Descendants of John Maxfield
of Salisbury, Massachusetts
Fifth Generation

OBADIAH⁵ MAXFIELD (David⁴, Eliphalet³, Nathaniel², John¹) was born at New Hampshire or Vermont, say about 1778 a son of David Maxfield and his wife Judith Clough. He died at Lamont, Tallmadge Township, Ottawa County, Michigan on 25 May 1848.^[1] He married probably before 1800 EUNICE ________,^[2] who was more often called "Lucy." She was born about 1783 and died at Lamont on 4 October 1847.^[3]

If we put together the age groupings in which Obadiah was placed by the censuses, he was born between 1776 and 1780. The 1810 and 1820 censuses placed hin in the 26 to 44 age category, which combined would locate his birth between 1776 and 1784. Reported in his 50s in 1830 and in his 60s in 1840, these censuses place his birth between 1770 and 1780. His deteriorating tombstone appears to point to 1776, but considering the births of his brothers, 1778 would be a good guess. As their first child was born about 1800/1, they were probably married before 1800.

Obadiah and Lucy Maxfield farmed and raised a large family. They lived at Georgia, Franklin County, Vermont, through 1802. From 1805 through 1817, property records and the census described him as being of Milton, Chittenden County, Vermont, although he was engaging in property transfers at Georgia. The 1820 through 1840 censuses placed him at Chazy, Clinton County, New York, as did property transfers through 1846. In 1847 Obadiah and Lucy Maxfield migrated to Lamont, Michigan, following their son Ira. They both soon died there.

The property activity of Obadiah Maxfield at Georgia was extensive:

• 30 December 1797, David Maxfield of Georgia sold to Obadiah Maxfield of Georgia for $666.66, land in Georgia.^[4]
• 25 April 1799, Silas Hathaway, Esq., of Saint Albans, Franklin County, sold to Obadiah Maxfield for $333.33, land in Georgia.^[5]
• 26 March 1802, Obadiah Maxfield of Georgia sold to David Maxfield and Judith Maxfield of Georgia for $600, land in Georgia.^[6]
• 19 October 1802 Obadiah Maxfield of Georgia sold to Charles Rugg of Georgia for $133, land in Georgia.^[7]
• 8 April 1805, Obadiah Maxfield of Milton sold to Eliphalet Maxfield now of Colchester, Chittenden County, for $320, 75 acres in Georgia.^[8]
• 18 October 1806, Obadiah Maxfield of Milton sold to Levi Maxfield of Georgia for $100, land in Georgia.^[9]
• 12 July 1811, Obadiah Maxfield of Milton, sold to Seth Castle for $100, land in Georgia.^[10]
• 25 July 1811, Obadiah Maxfield of Milton sold to Seth Castle of Georgia for $ 20, land in Georgia, "It being nevertheless understood by Seth Castle that Levi Maxfield will have a title to a part of said premisis after the expiration of the natural life of David Maxfield and Judith wife of said David."^[11]
• 21 January 1817, Obadiah Maxfield of Milton sold to Cyrus A. Baker of Georgia for $220, land in Georgia.^[12]

Obadiah Maxfield evidently disposed of all his land in Vermont, in many cases to his siblings or parents, in preparation for his move to Chazy, New York, where he was reported in the 1820 census. He engaged in land transactions there, as well:

• 17 Dec 1825, Benjamin Mooers of Plattsburgh, Clinton County, and Mary his wife sold to Obadiah Maxfield of Chazy for $262.50, the undivided east half of lot #31 in Chazy.^[13]
• 29 June 1829, to clear up a misunderstanding in the previous deed, Obadiah Maxfield of Chazy received from Benjamin Mooers of Plattsburgh, $5. Mooers intended to sell to Maxfield only half of the east half of lot #30, 105 acres, not whole half of 220 acres.^[14]
• 18 May 1835, Obadiah Maxfield of Chazy and Lucy his wife sold to Walter Durfee of Benson, Rutland County, Vermont, for $100, land in Chazy, part of lot #31, 50 acres; signed Obadiah Maxfield; Lucy Maxfield.^[15]
• 4 December 1837, Obadiah Maxfield of Chazy and Lucy his wife sold to Jeremiah Hedges of Chazy for $127, land in Chazy, part of lot # 31; 12 acres and 2 rods; signed Obadiah Maxfield; Lucy Maxfield. Hedges was the husband of Obadiah's deceased daughter Artemezia.^[16]
• 28 January 1843, Obadian Maxfield and Lucy his wife of Chazy sold to Ephraim Smith of same town for $110, land in Chazy, part of lot #86, 105 acres, except 5 acres already sold; signed Obadiah Maxfield; Lucy Maxfield; one of the witnesses was Edwin Maxfield, Obadiah's son.^[17]
• 23 May 1846, Obadiah Maxfield of Chazy sold to Capias Bearl of same town for $600, the east half of lot # 31, except 12 ½ acres sold to Jeremiah Hedges, also a piece sold for a school house, also a privilege of flowing by a mill pond sold to J O Huges. The purchaser assumed claims of George Lesley of Troy; signed Obadiah Maxfield; recorded 26 July 1850.^[18]

From May through September of 1847, the county sheriff placed notices in the Plattsburgh Republican calling for a sheriff's sale of Obadiah Maxfield's property at Chazy to pay debts, and repeated postponements.^[19] However Obadiah had already sold his land and moved on.

The Obadiah Maxfield family was reported in federal censuses from 1810 through 1840. The break-down by age and sex, with a possible explanation, follows:^[20]

The only inconsistencies are an overestimate of Benjamin's age in 1830 and an overestimate of Lucy's age in 1840. One of the unidentified persons appears to repeat from 1810 to 1820.

Obadiah and Lucy Maxfield both died at Lamont, and are both buried at Maplewood Cemetery. Lucy died on 4 October 1847, Obadiah on 25 May 1848.^[21] The image of the tombstone is from findagrave.com.

Obadiah and Lucy Maxfield had the following children:

1. ARTEMEZIA⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Vermont abt. 1800/1;^[22] d. at Clinton Co. on 4 May 1832; m. bef. 1819 JEREMIAH OSBORN HEDGES, b. at Troy, Rensselaer Co., NY, on 21 December 1795, d. at Lamont on 26 March 1869. He m. (2) MARY CALKINS.^[23]
2. possibly Unidentified "A"⁶ MAXFIELD (female) b. bet. 1804 and 1810. Existence suggested by census records.
3. IRA H.⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Vermont on 8 March 1806.
4. PASCHAL⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Vermont on 1808.
5. ALBERT⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Vermont on 13 October 1813.
6. EDWIN L.⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Vermont on 1814.
7. probably BENJAMIN F.⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Vermont abt. 1818.
8. POLLY⁶ MAXFIELD b. abt. 1818/9; m. at Tallmadge on 12 March 1851 GEORGE BAXTER,^[24] b. about 1819/20. She was the first school teacher in Lamont.^[25]

¹Maplewood Cemetery, Lamont, Ottawa Co., MI, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 2012), .
²Ibid.
³The given name of Obadiah's spouse is found on many documents, variously given as Eunice, Locy, or Polly, including Michigana (Genealogical Society of Western Michigan, Grand Rapidsd, MI): 29:118.
⁴Town of Georgia, VT, Deeds, 1:358; Georgia Town Clerk, Georgia, Franklin Co., VT.
⁵Ibid., 1:363.
⁶Ibid., 2:534-35.
⁷Ibid., 2:497.
⁸Ibid., 3:195.
⁹Ibid., 3:280.
¹⁰Ibid., 4:142.
¹¹Ibid., 4:142-43.
¹²Ibid., 4:411.
¹³New York, Land Records, 1630-1975: Clinton Co., J:79-80; digital images, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 2014).
¹⁴Ibid., O:174.
¹⁵Ibid., V:470-71.
¹⁶Ibid., 5:334-35.
¹⁷Ibid., 8:373-75.
¹⁸Ibid., 16:444.
¹⁹"Sheriff's Sale," Plattsburgh Republican, 15, 29 May, 12 Jun 1847; New York State Historical Newspapers (nyshistoricnewspapers.org : accessed 2014). p. 4.
²⁰Third Census of the United States: 1810, population, Milton, Chittenden Co., VT, 64:382; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2011); Fourth Census of the United States: 1820, population, Chazy, Clinton Co., NY, 66:444; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012); Fifth Census of the United States: 1830, population, Chazy, Clinton Co., NY, 85:326; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012); Sixth Census of the United States: 1840, population, Chazy, Clinton Co., NY, 276:252; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012).
²¹Maplewood Cemetery, Lamont, Ottawa Co., MI, Find a Grave.
²²Joan Carlson, to Charles A. Maxfield, Electronic mail, 1 June 2001, "Re: Artemezia Maxfield,"
²³Ibid.
²⁴"Michigan, Marriages, 1822-1995," database, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 2013), .
²⁵Frank Hedges, "History of Lamont, 1835-1935," Michigan Genealogy on the Web (MI GenWeb), information sharing site, 16 August 2003 (migenweb.net : accessed 2014 ).

Carlson, Joan, to to Charles A. Maxfield. Electronic mail. "Obadiah Maxfield update," 4 October 2001.

Clinton County, New York. "New York, Land Records, 1630-1975: Clinton Co." Digital images. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2014.

Georgia, Vermont, Town of. Deeds. Georgia Town Clerk, Georgia, Franklin Co., VT.

Maplewood Cemetery, Lamont, Ottawa Co., MI. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2012.

Michigan Genealogy on the Web (MI GenWeb). Information sharing site. migenweb.net.

"Michigan, Marriages, 1822-1995." Database. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2013.

Michigana (Genealogical Society of Western Michigan, Grand Rapidsd, MI).

Plattsburgh Republican, Plattsburg, NY. 15, 29 May, 12 Jun 1847.

United States Department of the Census. Third Census of the United States: 1810, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2011.

________. 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.