Ephraim Maxfield of New Bedford and BETSEY SHERMAN of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, published their intentions of marriage at New Bedford on 13 October 1821 (VR NB 2:365). The following day they registered their intentions in Fairhaven (VR Fhvn 45). They were married at Fairhaven on 6 December 1821 (VR Fhvn 65).
Betsey was born in Chilmark, on Martha's Vinyard, according to the birth record of their child, but at Fairhaven according to her death record (at the time of her birth Fairhaven was part of New Bedford).
Captain Ephraim Maxfield was called a mason on the 1850, 1860 and 1870 censuses, a farmer on the 1855 census, and a "mariner" on his death record. Ephraim and Betsey were living in New Bedford in 1822 when their first son was born, but Ephraim was in Chilmark by the time of the 1850 Census. He remained there until his death.
The 1830 Census (59:309) reported Ephraim Maxfield in New Bedford, a male in his thirties, with 2 males ages 5 to 9. I have no knowledge why wife Betsey was not reported, or why a daughter under five was not reported. Perhaps Ephraim and Betsey had already separated and Betsey and her daughter were in a household headed by someone else?
Ephraim and Betsey must have divorced some time before 1842, as Betsey Maxfield married HENRY C. INGRAHAM at Fairhaven on 18 September 1842 (MA VR). Ephraim Maxfield was reported in the 1850 Census (309:413A) living in Chilmark in the household of James O. Lambert, farmer:
| Name | Age | Sex | Occupation | R.E. | Birthplace | Other |
| Ephraim Maxfield | 50 | M | mason | New Bedford | ||
| Benjamin F. Maxfield | 15 | M | laborer | New Bedford | school |
Ephraim may have been raising Benjamin as a son, but Benjamin was in fact (according to his marriage and death records) the son of Benjamin and Mary Maxfield, therefore possibly a nephew to Ephraim. Betsey (Sherman) (Maxfield) Ingraham and her new blended family were reported at Fairhaven in 1850 (308:180A):
| Line | Name | Age | Sex | Occupation | R.E. | Birthplace | Other |
| 22 | Henry C. Ingraham | 45 | M | painter | MA | ||
| 23 | Betsey Ingraham | 44 | F | MA | |||
| 24 | Frederick Ingraham | 17 | M | mariner | MA | ||
| 25 | Laura F. Ingraham | 10 | F | MA | school | ||
| 26 | Elizabeth P. Maxfield | 22 | F | MA | |||
| 27 | William Maxfield | 26 | M | mariner | MA | ||
| 28 | Andrew P. Maxfield | 24 | M | mariner | MA |
The 1855 Massachusetts State Census (MA Cen 1855) reported Ephraim Maxfield, 55, mason, at Chilmark, in the household of James Lambert. Also in the household was Benjamin F. Maxfield, 20, farmer. Meanwhile, the Ingraham household in Fairhaven consisted of Henry Ingraham, 57, painter, Betsy Ingraham, 49, Frederick Ingraham, 23, mariner, James Ingraham, 21, mariner, Laura F. Ingraham, 16, and Betsy's mother, Betsey Sherman, 82. I have not found the children in this census.
In 1860 (493:699) Ephraim was reported in Chilmark in a household with James O. Lambert, farmer:
| Name | Age | Sex | Occupation | R.E. | P.E. | Birthplace | |
| Ephraim Maxfield | 61 | M | mason | Mass | |||
| Benjamin Maxfield | 25 | M | mason | $ 100 | Mass |
The Ingraham household in Fairhaven (489:373) consisted of:
| Line | Name | Age | Sex | Occupation | R.E. | P.E. | Birthplace | Other |
| 16 | Henry Ingraham | 53 | M | painter | $100 | MA | ||
| 17 | Betsy Ingraham | 52 | F | MA | ||||
| 18 | Elizabeth Ingraham | 32 | F | tailoress | MA | |||
| 19 | Frederick Ingraham | 28 | M | mariner | MA | |||
| 20 | Laura F. Ingraham | 20 | F | MA | ||||
| 21 | Betsey Sherman | 86 | F | $4000 | $3000 | MA |
The person listed as "Elizabeth Ingraham" is probably Elizabeth Maxfield, daughter of Ephraim and Betsey.
The 1865 state census (MA Cen 1865) found Ephraim, 65 and Benjamin F., 29, at the James Lambert residence at Chilmark. Both were listed as masons. The Ingraham household at Fairhaven consisted of Henry Ingraham, 59, painter, Betsey Ingraham, 56, Laura Ingraham, 23, James Ingraham, 28, mariner, Frederic Ingraham, 30, mariner, and Elizabeth Maxfield, 34, seamstress.
The 1870 Census (606:680A) reported Ephraim, age 70, mason, and Benjamin, age 35, mason, still in the Lambert household.
Betsey (Sherman) (Maxfield) Ingraham died at Fairhaven on 27 June 1869, from a liver disease (MA VR). Captain Ephraim Maxfield died at Chilmark on 29 Septenber 1872 (VR Chil(H) 49:8; NB Merc D 936). It was reported as follows:
married, age 73, cause of death unknown, res.: Chilmark, mariner; d. Chilmark; b. New Bedford to Warren Maxfield (b. New Bedford) and Ruby Maxfield (b. New Bedford); bur. Chilmark.Ephraim and Betsey Maxfield had the following children:
Information on this family can be found in:
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