Descendants of John Maxfield
of Salisbury, Massachusetts
Fourth Generation

JOSHUA4 MAXFIELD, Jr. (Joshua3, Joseph2, John1) was born at Weare, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, on 28 February 1775[1] a son of Joshua Maxfield and his wife Sarah Currier. He married first about 1800 SARAH ________, who died between 18 January 1803 and 29 March 1804. He married second at Henniker, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire on 28 March 1804 ASCENATH YOUNG,[2] who was born probably between 1780 and 1784.

Joshua Maxfield grew up with his parents in Weare, and later in Fishersfield, Hillsborough County. Later their address became Bradford, Hillsborough County, however this may have been caused by moving the Town Line rather than moving the family.

Joshua Maxfield married Sarah, and in their brief marriage they had three children, only one of whom survived childhood. The two whose names we know were born at Bradford in 1801 and 1803. Sarah probably died soon after the birth of their third child, as Joshua remarried three months later.

Joshua Maxfield of Bradford married Ascenath Young at Henniker, on 28 March 1804. Moses Sawyer, a clergyman, presided at the service at Henniker.[3] Joseph and Ascenath would have at least five sons and one daughter in their long married life. They gradually moved west, to Chester, Windsor County, Vermont, briefly to Springfield, Windsor County, and then to Fort Ann, Washington County, New York. Of their six known children, David would remain at Chester, Ira, Mitchell, Rebecca and Oliver would remain in the vicinity of Fort Ann, and Hiram and Varnis would go west to Michigan.

Joshua Maxfield, Jr., joined his father in signing a petition on 21 November 1796 to have a portion of Fishersfield transferred to Bradford,[4] which was done. Following that date, he participated in several land transactions in Bradford:

This last transaction may have been part of their preparation to move, as they appeared at Chester, Vermont, in the 1820 census. The 1830 census reported the Joshua Maxfield family at Springfield, Vermont. The 1835 New York state census reported tham at Fort Ann, Washington County, New York. Their appearance in the 1840 census at Fort Ann is the last reference I have found to Joshua and Ascenath Maxfield.

Census records before 1850 only list the head of household and the numbers in the household in various age and sex groups. The census reports for this family, with a possible explanation of who the persons were, follows:[9]

1810, Bradford NH
male 26-45 Joshua, 35
female 26-45 Ascenath, abt 28
male 16-25 unidentified
male 0-9 David, 5
male 0-9 Hiram, 4
male 0-9 Varnis, 2
male 0-9 Ira, 0
female 0-9 Phila, 9
1820, Chester, VT
male 45+ Joshua, 45
female 26-44 Ascenath, abt 38
male 10-15 David, 15
female 10-15 unidentified
male 0-9 Ira, 10
male 0-9 Mitchell, 7
female 0-9 Rebecca, 4
1830, Springfield VT
male 50-59 Joshua, 55
female 40-49 Ascenath, abt 48
female 10-14 Rebecca, 14
male 5-9 Oliver, 9
male 0-4 unidentified
1840, Fort Ann, NY
male 60-69 Joshua, 65
female 50-59 Ascenath, abt 58
male 10-19 Oliver, 19

This designation leaves some questions. In 1820, where were Phila, 19, Hiram, 14, ands Varnis, 12? In 1830, where were Hiram, 24, Varnis, 22, Ira, 20, and Mitchell, 17? Perhaps some were working out on other farms?

The 1835 New York state census reported the Joshua Maxfield household at Fort Ann, listed after the Hiram and Varnis Maxfield households. Joshua's household consisted of 1 male and 3 females, the male being subject to the military and entitled to vote. I cannot identify the other two females.[10]

On what basis can I claim that these ten persons were children of Joshua? Elizabeth Wright, in her John Maxfield of Salisbury, Massachusetts, 1652, and Some of His Descendants[11], and Harry Dana French, in his notes on the Maxfields, know of Joshua, Jr., his two wives, and only two children, Phila and the first David.[12] The evidence for all these children belonging to this family is not conclusive, but very suggestive.

  1. unidentified first child. The New Hampshire Birth Index calls Phila the second child of Joshua and Sarah, and David the third child of Joshua and Sarah.
  2. Phila. Reported in the New Hampshire Birth Index.
  3. David. Reported in the New Hampshire Birth Index
  4. second David. The record of his second marriage stated that his parents were Joshua Maxfield and Ascenath Young. He is not to be confused with the first David, as this second David was born in 1805 according to his age on his death record, and four censuses consistently give his age as indicating a birth in 1804/5.
  5. Hiram. The 1835 New York census placed Hiram, Varnis and Joshua next to each other in Fort Ann. All four censuses listed his birth place as New Hampshire. In the 1840 Census he appeared in the same township in Michigan as Varnis, and also David Irish, father of his first wife, also from Fort Ann.
  6. Varnis. The 1835 New York census placed Varnis, Hiram and Joshua next to each other in Fort Ann. All four censuses listed his birth place as New Hampshire. In the 1840 Census he appeared in the same township in Michigan as Hiram, and also David Irish, father of his wife, also from Fort Ann. He chose to name one of his daughters Ascenath.
  7. Ira. The 1840 census listed him next to Joshua Maxfield at Fort Ann. The census records give a mixed message regarding his birth place, two saying New Hampshire, two Vermont, and two New York. He named a daughter Ascenath.
  8. Mitchell. He was living at Fort Ann at every census from 1840 to 1880. Four census records give his birthplace as Vermont, two as New Hampshire. He named a daughter Ascenath.
  9. Rebecca. She married Samuel Phelps, the brother of Sally Phelps, wife of David Irish, all from Fort Ann.
  10. Oliver. He lived in Fort Ann all his life. Six censuses gave his birthplace as Vermont, one as New York.
This evidence is not conclusive, and more research could be done, but it indicates the strong probability that they are the children of Joshua.

Fort Ann is a town in Washington County, New York, which grew with the construction of the Champlain Canal in 1823, connecting Lake Champlain with the Hudson River. Sons Ira and Oliver both worked as "boatmen" on the canal.

Joshua Maxfield, Jr., and his first wife Sarah had the following children:

  1. (unidentified first child)5 MAXFIELD b. 1800 or earlier.
  2. PHILA5 MAXFIELD b. at Bradford on 24 July 1801;[13] d. at Calais, Washington Co., VT on 30 April 1868;[14] m. (1) on 3 January 1825 JESSE DEWEY, b. at Chelsea, Orange Co., VT, on 14 June 1799, d. at Williamstown, Orange Co., on 8 September 1828, child of David and Heta (Wright) Dewey.[14] She m. (2) on 3 January 1833 JOEL HAMBLIN, b. abt. 1782/3 d. at Hardwick, Caledonia Co., VT, on 18 April 1859.[15]
  3. DAVID5 MAXFIELD b. at Bradford on 18 January 1803;[16] d. bef. 1805 (birth of another child given same name).
Joshua Maxfield, Jr., and his second wife Ascenath probably had the following children:
  1. DAVID5 MAXFIELD b. at Bradford on 23 February 1805.
  2. HIRAM5 MAXFIELD b. at New Hampshire on 15 June 1806.
  3. VARNIS5 MAXFIELD b. at New Hampshire on 26 January 1808.
  4. IRA5 MAXFIELD b. at New Hampshire abt. 1809/10.
  5. MITCHELL5 MAXFIELD b. on 1813.
  6. REBECCA5 MAXFIELD b. on 29 August 1815; d. at Warren Co., NY on 19 June 1866;[17] m. bef. 1833 SAMUEL HENRY PHELPS, b. at Fort Ann abt. 1802, d. at Warren Co. on 7 February 1864, child of Norman Phelps, Sr., and Sarah Cole.[18]
  7. OLIVER5 MAXFIELD b. at Vermont on December 1821.

NOTES

1State of New Hampshire. Bureau of Vital Statistics, Concord, NH, Index of Births to 1900;Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT.
2State of New Hampshire. Bureau of Vital Statistics, Concord, NH, Index to Marriages Up to 1900;Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT.
3Ibid.
4Nathaniel Bouton et al, eds, Documents and Records Relating to New Hampshire, 1623-1800, 40 (Concord, Manchester, Nashua and Bristol, NH: n.p., 1867), 12:669.
5Hillsborough County Registry of Deeds, : 100:557-59; FHL microfilm .
6Ibid., 99:58-59.
7Ibid., 110:470-71
8Ibid., 110:471-72
9Third Census of the United States: 1810, population, Bradford, Hillsboro Co., NH, 24:522; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012); Fourth Census of the United States: 1820, population, Chester, Windsor, VT, 128:405; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012); Fifth Census of the United States: 1830, population, Springfield, Windsor Co., VT, 187:138; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2011); Sixth Census of the United States: 1840, population, Fort Ann, Washington Co., NY, 348:236; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012).
10Anna Gallagher, to Charles A. Maxfield, e-mail, 25 May 2013, "Joshua Maxfield, Jr., & Hiram and Varnis,"; privately held . Included tif of census record.
11Elizabeth Wright, "John Maxfield of Salisbury, Massachusetts, 1652, and Some of His Descendants," The Nebraska and Midwest Genealogical Record (1928–1930): 8:16.
12French, Harry Dana. Descendants of John Maxfield of Salisbury, Mass., New Hampshire Historical Society Library, Concord, NH, about 1952.
13New Hampshire Birth Index.
14French. Descendants of John Maxfield.
15Ibid.
16New Hampshire Birth Index
17Seelye Cemetery, Queensbury, Warren Co., NY, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 2012); Brian Phelps, Phelps Family History in America (www.phelpsfamilyhistory.com : accessed 2013).
18Seelye Cemetery, Find a Grave; Phelps. Phelps Family History; Gallagher to Charles A. Maxfield, e-mail, 3 June 2013.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bouton, Nathaniel et al, editors. Documents and Records Relating to New Hampshire, 1623-1800. 40. Concord, Manchester, Nashua and Bristol, NH: n.p., 1867.

French, Harry Dana. Descendants of John Maxfield of Salisbury, Mass. New Hampshire Historical Society Library, Concord, NH, about 1952.

Gallagher, Anna. "Joshua Maxfield, Jr., & Hiram and Varnis." E-mail from , to Charles A. Maxfield. 25 May 2013. Privately held.

Hillsborough County Registry of Deeds. Land Records. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA. FHL microfilm, . Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Little, William. The History of Weare, New Hampshire, 1735-1888. Lowell, MA: by the Town, 1888.

Phelps, Brian. Phelps Family History in America. www.phelpsfamilyhistory.com : 2013.

Seelye Cemetery, Queensbury, Warren Co., NY. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2012.

State of New Hampshire. Bureau of Vital Statistics, Concord, NH. Index of Births to 1900. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT

________. Index to Marriages Up to 1900. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT.

United States Department of the Census. Third Census of the United States: 1810, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2012.

________. Fourth Census of the United States: 1820, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2012.

________. Fifth Census of the United States: 1830, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2011.

________. Sixth Census of the United States: 1840, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2012.

Wright, Elizabeth. "John Maxfield of Salisbury, Massachusetts, 1652, and Some of His Descendants." The Nebraska and Midwest Genealogical Record (1928–1930): 6:52-56; 7:20-24, 42-47, 61-71, 87-96; 8:15-22.

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