According to Threlfall’s GMC50333, “JOHN DUXFORD of Ashwell, Hertfordshire, was probably born about 1510. His name, Duxford or Duxforth, derives from the village of Duxford in Cambridgeshire, which is 15 miles NEE of Ashwell. John Duxford was listed on the 1545 Subsidy (tax) Roll at Clothall, a parish 4 1/2 miles south of Ashwell. Since neither a Parish Register nor Bishop’s Transcripts for Ashwell before 1604 have survived, John’s will is the only source of information on his family so far discovered. The tenor of his will suggests that his children were in their late teens or twenties. For some reason, he was concerned that his wife might need outside help in settling his estate.

“That his son Richard was the same Richard who later appeared in Westmill seems fairly certain. The name Duxford was not common and the chronology fits. Westmill is a mere 10 miles to the southeast of Ashwell. An abstract of his will follows.”