Descendants of John Maxfield
of Salisbury, Massachusetts
Fifth Generation

ELIPHALET⁵ MAXFIELD (Nathaniel⁴, Eliphalet³, Nathaniel², John¹) was born at Kensington, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, on 25 January 1772^[1] a son of Nathaniel Maxfield and his wife Mehitable Rowe. He died at Knoxville, Knox County, Illinois, on 6 December 1840.^[2] He married at Loudon, Rockingham County, on 22 November 1792 JANE McCRILLIS. She was born at Epson, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, on 22 February 1774, a daughter of William and Lydia (Morrill) McCrillis. She died at Canton, Fulton County, Illinois, on 7 December 1859.^[3]

The fourth of thirteen children, Eliphalet lived with his family at Candia, Rockingham County, until about the age of six. He then lived at Epping, Rockingham County, into his adulthood, until after 1794. He was described as "of Epping" in a land transfer in 1794, although the births of his first five children, from 1793 to 1806, were recorded at Durham, Strafford County, New Hampshire. From Durham, the Eliphalet Maxfield family moved to Lincoln County, District of Maine. According to Elizabeth Wright he was a tanner at Union, Lincoln County, in 1808. However the 1810 Census placed this family at nearby Appleton Ridge, Lincoln County, and the 1820 Census placed them at Appleton Plantation, perhaps the same place. Births of his children were recorded at Union in 1808 and 1811, and at Appleton in 1814. A property transfer in 1822 placed this family at China, Kennebec County, Maine, as did the 1830 census. In 1838 Eliphalet and Jane and their younger children moved to Illinois.

Eliphalet's father was a tanner, and in early records Eliphalet was called a currier. So both were workers in leather, perhaps working together. However the 1820 census classified him as a agriculturalist, which may have been his primary occupation through much of his life.

Eliphalet Maxfield participated in a few property transfers, mostly in conjunction with relatives, including the following:

• 20 March 1793, Nathaniel Maxfield of Epping, tanner, sold to Eliphalet Maxfield of Epping, currier for £ 60, one acre in Epping, plus 7 ¾ acres in Epping, excepting the one acre Eliphalet is to come into possession at the decease of Nathaniel and not before.^[4]
• 9 September 1794, Nathaniel Maxfield of Epping, tanner, and Eliphalet Maxfield of Epping, currier, sold to Levi Towle of Epping, innholder for £ 60, 8 acres and 140 rods in Epping, with the buildings on them. Hannah Maxfield and Jinney Maxfield wives of Nathaniel and Eliphalet surrendered their right of dower.^[5]
• 27 February 1822, Eliphalet Maxfield and Jane Maxfield of China in the County of Kennebec, State of Maine, yeoman and spinster, sold to Gardner Towle of Lee, Strafford County, Gentleman and John Dow of Epping, Gentleman, lot #28 on Summer Street, Nottingham, Rockingham County, property that came to us in right of Jane Maxfield by decease of William McCrillis. Jane Maxfield signed with her mark, Eliphalet Maxfield with his signature.^[6]

For a discussion of which Eliphalet Maxfield served in the War of 1812 go to Eliphalet son of Eliphalet.

The Eliphalet Maxfield family was reported in federal censuses from 1800 through 1830. These censuses reported only the numbers of persons in various age and sex categories. A possible explanation of who these persons might have been, follows:^[7]

Except for slight miscalculations of Jane's age in 1800 and Oren's in 1820, these census reports are on target. However, there is some question about Rufus' age. Eliphalet's probate records mentioned a son Rufus, and Elizabeth Wright referred to a letter from Rufus Maxfield of New York State to his brother Oren Maxfield on 29 June 1868,^[8] which placed him in this family. Census records for Rufus Maxfield consistently reported an age that indicated a birth between 1811 and 1813. His death record also gave an age that pointed to birth about 1812. We might speculate that the census takers overestimated his age, but how could his age have been overestimated in 1810 before he was born?

Elizabeth Wright reported that Rufus was born at Union, Maine, on 12 November 1808,^[9] but did not give a source. If this is correct, then Rufus is correctly placed on the above charts. But why did he consistently report his age as four years younger than he was? Is there possibly some confusion between Rufus the son of Eliphalet and his first cousin Rufus the son of Stephen? The latter Rufus was born 25 June 1808 based on his age at death, and consistently reported his age in censuses pointing to a birth about 1809-10. He lived at Loudon, New Hampshire, most of his life. In spite of the lack of evidence, I will go with the birthdate for Rufus reported by Wright, as it is congruent with the information provided in the four censuses outlined above.

Eliphalet and Jane Maxfield made the long trip West in 1838, when they were in their sixties, with their younger children. Wright summarized the trip: They went,

from Boston to New York by water; to Philadelphia by cars; to Columbia by canal; to Hollidaysburg; to Pittsburg by canal; to Troy, Indiana, by Ohio River; from the Ohio to the Mississippi River; up the Mississippi to New Boston, Il, and over land eighteen miles to North Henderson, Illinois.^[10]

Eliphalet Maxfield died at Knoxville, Illinois, on 6 December 1840. His probate records in Knox County, Illinois, begin three days later. The probate documents mentioned a wife, and listed children:^[11]

• living children to receive from the estate:
  • Susan D. Shaw, wife of Samuel Shaw,
  • Maria Maxfield, wife of her first cousin William Maxfield,
  • Elizabeth Maxfield
  • the wife of Hugh Maxfield, deceased.
• living children who had received their share of their father's estate during his lifetime, for which receipts were filed:
  • William M. Maxfield,
  • Nathaniel Maxfield,
  • Oren Maxfield
• living children who had received their share, but for whom there were no receipts:
  • Rufus Maxfield
  • the descendents of Jane Maxfield Owens

The 1850 census reported Jane Maxfield, 75, living at Knoxville with her single daughter, Elizabeth, age 29.^[12] Elizabeth died at Knoxville on 22 August 1854;^[13] Jane died at Canton on 7 December 1859.

Knoxville Cemetery, Knoxville, IL
findagrave.com

Of the ten children of Eliphalet and Jane, one, Avis, died in childhood, three, William, Nathaniel and Jane, remained in Maine, five, Oren, Susan, Maria, Hugh and Elizabeth, moved to Illinois either with their parents or shortly before, and one, Rufus, settled in New York.

Eliphalet Maxfield and his wife Jane McCrillis had the following children:

1. WILLIAM McCRILLIS⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Durham on 25 December 1793.
2. NATHANIEL⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Durham on 20 April 1799.
3. AVIS⁶ MAXFIELD, b. at Durham on 16 March 1802.^[14] No further record.
4. OREN⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Durham on 1 January 1804.
5. JANE⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Durham on 2 May 1806; d. abt. 1842; m. at China on 22 April 1827 SEWALL OWEN, b. at Maine.^[15]
6. RUFUS G.⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Union on 12 November 1808.
7. SUSAN L.⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Union on 12 December 1811; d. at Washington, Washington County, Iowa, on 25 March 1888;^[16] m. at China on 12 December 1837 SAMUEL SHAW,^[17] b. at Epping on 3 May 1793, d. at Washington on 15 October 1879.^[18] He m. (1) REBECCA PEASE, b. 1796, d. 1835.^[19] He was ordained a Free Will Baptist minister in 1830. He went to Illinois in 1837, becoming the fourteenth Free Will Baptist minister in the state.^[20] They resided at North Henderson, Mercer County, Illinois, in 1840, and at Washington in 1865.^[21]
8. MARIA K.⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Appleton on 21 September 1814;^[22] m. at North Henderson on 10 January 1839 WILLIAM MAXFIELD.
9. HUGH KELSEY⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Maine on 17 September 1817; d. at Canton on 3 October 1842;^[23] m. ________ ________.
10. ELIZABETH⁶ MAXFIELD b. at Maine on 7 January 1821; d. at Knoxville on 22 August 1854.^[24]

Concerning Samuel Shaw, the husband of Susan L. Maxfield, the following biographical information was reported at the findagrave website:^[25]

¹New Hampshire, State of, Division of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire, New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card, Birth, Eliphalet Maxfield, 1772; digital images, New England Historical and Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 30 December 2016).
²Elizabeth Wright, "John Maxfield of Salisbury, Massachusetts, 1652, and Some of His Descendants," The Nebraska and Midwest Genealogical Record (1928–1930): 7:43.
³Ibid.
⁴Deeds, 135:16; digital images, Rockingham County Registry of Deeds (nhdeeds/rockingham : accessed 28 August 2012).
⁵Ibid., 144:219
⁶Ibid., 235:234
⁷Second Census of the United States: 1800, population, Durham, Strafford County, New Hampshire, roll 20, p. 258, Eliphalet 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, Appleton Ridge, Lincoln County, Maine, p. 144, Eliphalet Maxfield; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 16 September 2012); NARA microfilm publication M25, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.; Fourth Census of the United States: 1820, population, Appleton Plantation, Lincoln County, Maine, p. 279, Eliphalet Maxfield; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 18 September 2012); NARA microfilm publication M33, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.; Fifth Census of the United States: 1830, population, China, Kennebec County, Maine, p. 13, Eliphalet Maxfield; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 21 September 2012); NARA microfilm publication M19, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
⁸Wright, "John Maxfield of Salisbury, Massachusetts, 1652, and Some of His Descendants," 7:67.
⁹Ibid.
¹⁰Ibid., 7:43
¹¹found in DAR records, National Number 786018 for Patriot Nathaniel Maxfield, as reported to me in Janis Redpath-Kennedy, to Charles A. Maxfield, electronic mail, 14 February 2010, privately held by Charles A. Maxfield.
¹²Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population, Knoxville, Knox County, Illinois, p. 320A, household 143, Jane Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 28 September 2012); NARA microfilm record group M432, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
¹³Wright, "John Maxfield of Salisbury, Massachusetts, 1652, and Some of His Descendants," 7:43.
¹⁴Ibid.
¹⁵Ibid.
¹⁶Woodlawn Cemetery, Washington, Washington County, Iowa, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 2 July 2014), Susan B. Shaw; created by Kelly Pease, Photo Added by Kelly Pease.
¹⁷Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, "Maine Marriages, 1771-1907," database, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 14 September 2012), Shaw-Maxfield, 1837.
¹⁸Woodlawn Cemetery, Washington, Samuel Shaw; created and photo by Kelly Pease; N. F. Carter, The Native Ministry of New Hampshire (Concord, New Hampshire: Rumford Printing Co., 1906), 226-27.
¹⁹Non-Cemetery Burial, database, Find a Grave (findagrave.com : accessed 2 July 2014).
²⁰French, Harry Dana. Descendants of John Maxfield of Salisbury, Mass., New Hampshire Historical Society Library, Concord, New Hampshire, about 1952.
²¹Ibid.
²²Knoxville Cemetery, Knoxville, Knox County, Illinois, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 28 April 2023), Wm-M.K. monument; Originally Created and photo by: Florence Banks; Maintained by: D. Sullivan.
²³Wright, "John Maxfield of Salisbury, Massachusetts, 1652, and Some of His Descendants," 7:45.
²⁴Knoxville Cemetery, Knoxville, Wm-M.K. monument; Originally Created and photo by: Florence Banks; Maintained by: D. Sullivan.
²⁵Woodlawn Cemetery, Washington, Samuel Shaw; created and photo by Kelly Pease.

Burial, Non-Cemetery. Database. Find a Grave. findagrave.com : 2014.

Carter, N. F. The Native Ministry of New Hampshire. Concord, New Hampshire: Rumford Printing Co., 1906.

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. "Maine Marriages, 1771-1907." Database. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2012.

Knoxville Cemetery, Knoxville, Knox County, Illinois. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2023.

New Hampshire, State of, Division of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire. New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages. Digital images. New England Historical and Genealogical Society. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2016.

Redpath-Kennedy, Janis, to Charles A. Maxfield. Electronic mail 14 February 2010. Privately held by Charles A. Maxfield.

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

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.

________. Fourth Census of the United States: 1820, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2012.

________. Fifth Census of the United States: 1830, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2012.

________. Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2012.

Woodlawn Cemetery, Washington, Washington Co., IA. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2014.

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.