Descendants of John Maxfield
of Salisbury, Massachusetts
Fifth Generation

IRA⁵ MAXFIELD (Richard⁴, Michael³, John^2-1) was born at Chichester, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, on 18 January 1805^[1] a son of Richard Maxfield and his first wife Mercy James. He died at Charlestown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts,on 8 May 1857.^[2] He married at Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, on 16 February 1836 SUSAN DIX.^[3] She was born at Massachusetts about 1810/1,^[4] and was still living at the time of the 1880 census.

The 1840 census reported this family at Chichester, consisting of a couple in their thirties and two girls under five. Ira Maxfield was engaged in manufacturing or trade.^[5] The composition of the family agrees with what we know of it from other sources except they may have slightly over-estimated wife Susan's age.

The 1850 census reported the family at Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts:^[6]

Ira Maxfield and family evidently moved from the country to the expanding Boston area for work. Ildegert married in 1853 at the age of 16, and Susan married in April of 1855 at about the same age. The 1855 Massachusetts state census (1 June) reported the family at Charlestown, Massachusetts. Ira Maxfield, 50, was a blacksmith, his wife Susan was 48. Living with them were their daughter Susan Smith, 16, and her husband Lewis Smith, 26, a paper hanger born at Denmark. Some sources call him Ludwig Smith. Also in the household was Mary B. Whipple, 54, otherwise unknown.^[7]

Ira Maxfield's death at Charlestown on 8 May 1857 was recorded at both Charlestown and Beverly, Essex County. He died from inflamation of the lungs and was buried at the Old Burying Ground, Charlestown.^[8]

The 1860 census reported Susan Maxfield at Charlestown, a household of one, but at the same residence as her two daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren:^[9]

The 1865 Massachuestts state census again reported the extended family in close proximity in Charlestown. Susan Maxfield, 50, had in her household her daughter Ildegert DeMerritt, 28, and grandchildren Charles H., Eliza and Alphonso DeMerritt, ages 11, 9, and 6. The preceeding household on that census record was headed by Loudwich Smith, 33, born at Copenhagen, rigger, and included Susan, 27, Lucy A., 9, Irene, 5, James, 4, and Louis, 2.^[10]

Susan Maxfield appered on the 1880 census at 156 Pleasant Street, Boston, in the household of her daughter Ildegert.^[11] That is the last record I have of her.

Ira Maxfield and his wife Susan Dix had the following children:

1. ILDEGERT MAXFIELD b. at Charlestown on 5 December 1836; d. at Boston on 24 March 1906;^[12] m. at Charlestown on 16 November 1853 DANIEL F. DeMERRITT, b. at Ossipee, Strafford County, New Hampshire, abt. 1831-2, child of Isaac and Hannah DeMerritt.^[13] Beginning in 1865 Ildegert appeared on census records with her children, but without her husband. The 1870 census reported her at Charlestown, age 32, with Charles H., 15, helper in a planeing mill, Eliza A., 14, going to school, and Alphonso, 10, going to school.^[14] At the time of the 1880 census Ildegard (Called "Endicot Demerit" by the census taker) described herself as a widow, age 44, living at 156 Pleasant Street, Boston. With her were son Charles, 26, working in an organ factory, son Alfonso, 21, a clerk, and her mother Susan, as well as two boarders.^[15] On 3 May 1882 Daniel E. DeMerritt filed for a divorce from Ildegard Maxfield DeMeritt at Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. He charged her with desertion.^[16] The 1900 census reported Ildegert Demerritt, born December 1835, widow, living with her daughter, Eliza Judson, born April 1857, widow, a lodging house keeper at 542 Shawmut Avenue, Boston.^[17] Ildegart died at 544 Shawmut Avenue, of pneumonia, on 24 March 1906 and was buried at Beverly.^[18] Meanwhile, Damniel DeMerritt had married ALICE M. BRANSCOMBE, b. on 1853, d. on 1944, Daniel, d. 11 January 1905. They are both buried at Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago.^[19] Children of Daniel and Ildegert:^[20]
   1. Charles DeMerritt b. at Massachusetts about 1853-4
   2. Eliza A. DeMerritt b. at Massachusetts on April 1857; m(1). ________ Macy. m. (2) at Brookline, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, on 23 December 1917 John P. Thomas b. at Danvers, Essex County, about 1843.
   3. Alfonso De Merritt b. at Massachusetts about 1859-60.
2. SUSAN MATILDA MAXFIELD b. at Salem about 1838;^[21] d. at Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, on 18 November 1906;^[22] m. at Charlestown on 9 April 1855 LEWIS SMITH, b. at Denmark about 1828-9.^[23] The 1900 Census reported Susan M. Smith, born February, 1840, widow, living with her daughter and son-in-law, Lucy W. and James L. Cook, at 472 Eddy Street, Providence. James, born August 1853, was a salesman for a market, Lucy, born May 1856, had no children. They had been married nineteen years. Also in the household was another child of Susan Smith, James H. Smith, born May 1861, laborer in a lumber yard, and his wife of two years, Celia A., born December 1868.^[24] Children of Lewis ans Susan:^[25]
   1. Lucy W. Smith b. at Massachusetts on May 1856; m. about 1880-1 James L. Cook b. at Massachusetts on August 1853
   2. Irene Smith b. at Massachusetts about June 1859.
   3. James H. Smith b. at Massachusetts on May 1861; m. about 1897-8 Celia W. ________ b. at Rhode Island on December 1868.
   4. Lewis Smith b. at Massachusetts about 1862-3.
3. LYDIA S, MAXFIELD b. at Chichester on 16 January 1841; d. at Boston on 24 March 1850, of brain fever.^[26]

¹French, Harry Dana. Descendants of John Maxfield of Salisbury, Mass., New Hampshire Historical Society Library, Concord, New Hampshire, about 1952. His age given on his death record would place his birth on 21 December 1798, which is too close to the birth of a sibling to be accurate. 1803-4 from 1850 Census, 1804-5 from 1855 Census.
²Massachusetts Archives, "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," digital images, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 11 September 2017), vol. 112, p. 83, e. 134, Charlestown Deaths, 1857, Ira Maxfield.
³Vital Records of Salem, Massachusetts, to the Year 1849 (Salem, Massachusetts: Essex Institute, 1918), 4:76.
⁴about 1810-1 in 1850 Census; 1809-10 in 1860, 1880 censuses; 1806-7 in 1855 Census. 1814-5 in 1865 Census.
⁵Sixth Census of the United States: 1840, population, Chichester, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, roll 240, p. 44, Ira Maxfield; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 25 September 2012); NARA microfilm publication M704, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
⁶Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, roll 334, p. 195B, household 1104, Ira Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 3 October 2012); NARA microfilm record group M432, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
⁷Massachusetts, Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1855 Massachusetts State Census, population, Charlestown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, v. 20, p. 41, household 530, Ira Maxfield family; digital images, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 16 August 2022); Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, Massachusetts.
⁸"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 112, p. 83, e. 134, Charlestown Deaths, 1857, Ira Maxfield.
⁹Eighth Census of the United States: 1860, population, Charlestown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, p. 355, household 2871, Susan Manfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 23 February 2012); NARA microfilm record group M653; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
¹⁰Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1865 Massachusetts State Census, population, Charlestown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, v. 19, p. 48, household 623, Susan Maxfield family; digital images, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 14 August 2013); Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, Massachusetts.
¹¹Tenth Census of the United States: 1880, population, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, enumeration district (ED) 661, roll 555, p. 95A, household 257, Endicot Demerit family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 7 March 2013); NARA microfilm publication T9, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
¹²"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," Deaths 1906; v. 1906/v, 8 deaths, p. 645; Ildegert DeMerritt. The Death record gave her birthplace as Boston, her marriage records gave her birthplace as Charlestown. This is easy to understand as Charlestown was annexed to Boston between those dates.
¹³"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 70, p. 97, e. 214; Charlestown Marriages 1853; DeMerritt-Maxfield.
¹⁴Ninth Census of the United States: 1870, population, Charlestown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, p. 106B, household 1561, Ildegert DeMerritt family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 23 May 2014); NARA microfilm record group M593; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
¹⁵1880 Cemsus, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, ED 661, roll 555, p. 95A, household 257, Endicot Demerit family.
¹⁶"Circuit," Daily Inter-Ocean, 3 May 1882, p. 12; 19th Century U.S. Newspapers (http://infotrac.galegroup.com/ : accessed 2013).
¹⁷Twelth Census of the United States: 1900, population, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, enumeration district (ED) 1331, roll 681, p. 17, household 317, Eliza Judson family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 17 July 2013); NARA microfilm group T623; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
¹⁸"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," Boston Deaths 1906; v. 1906/v, 8 deaths, p. 645; Ildegert DeMerritt
¹⁹Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 3 October 2019), Daniel E. Demeritt, and Alice M. Demeritt; Created and photo by: Andy Gappa.
²⁰births of children from 1860 Census, Charlestown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, p. 355, household 2871, Susan Manfield family. Second marriage of Eliza from: Massachusetts, Commonwealth of, Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1916-1920," digital images, American Ancestors (american ancestors.org : accessed 20 January 2023), 1917 Marriages, v. 645, p. 49, e. 611; Thomas-Macy.
²¹place from marriage record; 1837-8 in 1850 Census; 1838-9 in 1855 Census; Feb 1840 in 1900 Census.
²²Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, "Rhode Island, Deaths and Burials, 1802-1950," database, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 21 August 2013), Susan Smith.
²³"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 88, p. 59, e. 50; Charlestown Marriages 1855; Lewis-Maxfield.
²⁴1900 Census, Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, ED 43, p. 3A, household 44, James L. Cook family.
²⁵Information on the children of Susan and Lewis is from census records: 1860 Census, Charlestown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, p. 355, household 2871, Susan Manfield family. 1865 Massachusetts State Census, Charlestown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, v. 19, p. 47, household 622, Loudwich Smith family. 1900 Census, Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, ED 43, p. 3A, household 44, James L. Cook family.
²⁶"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 50, p. 20, e. 865, Boston Deaths, 1850, Lydia S. Maxfield.

Daily Inter-Ocean, Chicago, Illinois. 3 May 1882, p. 12.

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

Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. "Rhode Island, Deaths and Burials, 1802-1950." Database. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2013.

Massachusetts Archives. "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910." Digital images. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2017.

Massachusetts, Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1855 Massachusetts State Census, population. Digital images. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2022.

________, 1865 Massachusetts State Census, population. Digital images. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2013.

________. "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1916-1920," digital images, American Ancestors (american ancestors.org : accessed 20 January 2023), 1917 Marriages, v. 645, p. 49, e. 611; Thomas-Macy.

Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2019.

"Rhode Island, Deaths and Burials, 1802-1950." Database. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2013.

United States Department of the Census. Sixth Census of the United States: 1840, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2012.

________. 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 : 2014.

________. 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.

Vital Records of Salem, Massachusetts, to the Year 1849. Salem, Massachusetts: Essex Institute, 1918.