Judson Canfield was born in New Milford, Connecticut, January 23, 1759. He was a son of Col. Samuel Canfield (1725-1799), an officer in the Revolutionary army and a member of the Connecticut state legislature, and Elizabeth Judson. Judson Canfield was educated at Yale College, graduating in 1782. His uncle, John Canfield, the first lawyer in Sharon, Conn., died in 1786, and Judson then moved to Sharon and established a successful law practice. Many of his clients conducted business or resided in Dutchess County, New York. In 1796, Canfield purchased land in the Western Reserve (later Ohio) from the Connecticut Land Co. His holdings would eventually total thousands of acres, including property in present-day Bainbridge, Canfield (which was named for him in 1800), Cleveland, Medina, Newton, and Newton Falls. Canfield was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly from 1802 to 1809 and elected a State Senator from 1810 to 1815. From 1808 to 1815, he was also an associate judge of the county court for the county of Litchfield. In 1815, he moved to Ohio, devoting himself mainly to farming and disposing of his properties. He died February 5, 1840 in New York City. In 1786, he married Mabel Ruggles (1761-1844). Their children were Henry Judson, Julia Elvira, Elizabeth Hannah, and Caroline Emma. Henry J. Canfield (1789-1856), graduated from Yale College in 1806, studied at the Litchfield Law School in 1808, and was admitted to the bar in 1810. He moved to Canfield, where he practiced law, farmed, raised sheep, and managed his father's land holdings. In 1825, he married Sally Ruth Ferris ( -1881), the daughter of Walter Ferriss (1768-1806) and Sarah (Sally) Morgan Ferriss (1772-1850). They had two children, Julia Elvira Canfield Ruggles (1826-1857) and Judson Walter Canfield. Walter Ferriss, from Oblong, Dutchess County, N.Y., moved to Charlotte, Vt., in 1792. At first, he concentrated on farming, but in the later 1790s he became a Universalist minister and organized several societies in the vicinity. He was appointed to the Committee of the General Convention in Strafford, Vermont, in 1802. In 1803, Ferris attended the Winchester Convention in New Hampshire as a representative from Hinesburg, Vermont. All three of Judson and Mabel Ruggles Canfield's daughters attended the Litchfield Female Academy. Julia Elvira (1791-1868) married Samuel Flewwelling of New York City, a prominent banker who purchased land in Ohio from Judson Canfield, members of his family, and others. Elizabeth Hannah (1793-1878) married Frederick Augustus Tallmadge (1784-1869) of Litchfield, son of Col. Benjamin Tallmadge. Frederick was a prominent lawyer in New York City and held elective office. Caroline Emma (1798-1872) married William Mackay of New York City, a New York City commission merchant. William Mackay and Julia Canfield Flewwelling were executors of Judson Canfield's will. Herman Canfield, brother of Judson Canfield, married Fetia Bostwick. In October, 1805, they settled in Canfield, Ohio.

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