Descendants of John Maxfield
of Salisbury, Massachusetts
Fifth Generation

DAVID⁵ MAXFIELD (Edmund⁴, Timothy, ^3-2, John¹) was born at Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, on 15 June 1769,^[1] a son of Edmund Maxfield and his wife Rachel Russell. He died at Dartmouth on 1826.^[2] He married at Dartmouth on 3 January 1793 MARY SOULE.^[3] She was born at Dartmouth on 8 May 1770, a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Soule.^[4] She died at Dartmouth on 18 April 1815.^[5]

David Maxfield grew up in Dartmouth the second of six children. He and his older brother Zadok married sisters.

David Maxfield and his wife Mary Soule lived at Dartmouth where they had eleven children in nineteen years. David Maxfield worked as a blacksmith.

David Maxfield participated in several land transfers in Dartmouth:

• 27, 2d month, 1793, Edmund Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman [David's father], sold to David Maxfield of Dartmouth, for £ 230, 14s, one half of a parcel of 112 acres in Dartmouth.^[6]
• 4 April 1796, Holden Slocum and Christopher Slocum, both of Dartmouth, yeomen, sold to Zadock Maxfield and David Maxfield, both of Dartmouth, yeomen, for $ 24, a lot of Cedar Swamp in Dartmouth, near Aponoganset Great Swamp, 6 acres.^[7]
• 8 September 1797, Zadock Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman, sold to David Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman, for $ 40, the one half of tract in Dartmouth, total 8 acres, 2 parcels.^[8]
• 3 April 1799, Edmund Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman, sold to David Maxfield of Dartmouth, blacksmith, for $ 700, 2 parcels of land in Dartmouth, (1) east of Smith Mills, about 33 acres, bound by John Maxfield, Mill River, highway, Edmund Maxfield; (2) about 10 acres, bounds include Edmund Maxfield.^[9]
• 3 April 1799, David Maxfield of Dartmouth, blacksmith, sold to Zadock Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman, for $ 1,000, one half of a parcel in Dartmouth of 120 acres, adjoins Edmond Maxfield's land; signed David Maxfield, Mary Maxfield.^[10]
• 6 December 1802, William Gifford of Westport, Bristol County, yeoman, sold to David Maxfield of Dartmouth, yeoman, for $ 275, the one-quarter part of sawmill and lot in Dartmouth, called Smith Mill, about one-half acre, bounds include river, highway, Jonathan Maxfield, and heirs of John Maxfield.^[11]
• 25 March 1807, Elijah Booth, carpenter, and Hannah Booth, wife of Elijah, of Dartmouth sold to David Maxfield of Dartmouth, blacksmith, for $1160, a lot in Dartmouth about 57 acres.^[12]
• 6 May 1808, David Maxfield of Dartmouth, blacksmith, sold to Chadwick Gifford of Westport for $760, a parcel of land in Dartmouth of about 57 acres; signed David Maxfield, Mary Maxfield.^[13]

The tax list of 1 October 1798 reported David Maxfield of Dartmouth with 2 dwellings $60, and 30 acres $350.^[14]

The federal censuses for 1800 and 1810 reported the David Maxfield family at Dartmouth. The censuses only gave numbers of persons in various age and sex categories. They may be explained as follows:^[15]

Of the four daughters in 1800, only three are listed in 1810. I dropped the oldest, Ruth, from the list, as the most likley to be working out, but the missing daughter could have been any one of the four.

When David's father, Edmund, wrote his will on 6 August 1818, he left the remainder of his estate to his grandchildren, the children of David receiving altogether one sixth of his estate. The probate records for this will, which ran from January to May of 1822, revealed more information on this family. First, David Maxfield was described as living at Fairhaven, Bristol County, Massachusetts. Second, a person was appointed to represent the interests of out-of-state devises, namely, "Ruth Cornell, wife of Abner Cornell of Seipwan, New York; Patience Legg, wife of William Legg of Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island; Sylvia Young wife of Sheldon Young of Providence." Third, Seth Russell was appointed guardian to the minor children of David: William Maxfield, Mary Maxfield, Rachel Maxfield, Susannah Maxfield, and Joseph Maxfield.^[16] Allen and Almira were omited from the list, indicating they had deceased as children. Daughter Abigail, who was married and living, was not mentioned. I do not know why.

Mary (Soule) Maxfield died at Dartmouth on 18 April 1815,^[17] at age 45, six months after the birth of her last two children, who were twins. Widower David Maxfield was left with children ages 20, 18, 17, 15, 12, 8, 3, six months, and six months. It is not clear what happened to this family next. I have not found them in the 1820 Census. Ruth married in 1817, Abigail in 1818, Sylvia in 1820, and Patience sometime before 1822. Joseph went to sea on a whaler at the age of twenty-one, but later migrated to Wisconsin. William, Mary, Rachel and Susan later married and lived in the area, Rachel moving to Providence.

According to his grave marker at Newtown Burial Ground, Dartmouth, David Maxfield died in 1826.^[18]

David Maxfield and his wife Mary Soule had the following children:

1. RUTH MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth on 26 March 1795;^[19] m. at Dartmouth on 30 November 1817 ABNER CORNELL,^[20] b. at Westport on 5 October 1794, child of Pardon and Annie Cornell.^[21]
2. PATIENCE MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth on 11 December 1796.
3. SYLVIA MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth on 15 April 1798;^[22] d. 1840;^[23] m. on 30 November 1820 SHELDON YOUNG,^[24] b. on October 1795, d. on May 1862. Sheldon m(2) MARY L. PECK b. on 31 October 1815 d. on 12 March 1899.^[25]
4. ABIGAIL MAXFIELD "Aby" b. at Dartmouth on 26 December 1799;^[26] d. at Providence on 22 November 1861;^[27] m. at Providence on 17 November 1818 SAMUEL MACOMBER.^[28]
5. JOSEPH S. MAXFIELD b. at Massachusetts on 9 October 1803.
6. ALMIRA MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth on 8 October 1805;^[29] d. at Dartmouth on 22 December 1805.^[30]
7. WILLIAM MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth on 22 February 1807.
8. ALLEN RUSSELL MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth on 20 February 1810;^[31] d. before 1822 (Grandfather's probate).
9. MARY MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth on 7 April 1812;^[32] d. on 25 January 1905, buried at Rural Cemetery, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts;^[33] m. at New Bedford on 29 June 1837 FREDERICK PLUMMER SHAW,^[34] b. at New Bedford on 17 July 1811, d. on 1 December 1883, bur. at Rural Cemetery, New Bedford.^[35]
10. RACHEL R. MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth on 10 October 1814;^[36] d. at Providence on 22 September 1911;^[37] m. at Providence on 8 May 1833 HORACE MONTRAVILLE PECK,^[38] b. at Swansea, Bristol County, on 10 July 1806, d. at Providence on 1 October 1890.^[39]
11. SUSAN MAXFIELD b. at Dartmouth on 10 October 1814;^[40] d. at Dartmouth on 21 September 1902;^[41] m. at Dartmouth on 13 April 1835 CHARLES A. DAVIS,^[42] b. at Westport on 10 April 1813,^[43] d. at Dartmouth on 7 October 1909.^[44]

¹Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts: to the Year 1850 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1929,1929,1930), v. 1, p. 157.
²Ibid., v. 3, p. 48; Newtown Burying Ground (Friends') Faunce's Corner Road, Dartmouth.
³Ibid., v. 2, p. 312.
⁴Ibid., v. 1, p. 257.
⁵Ibid., v. 3, p. 48.
⁶Bristol County, Massachusetts, Deeds, 71:446, accessed 30 June 2013; Bristol County Court House, Taunton, Massachusetts (familysearch.org).
⁷Ibid., 76:113-14
⁸Ibid., 76:114
⁹Ibid., 78:41-42
¹⁰Ibid., 78:40-41
¹¹Ibid., 83:136-37
¹²Ibid., 88:488
¹³Ibid., 90:75-76
¹⁴"Massachusetts and Maine Direct Tax Census of 1798," digital images, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 21 January 2014), 12:62
¹⁵Second Census of the United States: 1800, population, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, roll 19, p. 661, David Maxfield; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed ); NARA microfilm publication M32; Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.; Third Census of the United States: 1810, population, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, roll 17, p. 284, David Maxfield; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 12 March 2012); NARA microfilm publication M25, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
¹⁶Bristol County, Massachusetts, Probate Records, 59:57, 243-45, 264-66, 288-92; Court House, Taunton, Massachusetts.
¹⁷Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, v. 3, p. 48.
¹⁸Newtown Burial Ground, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 25 July 2018), David-Mary Maxfield; Created by: Diana L. Brace, Photo added by Linking Ancestors.
¹⁹Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, v. 1, p. 159.
²⁰Ibid., v. 2, p. 314.
²¹Vital Records of Westport, Massachusetts: to the Year 1850 (Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1918), p. 32.
²²Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, v. 1, p. 159.
²³North Burial Ground, Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 4 May 2023), Sheldon-Sylvia Young; Created by: Scout, Photo added by Beth Hurd.
²⁴Janes N. Arnold, Vital Records of Rhode Island: 1636-1859 (Providence: Narragansett Historical Publishing Co., 1891–1906), v. 7; Rev. Stephen Gano's Marriages, p. 498; Young-Maxwell.
²⁵North Burial Ground, Providence, Sheldon-Sylvia Young; Created by: Scout, Photo added by Beth Hurd.
²⁶Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, v. 1, p. 157.
²⁷Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, "Rhode Island, Deaths and Burials, 1802-1950," database, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 21 August 2013), Abigail Macomber, 1861.
²⁸Arnold, Vital Records of Rhode Island, v. 7; Rev. Stephen Gano's Marriages, p. 498; Macomber-Maxfield.
²⁹Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, v. 1, p. 157.
³⁰Ibid., v. 3, p. 48.
³¹Ibid., v. 1, p. 157.
³²Ibid., v. 1, p. 158.
³³Rural Cemetery, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 8 May 2013), Mary Maxfield Shaw; Created by: D J Pimentel.
³⁴Vital Records of New Bedford, Massachusetts: to the Year 1850 (Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1932. 1932, 1941), v. 2, p. 366.
³⁵Rural Cemetery, New Bedford, Frederick Shaw; Created by: D J Pimentel.
³⁶Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, v. 1, p. 158.
³⁷Swan Point Cemetery, Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, Find a Grave, digital images (findagreve.com : accessed 4 March 2023), Horace-Rachel Peck; Created and photo by: kickstand.
³⁸Arnold, Vital Records of Rhode Island, v. 2, Providence Co., pt. 1, Providence, p. 121, Peck-Maxfield.
³⁹Swan Point Cemetery, Providence, Horace-Rachel Peck; Created and photo by: kickstand.
⁴⁰Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, v. 1, p. 159.
⁴¹South Dartmouth Cemetery, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 26 July 2018), Charles-Susan Davis; Created by: goose.
⁴²Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, v. 2, p. 314; Davis family register.
⁴³Ibid., v. 1, p. 73.
⁴⁴South Dartmouth Cemetery, Dartmouth, Charles-Susan Davis; Created by: goose.

Arnold, Janes N. Vital Records of Rhode Island: 1636-1859. Providence: Narragansett Historical Publishing Co., 1891–1906.

Bristol County, Massachusetts. Deeds. Bristol County Court House, Taunton, Massachusetts (familysearch.org).

________. Probate Records. Court House, Taunton, Massachusetts.

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

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

"Massachusetts and Maine Direct Tax Census of 1798." Digital images. New England Historic Genealogical Society. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2014

Newtown Burial Ground, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2018.

North Burial Ground, Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2023.

Rural Cemetery, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2013.

South Dartmouth Cemetery, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2018.

Swan Point Cemetery, Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagreve.com : 2023.

United States Department of the Census. 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.

Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts: to the Year 1850. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1929,1929,1930.

Vital Records of New Bedford, Massachusetts: to the Year 1850. Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1932. 1932, 1941.

Vital Records of Westport, Massachusetts: to the Year 1850. Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1918.

Wright, Elizabeth. "John Maxfield of Salisbury, Massachusetts, 1652, and Some of His Descendants." The Nebraska and Midwest Genealogical Record (1928–1930): 6:52-56; 7:20-24, 42-47, 61-71, 87-96; 8:15-22.