Descendants of John Maxfield
of Salisbury, Massachusetts
Fifth Generation

ZADOCK⁵ MAXFIELD (Edmund⁴, Timothy^3-2, John¹) was born at Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, on 23 March 1767^[1] a son of Edmund Maxfield and his wife Rachel Russell. He died sometime between 8 August 1820 (census) and 5 February 1822 (probate of father's will). He married at Westport, Bristol County, Massachusetts, on 27 July 1791 SUSANNA SOULE.^[2] She was born at Dartmouth on 15 June 1768, a daughter of John and Elizabeth Soule.^[3] She died at New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, on 2 March 1853.^[4]

Zadock Maxfield grew up, the oldest of six children, at Dartmouth, where his father was a cooper and merchant and his family was active in the Religious Society of Freinds. Zadock and his next brother David married sisters, Susanna and Mary Soule.

Zadock Maxfield participated in several property transfers at Dartmouth:

• 27 of 2d month 1793, Edmund Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman, sold to [his son] Zadock Maxfield 2d of Dartmouth, yeoman,for £ 230, 14s, one half of a parcel at Dartmouth, 112 acres.^[5]
• 24 April 1794, Hannah Hammond of Dartmouth, widow, sold to Zadock Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman, for £ 14, 2s, a parcel in Dartmouth, 4 acres and 46 rods, land her late husband Benjamin Hammond, deceased, died seized of, some of their children either having died or surrendered right to this property. The whole lot was 10 acres.^[6]
• 24 November 1795, William Hammond of Cambridge in county of Washington, state of New York, yeoman, sold to Zadock Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman, for $ 18, a lot in Dartmouth, about 2 acres; his share of the lot his late father Benjamin Hammond, deceased, died seized of.^[7]
• 21 December 1795, Benjamin Hammond of Paldings, county of Dutchess, state of New York, yeoman, sold to Zadock Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman, for $ 10, land in Dartmouth about 1 ½ acre, his share of land from estate of his father Benjamin Hammond, deceased.^[8]
• 4 April 1796, Holden Slocum and Christopher Slocum, both of Dartmouth, yeomen, sold to Zadock Maxfield and David Maxfield, both of Dartmouth, yeomen, for $ 24. a lot of Cedar Swamp in Dartmouth, near Aponoganset Great Swamp, 6 acres.^[9]
• 27 April 1796, Zadock Maxfield and David Almy, both of Dartmouth, jointly entitled to a certain tract of land in Dartmouth, that Benjamin Hammond of Dartmouth died seized of, about 10 acres, agree to divide land as follows: Almy 1 ¼ acres; Zadock the rest.^[10]
• 8 September 1797, Zadock Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman, sold to David Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman, for $ 40, the one half of a tract in Dartmouth, total 8 acres, 2 parcels; signed Zadock Maxfield, Susanna Maxfield.^[11]
• 3 April 1799, Zadock Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman, sold to Edmund Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman, for $600, two parcels of land in Dartmouth: (1) about 26 ½ acres, abutters include both Zadock Maxfield and Edmund Maxfield; (2) about 29 acres, abutters include Zadock Maxfield; signed Zadock Maxfield, Susanna Maxfield.^[12]
• 3 April 1799, David Maxfield of Dartmouth, blacksmith, sold to Zadock Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman, for $ 1,000, one half of a parcel in Dartmouth of 120 acres, adjoins Edmond Maxfield's land.^[13]
• ___ day of September 1807 (acknowledged 3 September 1807), David Almy of Dartmouth, collored man, sold to Zadock Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman, for $200, his homestead farm of about 4 ½ acres, abutters include Edmund Maxfield, Zadock Maxfield.^[14]
• 5 March 1808, David Russell of Westport, yeoman, sold to Zadock Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman, for $20, 4 ½ acres of common and undivided land to be laid out in the ancient Propriety of the old Township of Dartmouth by the committee of surveyors, according to the acts, votes and rules of the Proprietors of said township, in the 300 acre grant.^[15]
• 5 March 1810, Zadock Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman, sold to Caleb Peckham of Dartmouth, for $100, a lot of swamp in the arm of Aponagansett Great Swamp in Dartmouth, about 18 acres; signed Zadock Maxfield, Susanna Maxfield^[16]

Census records for 1800, 1810, and 1820 reported the Zadock Maxfield family at Dartmouth. Those records only indicate the numbers of persons in various age and sex categories. One possible explanation, based on other known information on the family, follows:^[17]

These lists suggest the following: (1) son William, born in 1793, for whom we have no other record, perhaps died before 1800; (2) daughter Hannah's age could have been over-estimated in 1800; (3) although we have no further record of daughter Cynthia beyond her birth record, her continued existence is suggested by the 1800 and 1810 censuses; (4) Anna, of whom we know only from her grandfather's probate record of 1822, could be a female born after 1810, although she appeared on the probate record list before Hepsibah; (5) James, who earned his living from the sea, could have been already at sea by 1820, at the age of 16.

Zadock's father, Edmund Maxfield, in his will of 6 August 1818, left the remainder of his estate to his grandchildren, one-sixth to the children of each of his children, of whom Zadock was one. The estate was brought before Bristol County Probate Court in January and February of 1822. That record on 5 February clearly stated that Zadock was deceased. The 4 January record listed the minor children of Zadock Maxfield: Russell Maxfield, Edmund Maxfield, Anne Maxfield, Hepsibah Maxfield, and Caleb Maxfield. These records granted guardianship of these minor children to Seth Russell.^[18] The older daughters, Hannah, Rachel and Martha, had already married before that date. I have no further information on William and Cynthia, and I have no idea why James was left off the list.

Susanna (Soule) Maxfield had at least eleven children in twenty years. By February of 1822, when her husband is known to be deceased, she was 53 years old and still had children at home, perhaps Caleb 9, Anne 10, Hipsy 12 and Edmund 15. Sons Russell, James and Edmund were all drawn to maritime occupations in the growing whaling port of New Bedford.

The 1830 Census reported Susanna Maxfield resident at New Bedford, head of a household that included a woman in her 60s, two men in their thirties and one man in his 20s.^[19] Susanna was the woman; the man in his 20s could have been Russell, 28, who married the following month, or Edmund, 23. The 1840 Census reported Susanna Maxfield, a woman in her 70s, living alone at New Bedford.^[20] In 1850 Susanna Maxfield, 81, was living in New Bedford at the residence of Joseph and Dolly Burr.^[21]

Susanna (Soule) Maxfield died at New Bedford on 2 March 1853, from dropsey.^[22]

Zadock Maxfield and his wife Susanna Soule had the following children:

1. HANNAH S.⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth on 11 February 1792;^[23] d. at New Bedford on 30 October 1877;^[24] m. int. at Dartmouth on 13 August 1811 ISAAC TOBEY HATHAWAY,^[25] b. at Dartmouth on 25 September 1788, d. at New Bedford on 22 October 1874, child of Paul Hathaway and Sarah Winslow.^[26]
2. WILLIAM⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth on 20 September 1793;^[27] no further record, 1800 census suggests he deceased by then.
3. RACHEL⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth on 1 January 1795;^[28] m. int. at Dartmouth on 9 May 1815 NOAH DOUGLAS.^[29]
4. CYNTHIA⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth on 26 May 1797;^[30] no further record, censuses suggest she living through 1810.
5. MARTHA⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth on 7 December 1799;^[31] m. int. at New Bedford on 8 December 1821 THOMAS PECKHAM.^[32]
6. RUSSELL⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth on 5 October 1802.
7. JAMES⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth on 3 March 1804.
8. EDMUND H.⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth on 10 November 1806.
9. HEPSIBAH RUSSELL⁶ MAXFIELD "Hipsey" b. at Dartmouth on 6 April 1809;^[33] m. int. at New Bedford on 22 March 1828 ELISHA K. ROBBINS.^[34] Seth Russell appointed her guardian 1822.^[35]
10. ANNE⁶ MAXFIELD Seth Russell appointed her guardian 1822.^[36] Perhaps she is the Anna Maxfield b. at New Bedford on 29 July 1811, d. at Savoy, Massachusetts, on 24 October 1898, m. at Hawley, Massachusetts, on 2 July 1829 ALVIN SEARS, b. at Hawley on 8 January 1804, d. at Savoy, Berkshire Co., MA, on 3 June 1872.^[37]
11. CALEB STRONG⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth abt. 1812/3.

¹Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1929, 1929, 1930), 1:159.
²Vital Records of Westport, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston: NEHGS, 1918), 195.
³Vital Records of Dartmouth, 1:258.
⁴Massachusetts, Commonwealth of, Division of Vital Statistics, State House, Boston, MA, 75: 75:68.
⁵Bristol County, Massachusetts, Deeds, 71:445-46, accessed 30 June 2013; Bristol County Court House, Taunton, MA (familysearch.org).
⁶Ibid., 74:448
⁷Ibid., 74:449
⁸Ibid.
⁹Ibid., 76:113-14
¹⁰Ibid., 75:199.
¹¹Ibid., 76:114
¹²Ibid., 82:542.
¹³Ibid., 78:40-41.
¹⁴Ibid., 88:20-21
¹⁵Ibid., 88:488-89.
¹⁶Ibid., 91:69.
¹⁷Second Census of the United States: 1800, population, Dartmouth, Bristol Co., MA, 19:660; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012 ); Third Census of the United States: 1810, population, Dartmouth, Bristol Co., MA, 17:285; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012); Fourth Census of the United States: 1820, population, Dartmouth, Bristol Co., MA, 47:576; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012).
¹⁸Bristol County, Massachusetts, Probate Records, 59:6; 59:57, 243-45, 264-66, 288-92; Court House, Taunton, Massachusetts.
¹⁹Fifth Census of the United States: 1830, population, New Bedford, Bristol Co., MA, 59:299; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012).
²⁰Sixth Census of the United States: 1840, population, New Bedford, Bristol Co., MA, 178:425; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012).
²¹Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population, New Bedford, Bristol Co., MA, 309:394A, 2942; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012).
²²Vital Records of Massachusetts, 75: 75:68.
²³Vital Records of Dartmouth, 1:158.
²⁴Massachusetts Archives, "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," digital images, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 2014), 292:123:505.
²⁵Vital Records of Dartmouth, 2:313.
²⁶Elizabeth Starr Versailles, Hathaways of America (Northampton, MA: Gazette, 1970), 805.
²⁷Vital Records of Dartmouth, 1:159.
²⁸Ibid.
²⁹Ibid., 2:313.
³⁰Ibid., 1:159
³¹Ibid., 1:158.
³²Vital Records of New Bedford, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, 3 volumes (Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1932. 1932, 1941), 2:366.
³³Vital Records of Dartmouth, 1:158.
³⁴Vital Records of New Bedford, 2:365.
³⁵Bristol County Probate, 59:243-44.
³⁶Ibid.
³⁷West Hill Cemetery, Hawley, Franklin Co., MA, database, Find a Grave (findagrave.com : accessed 2012), .

Bristol County, Massachusetts. Deeds. Bristol County Court House, Taunton, MA (familysearch.org).

________. Probate Records. Court House, Taunton, Massachusetts.

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

Massachusetts, Commonwealth of, Division of Vital Statistics, State House, Boston, MA. Vital Records of Massachusetts. New Bedford Free Public Library, New Bedford, MA. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Massachusetts Archives. "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910." Digital images. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2014

United States Department of the Census. Second Census of the United States: 1800, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2012.

________. 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 : 2012.

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

________. Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2012.

Versailles, Elizabeth Starr. Hathaways of America. Northampton, MA: Gazette, 1970.

Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts to the Year 1850. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1929, 1929, 1930.

Vital Records of New Bedford, Massachusetts, to the year 1850. 3 volumes. Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1932. 1932, 1941.

Vital Records of Westport, Massachusetts to the Year 1850. Boston: NEHGS, 1918.

West Hill Cemetery, Hawley, Franklin Co., MA. Database. Find a Grave. findagrave.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.