The Sheffield name was originally used to identify somebody who came from the area around "the open space by the River Sheaf," which ran through the middle of the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. The first recorded spelling of the Sheffield family name is that of “Johannes de Schefeld” who was listed in 1379 in the "Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire," during the reign of King Richard II. The first America Sheffield tied to the Bulloch County clan is William of Northampton, N.C. His wife's name is unknown, but it is certain they raised the following children: John, William, West, Ephraim, Arthur, Isham and Martha. William's son West married three times: to Susannah Sherrod, Martha Elizabeth Randall, and then to Martha Deal.