Descendants of John Maxfield
of Salisbury, Massachusetts
Fourth Generation

DAVID MAXFIELD (Eliphalet³, Nathaniel², John¹ ) was born at South Hampton, New Hampshire, on 20 October 1741^[1] a son of Eliphalet Maxfield and his wife Elizabeth Thompson. He died at Fairfax, Franklin County, Vermont, on 4 April 1818.^[2] He married sometime before the birth of their first child in 1763 JUDITH CLOUGH.^[3] She was perhaps the Judith Clough born at Salisbury, Essex County, Massachusetts, in 1742; she died at Fairfax after 1825.^[4]

There has been considerable confusion about the identity of this person. Most transcriptions of the vital records of South Hampton record the birth of a Daniel Maxfield. However this is a misreading of the original penmanship of the records. I wrote to Angela Racine, the Town Clerk of South Hampton, who replied on 12 January 2012, and sent me a photocopy of the original record, which follows:^[5]

The Town Clerk and I both agree that the name is David. Comparison with the penmanship on the rest of the page leads to this conclusion. Throughout, the writer extends the top of a final d over the word.

This identification is further supported by a deed, dated 27 July 1765,^[6] in which David Maxfield of Epping, New Hampshire, sold

A certain Piece of Upland laying in South Hampton in the above sd Province [New Hampshire] it being all my Right that I now have or ought or may hereafter have in upon or unto that Piece of Land which my Granmother Sarah Maxfield holds by her Thirds or Right of Dowry laying in sd South Hampton let it be more or less as it now lays undivided.

Many descendants have argued that David Maxfield was an immigrant from Scotland. This theory is found in a Family Tree apparently written down by Frederick Glenmore⁸ Maxfield (Gilbert Allen⁷, John⁶, William⁵, David⁴) sometime in the late Nineteenth Century.^[8] A photocopy was sent to me by Clysta Maxfield¹¹ Jones (Clifford¹⁰, Gilbert⁹, Frederick⁸, Gilbert⁷, John⁶, William⁵, David⁴):

David Maxfield, his wife and son William 10 years old came to America, from Scotland, in the year 1765. . . . David Maxfield's wife maiden name was Judith Clough, (Clow); William's wife was Abigail Belcher a Scotch girl imported.

This view was not held by all descendants of David Maxfield. Julia⁷ (Maxfield) Lamb (James Harvey⁶, William⁵, David⁴) in a letter to William Cullen⁷ Maxfield (Gilbert⁶, William⁵, David⁴) dated 7 May 1903, reported the tradition that David Maxfield was born at New Hampshire.^[9]

Some family members have supported the theory that David married Judith B. (Clough) Collins about 1762 at Piermont, New Hampshire, and that she was born at Salem, Massachusetts, on 28 April 1732 to Joseph and Susanna (Reeves) Clough. She had married Henry Collins at Salem on 24 August 1752. I have found no evidence to support this claim. The town of Piermont was not settled until 1768, and David Maxfield is not listed among the first settlers. However, the name "Clough" is common in New Hampshire, and one of the founders of Salisbury, Massachusetts, was John Clough. "Belcher" is also a common New England name.

Jack Billow, of Plattsburgh, New York, who provided me with copies of the letters of Julia (Maxfield) Lamb, speculated that Judith (Clough) Maxfield could be the daughter of Jacob Clough and Mehitabel Flanders, born at Salisbury in 1742.^[10] There is no proof for this, either, but it does seem a more likely theory.

Who were the children of David and Judith Maxfield? The genealogy from Frederick G. Maxfield listed eight children, all sons. The letter of Julia (Maxfield) Lamb also listed eight children, all sons. These two lists agree on the names of seven of the sons. However, while Julia listed Eliphalet as a son, Frederick listed Levi. How can we explain this? The names of all nine appear on the land records of four adjacent towns in northwest Vermont - Fairfax, Georgia, Milton and Westford - often together. Eight were reported in these towns as heads of households in census records; the ninth, Eliphalet, appeared at Plattsburgh, New York, and North Hero, Vermont. One plausable theory would be that one of the sons sometimes used his first name and sometimes his middle name. However, as I review the data, I cannot support this theory. A person would not sell property to one's self; the names, ages and family sizes in census records don't fit this theory. I will assume that all nine were children of David and Judith.

DAVID MAXFIELD grew up in South Hampton, New Hampshire, the oldest of six children, four of whom lived to adulthood. By the time David was eleven years old his father had died and his mother remarried. As a young adult, David was on the move, following the frontier northwest. He married JUDITH CLOUGH, and their first child was born about 1763. David Maxfield was one of the early settlers of Wentworth, New Hampshire, first settled in 1760; the proprietors furnished him with supplies in 1771.^[11] The David Maxfield family may have lived for a time at Piermont, New Hampshire. By 1778 they were at Moretown, Vermont. On 9 April 1778 David Maxfield and his son William enlisted in Capt. Simeon Steven's Company, in a "Regiment raised for the defense of the frontier on and adjacent to the Connecticut River, whereof Timothy Bedel, Esq., is Colonel."^[12] David was discharged on 31 November 1779.

William Maxfield, son of David, was one of the first settlers of Fairfax, Vermont, in 1789.^[13] The first settlers came from Piermont, New Hampshire. The rest of the family must have soon followed.

The 1790 census was taken in Vermont in 1791, when that state joined the United States. That census reported the David Maxfield family at Colchester, Chittenden County, Vermont.^[14] Sons William, David and Isaac were reported separately as heads of households, the first two in Fairfax, the third in Georgia. The Isaac Maxfield household consisted of two persons, both males over 16. As Isaac and Jacob owned property together at that time, they are probably the two persons in that household. Consequently, the David Maxfield household at Colchester, consisting of two males over sixteen, four males under sixteen, and one female, could be explained as David and Judith, with sons Eliphalet (over 16), Obadiah, Henry, Levi and Moses.

The 1800 census reported the David Maxfield family at Georgia, Franklin County, Vermont. The report by age and sex categories, with possible explanation, follows:^[15]

If the unidentified couple, ages 26 to 44, had been Eliphalet and his wife Polly, why was their son, about 1 year of age, not included?

The 1810 census reported the David Maxfield family as a couple over 45 with no children at home.^[16]

David Maxfield was involved in the following property transactions in Northwest Vermont:

• 30 April 1792, David Maxfield, Jr., of Georgia, sold to David Maxfield of Fairfax, yeoman, for £ 40, 30 Acres in Fairfax on the south side of the Lamoille River.^[17]
• 17 September 1792, David Maxfield of Fairfax, sold to Silas Squires of Fairfax, for £ 48, 30 acres south of river.^[18]
• 6 February 1793, David Maxfield, Jr. sold to David Maxfield, Sr., for £ 133 10s, land in the Town of Georgia.^[19]
• 27 January 1794, David Maxfield, Sr., of Georgia, sold to David Maxfield, Jr., for £ 133 10s, land in Georgia.^[20] (Perhaps this was the return of a mortgage?).
• 30 December 1797, David Maxfield of Georgia, sold to Obadiah Maxfield of Georgia, for $666.66, land in Georgia.^[21]
• 26 March 1802, Obadiah Maxfield of Georgia sold to David Maxfield of Georgia for $600, land in Georgia. Also, Obadiah Maxfield of Georgia sold to David Maxfield and Judith Maxfield of Georgia for $600 land in Georgia.^[22]
• 4 February 1808, David Maxfield of Georgia sold to Moses Maxfield for $700, 37 ½ acres in Georgia. This land was located between land he had already deeded to Levi Maxfield and Jonathan Hill.^[23]
• 21 January 1811, Moses Maxfield of Georgia sold to David Maxfield of Georgia for $600, land in Georgia. This land was adjacent to other land held by Moses.^[24]
• 25 July 1811, David Maxfield of Milton sold to Seth Castle of Georgia for $100 land in Georgia, the transfer of land to occur after David's death.^[25]
• 11 May 1812, David Maxfield of Georgia sold to Seth Castle for $330 land in Georgia.^[26]

New England towns had the practice of "warning" people out of town. When persons who appeared to be unable to support themselves moved into a town, they were seen as a potential burden on the town's taxpayers, and the town could "warn" them, that is, tell them to leave town. David Maxfield was warned out of Milton, Chittenden County, Vermont, on 3 April 1815.^[27] He "and family" were warned out of Fairfax on 10 January 1817.^[28]

David Maxfield died at Fairfax from drowning, on 4 April 1818. The 1820 census for the Jacob Maxfield household of Milton reported a second female over 45, who could have been Judith.^[29]

Julia (Maxfield) Lamb described her memory of the death of her great grandmother, Judith (Clough) Maxfield:^[30]

Great-Grandmother died At your uncle Williams about 2 miles from our old home after we left Vermont. After she was 90 years old she fell down Cellar and broke her hip. She lived some time after in helpless condition as we had news of her death but forgot date.

David Maxfield and his wife Judith Clough had the following children:

1. WILLIAM⁵ MAXFIELD b. at New Hampshire abt. 1763.
2. DAVID⁵ MAXFIELD b. prob. at New Hampshire say abt. 1768.
3. JACOB⁵ MAXFIELD b. prob, at New Hampshire say abt. 1770
4. ISAAC⁵ MAXFIELD b. prob. at New Hampshire say abt. 1772.
5. ELIPHALET⁵ MAXFIELD b. at New Hampshire abt. 1775-6.
6. MOSES⁵ MAXFIELD b. at Vermont abt. 1777-8.
7. OBADIAH⁵ MAXFIELD b. say abt. 1778.
8. HENRY⁵ MAXFIELD b. at Vermont on 1780.
9. LEVI⁵ MAXFIELD b. at Vermont abt. 1784.

¹Vital Records of South Hampton, New Hampshire, 1743-1886 (N.p.: The Historical Committee of the South Hampton Friends of the Library, 1970), 4. Reads "Daniel."
²Janice Boyko, "North Star Newspaper Death Notices, 1807-1881," database, Janice Boyko, Vermont Northeast Kingdom Genealogy (http://www.nekg-vt.com : accessed 19 February 2014), David Maxfield, 1818; North Star, Danville, Caledonia County, Vermont
³Her name given in many sources, including: Frederick Gilmore Maxfield, The Family Tree; supplied by Clysta Maxfield Jones, Brookfield, Missouri 64628, 28 June 2004; mimeographed. prepared after 1905; Julia Maxfield Lamb to William Cullen Maxfield, 7 May 1903; Letter, held in by Jack Bilow, Plattsburg, NY 12901. Copy included with correspondence to Charles A. Maxfield, 31 October 2012.
⁴Julia Maxfield Lamb to William Cullen Maxfield, 30 March 1903.
⁵Angela Racine, Town Clerk of South Hampton, New Hampshire, to Charles A. Maxfield, 12 January 2012. Letter.
⁶Deeds, 100:87-88; digital images, Rockingham County Registry of Deeds (nhdeeds/rockingham : accessed 2012).
⁷Ibid., 101:354.
⁸Frederick Gilmore Maxfield, Family Tree.
⁹Julia Maxfield Lamb to William Cullen Maxfield, 7 May 1903.
¹⁰Jack Billow, to Charles A. Maxfield, 31 October 2012; Letter.
¹¹George F. Plummer, History of the Town of Wentworth, New Hampshire (Concord, New Hampshire: Rumford Press, 1930), 23; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2013).
¹²Nathaniel Bouton et al, eds., Documents and Records Relating to New Hampshire, 1623-1800, 40 (Concord, Manchester, Nashua and Bristol, New Hampshire: n.p., 1867), 15:587.
¹³"Township Information: Fairfax," database, Rootsweb (rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vermont/FranklinFairfax.html : accessed 2013); extracted from John A. Ufford, History of the Town of Fairfax (N.p.:n.p.n.d.).
¹⁴First Census of the United States: 1790, population, Colchester, Chittenden County, Vermont, 12:160; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012).
¹⁵Second Census of the United States: 1800, population, Georgia, Franklin County, Vermont, 51:438; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012).
¹⁶Third Census of the United States: 1810, population, Georgia, Franklin County, Vermont, 64:29 ; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012).
¹⁷Town of Fairfax, Vermont, Deeds, 1:120-22; Fairfax Town Clerk, Fairfax, Franklin County, Vermont.
¹⁸Ibid., 1:126.
¹⁹Ibid., 1:143.
²⁰Ibid., 1:183.
²¹Ibid., 1:358.
²²Ibid., 2:534-35; 2:435.
²³Ibid., 3:340-41.
²⁴Ibid., 4:183.
²⁵Ibid., 4:158.
²⁶Ibid., 4:206.
²⁷Aldin M. Rollins, Vermont Warnings Out: Vol. 1: Northern Vermont (Rockport, Maine: Picton Press, 1995), 140.
²⁸Ibid., 163
²⁹Fourth Census of the United States: 1820, population, Milton, Chittenden County, Vermont, 127:548; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2012).
³⁰Julia Maxfield Lamb to William Cullen Maxfield, 30 March 1903.

Billow, Jack, to Charles A. Maxfield, 31 October 2012. Letter.

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

Fairfax, Town of. Deeds. Fairfax Town Clerk, Fairfax, Franklin County, Vermont.

Fisher, Carleton Edwards Fisher and Sue Gray, eds. Soldiers, Sailors and Patriots of the Revolutionary War -- Vermont. Camden, Maine: Picton, 1992.

Lamb, Julia Maxfield, to William Cullen Maxfield, 7 May 1903. Letter. Privately held by Jack Bilow, Plattsburg, New York 12901.

Maxfield, Frederick Gilmore. The Family Tree. Privately held by Clysta Maxfield Jones, Brookfield, Missouri 64628. 28 June 2004.

"North Star Newspaper 1807-1832 - Death Notices; Danville, Caledonia County, Vermont." Database. Northeast Kingdom Genealogy. http://www.nekg-vt.com/news/news-danville-northstar-d-1807-32.php : 2014.

Plummer, George F. History of the Town of Wentworth, New Hampshire. Concord, New Hampshire: Rumford Press, 1930. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.

Racine, Angela, Town Clerk, South Hampton, New Hampshire, to Charles A. Maxfield, 12 January 2012. Letter.

Rockingham County Registry of Deeds. "Land Records." Digital images. Rockingham County Registry of Deeds. nhdeeds/rockingham : 2012.

Rollins, Aldin M. Vermont Warnings Out: Vol. 1: Northern Vermont. Rockport, Maine: Picton Press, 1995.

Township Information: Fairfax." Database. Rootsweb. rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vermont/FranklinFairfax.html . Extracted from John A. Ufford, History of the Town of Fairfax. N.p.: n.p.n.d..

United States, Department of the Census. First Census of the United States: 1790, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2012.

________. 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.

Vital Records of South Hampton, New Hampshire, 1743-1886. N.p.: The Historical Committee of the South Hampton Friends of the Library, 1970.