b. 1653,
d. 6 June 1733

Nathaniel Byfield was born in 1653 in Long Ditton, Surrey, England.He was the son of Richard Byfield.  He emigrated to America in 1664, settling in Boston , where he engaged in mercantile pursuits. He removed to Bristol R. I., in 1674, and acquired a proprietary interest in one-fourth of the land of that town after King Philip's war.

He took an active interest in the growth, development and government of the town, served as speaker of the house of representatives for a season, and as judge of the Bristol county court of common pleas for thirty-eight years. He was judge of the vice-admiralty from 1704-15, and again in 1720. He returned to Boston in 1724, was appointed judge of the court of common pleas of Suffolk county, and later became a member of the Massachusetts council, retaining the latter office for many years. He was the author of an Account of the late Revolution in New England; together with the Declaration of the Gentlemen, Merchants and Inhabitants of Boston (1689).  Nathaniel Byfield married Sarah Leverett, daughter of Governor Sir John Leverett and Sarah Sedgwick, in 1718. Nathaniel Byfield died on 6 June 1733 in Boston.