Descendants of John Maxfield
of Salisbury, Massachusetts
Fifth Generation

JONATHAN BARNET⁵ MAXFIELD (Richard⁴, Michael³, John^2-1) was born at Chichester, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, on 12 August 1794^[1] a son of Richard Maxfield and his first wife Mercy James. He died on 22 April 1863.^[2] He married at Epsom, Rockingham County, on 23 April 1815 MARY FELLOWS.^[3] She was born at Chichester between 1792 and 1798, and died on 11 August 1865.^[4] She was sometimes called "Mercy."

Jonathan grew up at Chichester the second of six children and eldest son of Richard and Mercy. He served in the War of 1812 in the First (Fisk's) Regiment of New Hampshire Militia.^[5] Jonathan and Mary were both "of Chichester" at the time of their marriage at Epsom by clergyman Jonathan Curtis of Epsom. By 1817 they were living in the adjoining town of Loudon, Rockingham County.

On 27 November 1817 Richard Maxfield of Chichester, husbandman, sold to his son Jonathan B. Maxfield of Loudon, yeoman for $60 a parcel of land in Chichester, part of lot #70, 11th range, 4th division; 25 acres, also a parcel in Loudon, the northwest half of a lot Richard had purchased on 20 January 1817, 19 acres. However, Jonathan B. Maxfield of Loudon was required to pay his father $200 if he failed to deliver to his father one-third of the yearly income from the parcel in Chichester. On 8 March 1820 Jonathan sold both parcels back to his father for $60.^[6]

Jonathan Maxfield and family moved to Potton, Lower Canada (later called the Province of Quebec). According to the 1842 census they had resided in the province for 18 years, which would place their move about 1823-4. Potton is located in an area of Quebec formerly called the "Eastern Townships." Most of this region is included in what is now called the Estria region. The Eastern Townships were townships organized in the interior of Quebec, south of the Saint Lawrence River, away from the river some distance. French Canadians had settled in the region near the river. The British government encouraged the settlement of English speakers in these townships. Their first settlers were Loyalists fleeing from the American Revolution. However later settlers from the United States came not for political reasons but for land. From 1797 to 1830 the British government encouraged the settlement of English-speakers from the United States. The government organized settlement from the British Isles 1820 to 1850. After 1840 French Canadians began to move into the region and by 1860 constituted a majority. However English-speakers continue to be a significant minority in the region. Jonathan Maxfield and his descendents settled in the area immediately north of Vermont.

The 1825 census reported Jonathan B. Maxfield the head of a household of five persons. These were a married male, ages 25 to 39, a married female ages 14-24, one child between 6 and 13, and two children under 6. One of the three children was a girl. Assuming a very generous understimate of Mary's age, the census report can be explained by Jonathan and Mary, and children Hannah, Truman and Barnet.^[7]

The 1842 census provided much more detailed information on this family. Johnathan Maxfield, farmer, was "occupier or squatter" of 200 acres in Potton. His family of seven consisted of three persons born in the United States, and four in Canada. The breakdown by age and sex, with possible identifications, were:

Several of these ages are not precisely known. It would appear that Truman, age 20 and born in the United States, was not present in the household at this time. Two of the adults, presumably Jonathan and Mary, were Congregationalists, one adult was "other," belonging to some denomination not included in the long list that could have been indicated. The census also reported the production of the farm from its 30 improved acres, revealing the nature of Jonathan's farming enterprise:

This document describes a small farm and small-scale home textile enterprise.^[8]

The 1861 Canadian census reported Jonathan and Mary Maxfield still living at Potton, which is west of Lake Memphremagog, and about ten miles north of North Troy, Vermont. The household consisted of Jonathan, 67, farmer, Mercy, 68, son Davis, 31, farmer, his wife Eliza, 31, and their children, Mercy, 7, Clarence, 5, and Ida, 3.^[9] That same census reported son Truman at Stanstead, Stanstead County, which is immediately north of Darby Line, Vermont, followed immediately on the census roll by his sister Betsy in the household of her husband George Rollins. Son Barnet was at Barnston, which is northeast of the lake; son James was reported in the 1860 United States census at Newport, Vermont, which is at the southern end of the lake.

Jonathan died on 22 April 1863, Mary "Mercy" Maxfield died on 11 August 1865. They are both buried at Leadville Cemetery in Leadville, Quebec.^[10]

Jonathan Barnet Maxfield and his wife Mary Fellows had the following children:

1. HANNAH⁶ MAXFIELD b. at the United States about 1817-8; d. on 24 November 1873;^[11] m. at Toronto, Ontario, on 22 April 1870 THOMAS RICHARDSON, b. at England abt. 1809-10.^[12]
2. TRUMAN⁶ MAXFIELD b. at New Hampshire abt. September 1821.
3. BARNET⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Quebec on 21 May 1825.
4. probably BETSY⁶ MAXFIELD^[13] b. at Hatley, Quebec abt 1829-30, d. at Stanstead County, Quebec, on 12 December 1862; m. at Hatley, Stanstead Co., on 1856 GEORGE ROLLINS, b. at Hatley on 24 October 1835.
5. DAVIS⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Potton abt. 1829.
6. JAMES⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Potton on 6 April 1833.

¹French, Harry Dana. Descendants of John Maxfield of Salisbury, Mass., New Hampshire Historical Society Library, Concord, New Hampshire, about 1952.
²Leadville Cemetery, Leadville, Estrie Region, Quebec, Find a Grave, digital images (findgrave.com : accessed 16 October 2017), Jona. Maxfield; Created and photo by: Graceti.
³New Hampshire, State of, Division of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire, New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card 9914, Marriage, Maxfield-Fellows, 1815; digital images, New England Historical and Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 24 January 2017).
⁴Leadville Cemetery, Leadville, Mercy Maxfield; Created and photo by: Graceti. Place of Birth from French; Born 1792-3 according to 1861 Census, 1797-8 according to grave marker.
⁵"United States War of 1812 Index to Service Records, 1812-1815," database with images, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 20 October 2017), Jonathan B Maxfield; citing NARA microfilm publication M602 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 135.
⁶Deeds, 217:137 (Richard Maxfield to Jonathan B. Maxfield); 221:439 (Richard Maxfield to Jonathan B. Maxfield); 224:450-51 (Jonathan B. Maxfield to Richard Maxfield), digital images, Rockingham County Registry of Deeds (nhdeeds/rockingham : accessed 28 August 2012).
⁷Recensement du Bas-Canada, 1825, Potton, Richelieu, Quebec, vol. 2, p. 739, MG 31 C 1, Jonathan B Maxfield ; database with images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org : accessed 4 October 2017); Library and Archives Canada microfilm number C-717, Public Archives, Ottawa, Ontario.
⁸Recensement du Bas-Canada, 1842, Potton, Missisquoi, Quebec, vol. MG 31 C1, p. 2628, Johnathan Maxfield family ; database with images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org : accessed ); Library and Archives Canada microfilm number C-732, Public Archives, Ottawa, Ontario.
⁹Canada, Census returns for 1861, Population Schedule, Potton, Brome County, Canada East, roll C-1270, p. 188, Jonathan Maxfield family ; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 14 August 2013).
¹⁰Leadville Cemetery, Leadville, Jona. Maxfield; Created and photo by: Graceti.
¹¹McConnell Cemetery, Ayers Cliff, Estrie Region, Quebec, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : database 16 October 2017), Hannah Maxfield Richardson; Created by: Barb Destromp, Photo added by Christopher Maginniss.
¹²Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928, p. 340, Richardson-Maxfield, 1871; digital images, Ancestry (ancetry.com : accessed 17 October 2017); Ancestry.com and Genealogical Research Library (Brampton, Ontario, Canada).
¹³Betsy's membership in this family and death information is from "International Genealogical Index," database, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 2013); citing FHL microfilm. Submission by L. C. Rollins. The 1861 Census reported George (22), Betsy (31) and Alvira (4) Rollins immediately after the Truman Maxfield family (Canada, 1861 Census, Stanstead, Stansted County, Quebec; roll C-1323, p. 174, George Rollins family). The death record of Elvira (Rollins) Kittridge identified her parents as Geo. Rollins and Betsy Maxfield (b. Hatley) (Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, Vermont Births, Marriages and Deaths to 2008, index card no. 4251, Death: Elvira Kittridge, 1914; digital images, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 18 October 2017).

Canada, Recensement du Bas-Canada, 1825. Database with images. FamilySearch. familysearch.org : 2017.

Canada, Recensement du Bas-Canada, 1842. Database with images. FamilySearch. familysearch.org : 2017.

Canada, Library and Archives of, Ottowa, Ontario. Canada, Census returns for 1861. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.

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

"International Genealogical Index." Database. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2013.

Leadville Cemetery, Leadville, Estrie Region, Quebec. Find a Grave. Digital images. findgrave.com : 2017.

McConnell Cemetery, Ayers Cliff, Estrie Region, Quebec. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2017.

New Hampshire, State of, New Hampshire Division of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire. New Hampshire: Births to 1901, Deaths and Marriages to 1937. Digital images. New England Historical and Genealogical Society. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2017.

Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928. Digital images. Ancestry.com and Genealogical Research Library (Brampton, Ont). Ancestry. ancestry.com : .

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

"United States War of 1812 Index to Service Records, 1812-1815." Database with images. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2017.

Vermont State Archives and Records Administration. Vermont Births, Marriages and Deaths to 2008. Digital images. New England Historic Genealogical Society. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2017.