Papers : 1786-1835.

            William Fairfield (c.1733-1812) was a farmer in Pawlet Township, in the southwestern part of Vermont, at the beginning of the American Revolution.  He was imprisoned for refusing to join the American rebels and later enlisted in the Loyalist forces. He served with the Loyal Rangers until the end of the war and settled with other men of his regiment in Ernestown Township where he became a prosperous merchant and built his home near present day Amherstview, Ontario.  He and his wife Abigail Baker had twelve children, and three of his sons became prominent businessmen.   William, Jr. (c.1769-1816), Stephen, and Benjamin carried on their father's mercantile business in Kingston, Cornwall, and Ernestown, which included contracting with the commissariat to supply the garrison at Kingston.    William, Jr. served as a justice of the peace, commissioner of roads, member of the House of Assembly, and along with his brothers, was instrumental in founding the Ernestown Academy.            

            The selections from the Fairfield Family Papers, which have been included in the microfilm, consist of correspondence, accounts and legal documents relating William Fairfield, Sr. and in particular to his sons William Fairfield, Jr. and Stephen Fairfield 
Reel 1.  The correspondence deals, mainly, with family and business affairs, and includes material relating to the Dorland and Van Valkenburgh families, 1802-1835.    The accounts contain receipts, statements, and bills of cost itemizing legal services rendered during court cases, mostly relating to Stephen Fairfield and Maria and Herman Fairfield, 1795-1830. Also included with the accounts, are documents relating to the estate of the deceased Stephen Fairfield, 1821 and 1824;   Captain J.L. Fralick's Company of Light Dragoons' account with Fairfield;    a waste book, 1803;   and a storekeeper's account book, 1803-1812. 
Reel 2.    The storekeeper's account book, 1803-1812, is continued, and is followed by a second storekeeper's account book, 1818-1825, which includes newspaper clippings.    Among the legal documents can be found deeds, bonds, agreements, commissions, a land grant to James Hicks, the wills of William Fairfield, Sr. and Maria and Thomas Dorland, and the inventory of Stephen Fairfield's estate.    Other family names that appear in the Papers include:  Carr, Davison, Dunham, Davy, Amey and Pruyn.            

            The finding aid for the complete collection of Fairfield Family Papers is found at the beginning of Reel 1. It includes a table of contents,  genealogical information, a general description and outline of the Papers, as well as a detailed list of contents.
The finding aid is available in print.
A brief table of contents and microfilm shelf list is available in print.