The design of this volume is to give a family record of John Slafter, the immigrant ancestor of all who bear his surname in this country, and of his descendants, extending to eight generations. It has been made as full in dates of birth, marriages and deaths as patient and extensive research could make it… Of the five sons of the emigrant ancestor, Anthony had only daughters, and Benjamin had no children. The name has been transmitted by the three sons, Samuel, Moses and Joseph. Tradition suggests that John Slafter emigrated from Wales around 1680. He is thought to have settled in Lynn, Massachusetts, and to have raised at least ten children there before relocating to Connecticut in 1716. This genealogy follows his male line of descent through eight generations, comprising some 4,597 names. The appendix includes a genealogy for James Slafter (believed to be the tenth child of John Slafter) as well as lists of Slafters who graduated from colleges and a Roll of Honor listing those who rendered service in the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War. Individual indices are devoted to male descendants with the surnames Slafter, Slaughter or Slater, female descendants who do not bear a variant of the patronymic and the spouses of Slafter descendants.