In the early records the HUMPHREY name of this old colonial family is found variously spelled Humphry, Humfry and' Humfrey as often perhaps as Humphrey, the latter being the now generally accepted orthography of the name. And besides being very old families in New England the Humphreys come from English and Welch ancestors of very great antiquity, dating to the time of the conquest, 1066, and among the English branches were many distinguished personages, holding high official station and closely allied to their sovereign, who bestowed lands upon them and honored them with titles and other marks of royal favor.

It cannot be claimed that the Humphreys of America or even those of the mother country are descended from a common remote ancestor, for in Great Britain the surname is as distinctively Welch as it is English; and on this side of the Atlantic, where at least three immigrant ancestors were seated previous to the year 1640, there is nothing which suggests kinship or descent from a common ancestral head. The particular family proposed to be treated in these annals is of the ancient English family of that surname and dates its history in this country from the year 1637.