JOSEPH5 MAXFIELD (Benjamin4, Joseph3-2, John1) was born at Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York, on 28 July 1815[1] a son of Benjamin Maxfield and his wife Polly Sargent. He died probably at Mower County, Minnesota, on 13 May 1887.[2] He married at Wayne County, New York on 27 September 1840 ARTEMISIA MUNSON.[3] She was born at Tully, Onondaga County, on 6 May 1820,[4] a daughter of Glover Munson and Sarah Graham. She died at LeRoy, Mower County, on 27 October 1904.[5]
Joseph Maxfield and his family moved steadily westward. In his childhood Joseph moved with his family to Wayne County, New York. There he married Artemisia Munson, they farmed for about fifteen years, and their six children were born. In 1855 this family of eight moved to Washington County, Wisconsin, Seven years later, in 1862, they moved to LeRoy Township in Mower County, Minnesota. This was frontier country. The first settler had arrived in the county about ten years before, and the railroad arrived five years after the Maxfields. Joseph Maxfield farmed in LeRoy Township until 1871, when they retired into town. After his death his widow Artemis lived with family in LeRoy village for the remaining fifteen years of her life. Four of the six children remained in Mower County. Son Glover moved to northeast Iowa; son Aldice moved to Oregon.
Joseph Maxfield bought and sold land in Wayne County, as follows:
The 1850 census reported a Maxfield family of six at Sodus, consisting of Joseph Maxfield, 34, farmer, Artemesia, 30, Glover B., 8, Miles, 6, Aldis M., 4, and Sarah, 2. Glover and Miles attended school; all were born at New York.[9]
The 1860 census reported this family in the town of Hartford, Washington County, Wisconsin, as follows:[10]
| Line | Name | Age | Sex | Occupation | Birthplace | Other |
| 35 | Joseph Maxfield | 44 | M | farmer | NY | real estate $1200 personal estate $500 |
| 36 | Artemisia Maxfield | 40 | F | NY | ||
| 37 | Glover Maxfield | 18 | M | farm laborer | NY | |
| 38 | Joseph M. Maxfield | 16 | M | farm laborer | NY | school |
| 39 | Alisa Maxfield | 13 | F | NY | school | |
| 40 | Sarah Maxfield | 11 | F | NY | school | |
| 1 | Martha Maxfield | 8 | M | NY | school | |
| 2 | Richard Maxfield | 6 | M | NY | school |
The census taker evidently misunderstood "Aldice" for "Alisa" which he understood to be a girls name. Another entire family of seven persons was included in this household, Ozias (45) and Mary Ann (44) Clark, and five children ages 17 to 3. I have found no connection of this family to the Maxfields.
Joseph Maxfield purchased 150 acres in LeRoy township, to which they moved in 1862. They broke and improved the land, and expanded the farm to a total of 230 acres. The Maxfield family were active members of the Presbyterian Church of LeRoy.[11] The 1865 state census reported all six children at home, as did the 1870 federal census.[12] Glover married in 1874 and Aldice had also left home by the time of the 1875 state census, which reported the parents and the remaining four children at home.[13]
The 1880 census reported Joseph and Artemisia Maxfield a family of two living at LeRoy.[14] Glover, Aldice and Sarah had all married. The remaining three children, Joseph, 36, Martha, 29, and Peter, 26, formed a household and the two brothers were recorded as farmers.[15] The 1885 state census reported these three adult children again living with their parents.[16]
Joseph Maxfield died on 13 May 1887 and is buried at the LeRoy Cemetery.[17] Artemisia was reported in the 1895 state census, and the 1900 federal census, at LeRoy, with her two adult children who never married, Joseph and Martha.[18] Artemisia died on 27 October 1904 and is buried at LeRoy Cemetery.[19]
The 1910 census reported Miles J. Maxfield, 66, and his sister Martha Maxfield, 56, residing at LeRoy. A school teacher was boarding with them.[20] In 1920 their brother Richard had joined them:[21]
| Line | Name | Related | Sex | Race | Age | MS | B | FB | MB | Occupation |
| 26 | Maxfield, Joseph Miles | head | M | W | 75 | S | NY | NY | NY | none |
| 27 | Maxfield, Mattie A. | sister | F | W | 68 | S | NY | NY | NY | none |
| 28 | Maxfield, Richard P. | brother | M | W | 64 | M | NY | NY | NY | none |
Joseph Miles Maxfield (the son) after finishing school farmed for eleven years, then became a grain buyer. He then engaged in the livery business with his brothers until 1904. He served the community as a justice of the peace and as a constable. He was a Republican, and, like the rest of his family, active in the Presbyterian Church.[22] His sister Martha, besides being a homemaker, was an artist.[23] Joseph died in 1922, Martha in 1929. both are buried at the LeRoy Cemetery.[24]
Joseph Maxfield and his wife Artemisia Munson had the following children:[25]
1"Mower County: Biographies: Joseph Maxfield (b. 1815)," Minnesota GenWeb Project, information sharing site (rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mngenweb : accessed: 2013), from History of Mower County, 1911
2Le Roy Cemetery, Le Roy, Mower Co., MN, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 2012), .
3"Mower County: Biographies: Joseph Maxfield (b. 1815)," Minnesota GenWeb Project.
4Meyers, Miriam, Research Notes (before 1996), privately held by William J. Barton, Tacoma, WA, 2000. contained in a letter, Barton, William J., to Charles A. Maxfield, 7 November 2000; "Mower County: Biographies: Joseph Maxfield (b. 1815)," Minnesota GenWeb Project.
5"Minnesota Death Certificate Index," Minnesota Historical Society (people.mnhs.org/dci : accessed 2013).
6New York, Land Records, 1630-1975: Wayne County, 77:338-39; digital images, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 2014).
7Ibid., 48:398-99.
8Ibid., 60:389-90.
9Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population, Sodus, Wayne Co., NY, 612:162B, 541; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012).
10Eighth Census of the United States: 1860, population, Hartford, Washington Co., WI, 1438:292, 441; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012).
11"Mower County: Biographies: Joseph Maxfield (b. 1815)," Minnesota GenWeb Project.
12Minnesota 1865 State Census, population, Leroy, Mower Co., MN; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2013); Minnesota Historical Society, Saint Paul, MN; Ninth Census of the United States: 1870, population, Le Roy, Mower Co., MN, 17, 127; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2013).
13Minnesota 1875 State Census, population, Leroy, Mower Co., MN, 332, 139; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2013); Minnesota Historical Society, Saint Paul, MN.
14Tenth Census of the United States: 1880, population (roll 626), Le Roy, Mower Co., MN, enumeration district (ED) 160, 470C, 139; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2013).
151880 Census (roll 626), Le Roy, Mower Co., MN, enumeration district (ED) 160, 472D, 176.
16Minnesota 1885 State Census, population, LeRoy, Mower Co., MN, 361, 14; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2013); Minnesota Historical Society, Saint Paul, MN.
17Le Roy Cemetery, Le Roy, Mower Co., MN, Find a Grave.
181895 Minnesota State Census, population, LeRoy, Mower Co., MN, 74; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2013); Minnesota Historical Society, Saint Paul, MN; Twelth Census of the United States: 1900, population (roll 777), LeRoy, Mower Co., MN, enumeration district (ED) 90, :6B, 272; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2013).
19Le Roy Cemetery, Le Roy, Mower Co., MN, Find a Grave.
20Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910, population (roll 712), LeRoy, Mower Co., MN, enumeration district (ED) 88, 3A, 54; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2013).
21Fourteenth Census of the United States: 1920, population (roll 846), LeRoy, Mower Co., MN, enumeration district (ED) 91, 2A, 36, ; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2013).
22"Mower County: Biographies: Joseph M. Maxfield," Minnesota GenWeb Project, information sharing site (rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mngenweb : accessed: 2013), from History of Mower County, 1911.
23Meyers, Miriam, Research Notes.
24Le Roy Cemetery, Le Roy, Mower Co., MN, Find a Grave.
25Meyers listed an unnamed daughter b. 12 Feb 1841 who married Frank Obrine, her uncle. However she does not appear in any census. Meyers omits Glover, who was born 10 months after the unnamed daughter.
26"Mower County: Biographies: Joseph M. Maxfield," Minnesota GenWeb Project.
27"Minnesota Death Certificate Index," Minnesota Historical Society.
28Meyers, Miriam, Research Notes.
29"Minnesota, Marriages, 1849-1950," index, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 2011).
30Meyers, Miriam, Research Notes.
31Le Roy Cemetery, Le Roy, Mower Co., MN, Find a Grave.
Le Roy Cemetery, Le Roy, Mower Co., MN. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2012.
Meyers, Miriam, Research Notes. before 1996. Privately held by William J. Barton, Tacoma, WA. 2000.
Minnesota 1865 State Census, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
Minnesota 1875 State Census, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
Minnesota 1885 State Census, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
1895 Minnesota State Census, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
"Minnesota Death Certificate Index." Minnesota Historical Society. people.mnhs.org/dci : 2013.
Minnesota GenWeb Project. Information Sharing Site. rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mngenweb.
"Minnesota, Marriages, 1849-1950." Index. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2011.
United States Department of the Census. Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2012.
________. Eighth Census of the United States: 1860, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2012.
________. Ninth Census of the United States: 1870, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
________. Tenth Census of the United States: 1880, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
________. Twelth Census of the United States: 1900, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
________. Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
________. Fourteenth Census of the United States: 1920, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
Wayne County, New York. "New York, Land Records, 1630-1975: Wayne County." Digital images. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2014.
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