about Abraham and Patience's family from the late 1700s through the mid 1900s.

The book is 288 pages with a full index of individuals, numerous photographs and illustrations.  The price is $16.55.

Click here to go to the Amazon page.

Waiting for the Proofs

I should have proof copies of BYFIELD - Four Generations in the next week.  If everything looks good I hope to publish in early September.  The version of the book that is available here on the site is not quite the final version.  I'll update it once I'm sure everything is done.  I'll also put a link to the Amazon book page once it's up on Amazon's site.

The final edits are almost all done.  I've posted the latest PDF file of the book online here.  Feel free to download it and take a look.  It's about 15 megabytes so it will take a minute or two to download.  Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
I'm thinking that the book should be ready for publishing in the next couple of weeks.  I still need to do some final reviewing and editing.  Also, I'm still tweaking on the cover.

Progress on BYFIELD - Four Generations

I'm pretty much finished adding to the book for now.  I keep getting sidetracked -- chasing down leads on family members that are fourth and fifth generation.  I've decided that I need to stop poking around over old ground and get the book ready to publish.
I think I will end up publishing it through Amazon.  That will make it easy for anyone to find and they will make sure it is on the list for libraries to find.  It looks like it will be able to be priced around ten to fifteen dollars.  That should make it cheaper than if you tried to print the whole thing from the PDF files available on this site.
I will be updating the PDF versions available here (free download) once I am done with the final edits.  This version of the book will contain the first four generations of Byfields descended from Abraham and Patience.
So far the editing is going pretty smoothly.  I would like to be able to get this done in the next couple of months.