F John Maxfield of Salisbury, Mass.--Fifth Generation--Joseph of Nathaniel

Descendants of John Maxfield
of Salisbury, Massachusetts
Fifth Generation

JOSEPH ROWE5 MAXFIELD (Nathaniel4, Eliphalet3, Nathaniel2, John1) was born at Loudon, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, on 31 March 1785[1] a son of Nathaniel Maxfield and his first wife Mehitable Rowe. He died on 1 March 1845.[2] He married at Canterbury, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, on 7 April 1811 SARAH JANE HILL.[3] She was born at Loudon on 8 August 1795,[4] and died at Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, before 27 April 1875 (probate). Joseph Rowe Maxfield and his brother Nathan Norton Maxfield married sisters, Sarah Jane Hill and Hannah Hill daughters of Samuel Hill and Hannah Longley.

Joseph Maxfield grew up in Loudon. However he was baptized at the Congregational Church of Epping, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, his parents' former home, on 13 May 1785.[5] Joseph was the tenth of thirteen children. When he was eight years old his last sibling was born and his mother died. A year later he acquired a step-mother. According to their marriage record, Joseph and Sarah both came from Canterbury and the wedding was celebrated by Elder Young of Canterbury.[6] However, both were born at Loudon, and lived there before and after marriage. Early land records, in 1815, called Joseph Maxfield a "cordwainer," which is a shoemaker. As his father was a tanner, they were both workers in leather. However later records do not list that occupation, and in later years he was a farmer. Sometime between the 1830 and 1840 censuses, this family moved west from Loudon to Springfield, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, where they farmed.

Joseph Maxfield participated in the buying and selling of land in Loudon and Springfield:

I have not been able to find this family in the 1820 census. They were reported at Louden in the 1830 census and at Springfield in the 1840 census. A possible explanation of their families as reported follows:[13]

1830 Loudon
male 40-49 Joseph, 45
female 30-39 Sarah, 34
male 15-19 Joseph, 18
female 15-19 Martha, 15
female 10-14 Sarah, 12
male 5-9 Samuel, 8
female 0-4 Hannah, 3
1840 Springfield
male 50-59 Joseph, 55
female 40-49 Sarah, 44
male 40-49 James Hodge, 32
female 20-29 Sarah Hodge, 21
male 15-19 Samuel, 18
female 10-14 Hannah, 13
male 0-4 Benjamin Hodge, 1

I believe this is the best explanation of the data, in spite of the mark for James Hodge being in the wrong column. Son Joseph was away in the Army; daughter Martha was married, and her family reported elsewhere in the census. The Hodges did have a son who, based on later censuses, would have been one year old in 1840. James Hodge had purchased his farm at Springfield on 1 April 1840, two months before the census. Three years later he sold the farm to his father-in-law. So they could have been living together on the farm.

Son Joseph Maxfield enlisted in the Army at Schenectady, New York, on 26 September, 1839. At enlistment he was described as a carpenter, born at Loudon, 28 years old, with hazle eyes, brown hair, dark complexion, and 5' 7" tall. He was recruited by a Lt. Myers for a term of 5 years. However he deserted on 20 February 1843.[14] I find no further record of him. When his mother's estate was brought to probate court in 1875, the list of her children included "Joseph Maxfield of parts unknown if living."

Joseph Rowe Maxfield died 1 March 1845, and is buried at Old Pleasant View Cemetery in Springfield.[15]

I have not found widow Sarah Jane Maxfield in the 1850 census. In 1860 Sarah Maxfield, 63, was reported at Concord (East Concord Post Office), with several other persons in the household of Isaac Emery, 52, farmer.[16] In 1870 she was reported at Hopkinton (Contoocook Post Office), Merrimack County, with her daughter Hannah in a three generation household:[17]

Line Name Age Sex Race Occupation Birth Other
4 Blake, John 47 M W farmer (agent) Canada
5 Blake, Hannah H. 43 F W keeping house NH
6 Blake, Charles H. 21 M W farm laborer NH
7 Blake, George J. 16 M W works on farm NH school
8 Blake, Grace G. 6 F W attending school NH school
9 Blake, Nellie A. 5 F W attending school NH school
10 Blake, Hannah J. 3 F W NH
11 Blake, Elizabeth 72 F W without occupation NH
12 Maxfield, Sarah 74 F W without occupation NH

Sarah Jane (Hill) Maxfield died in 1875 without a will. Her probate record in Merrimack County began on 27 April 1875.[18] Her children were listed as:

Her personal estate totalled $ 360.81.

Joseph Rowe Maxfield and his wife Sarah Hill had the following children:

  1. JOSEPH6 MAXFIELD b. at Loudon on 18 July 1911;[19] no further record after his desertion from Army on 20 February 1843.
  2. MARTHA6 MAXFIELD b. at Loudon on 7 January 1815;[20] d. at Richmond, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, on 24 May 1833;[21] m. at Loudon on 1 September 1834 WINTHROP SAINT CLAIR,[22] b. at Canterbury on 7 May 1802, d. at Richmond on 15 June 1874, child of Noah and Lavine (Gault) Saint Clair.[23] He was in religion a Universalist, in politics a Democrat and by occupation a mill man.[24]
  3. SARAH JANE6 MAXFIELD b. at Loudon on 17 November 1817; d. at Concord on 31 March 1901;[25] m. at Canterbury on 7 July 1838 JAMES HODGE,[26] b. at New Hampshire about 1807-8.[27] Children of Sarah Jane and James:
    1. Benjamin F. Hodge b. at New Hampshire about 1838-9.
    2. Elizabeth Hodge b. at New Hampshire about 1840-1.
    3. Clara Hodge b. at New Hampshire about 1847-8
    4. Orra Hodge b. at New Hampshire about January 1850.
  4. SAMUEL HILL6 MAXFIELD b. at Loudon on 15 September 1821.
  5. HANNAH HILL6 MAXFIELD b. at Loudon on 29 January 1827; d. at Concord on 10 February 1909;[28] m. at Hopkinton on 14 November 1847 JOHN BLAKE,[29] b. at Canada on 1823, d. on 1900.[30] Children of Hannah and John:[31]
    1. Charles H. Blake b. at New Hampshire about 1848-9.
    2. George J. Blake b. at Ndew Hampshire about 1853-4.
    3. Grace A. Blake b. at New Hampshire baout 1863-4.
    4. Nellie A. Blake b. at New Hampshire about 1864-5.
    5. Hannah J. Blake b. at New Hampshire about 1866-7.

NOTES

1New Hampshire, State of, Division of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire, New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card, Birth, Joseph Bow Maxfield, 1795; digital images, New England Historical and Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 30 December 2016).
2Pleasant View Cemetery, Springfield, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 25 February 2023), Joseph R Maxfield; Created by: Lauren Marie Westgate Hargrave, Photo added by Katrina McCurley.
3New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card 9924, Marriage, Maxfield-Hill, 1811.
4Sylvia A. Hill to Charles A. Maxfield, electronic mail, 5 August 2001, "Vera Ann Maxfield--'untitled'"; privately held by Charles A. Maxfield.
5Elizabeth Wright, "John Maxfield of Salisbury, Massachusetts, 1652, and Some of His Descendants," The Nebraska and Midwest Genealogical Record (1928–1930): 7:23.
6New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card 9924, Marriage, Maxfield-Hill, 1811.
7Deeds, 185:182; digital images, Rockingham County Registry of Deeds (nhdeeds/rockingham : accessed 28 August 2012).
8Ibid., 218:1
9Ibid., 217:40
10Ibid., 228:87
11Deeds, 33:505; digital images, Sullivan County Registry of Deeds (nhdeeds.com/sullivan : accessed 29 August 2012).
12Ibid., 38:410
13Fifth Census of the United States: 1830, population, Loudon, Merrimack County., New Hampshire, roll 76, p. 81, Joseph Maxfield; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 21 September 2012); NARA microfilm publication M19, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.; Sixth Census of the United States: 1840, population, Springfield, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, roll 244, p. 113, Joseph Maxfield; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 25 September 2012); NARA microfilm publication M704, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
14"Register of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914," digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 30 August 2013), ; Records of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1780’s-1917, Record Group 94; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
15Pleasant View Cemetery, Springfield, Joseph R Maxfield; Created by: Lauren Marie Westgate Hargrave, Photo added by Katrina McCurley.
16Eighth Census of the United States: 1860, population, Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, roll 675, p. 8, household 67, Isaac Emery family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 9 November 2012); NARA microfilm record group M653; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
17Ninth Census of the United States: 1870, population, Hopkinton, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, roll 846, p. 360A, household 191, John Blake family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 8 February 2013); NARA microfilm record group M593; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
18Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Probate Records, 54:205 and 57:7; "New Hampshire, County Probate Records, 1660-1973," digital images, Family Search (familysearch.org: accessed 13 January 2014).
19Hill to Charles A. Maxfield, electronic mail, 5 August 2001.
20New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card, Birth, Martha Maxfield, 1815.
21Evergreen Cemetery, Winchester, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 17 November 2017), Winthrop-Martha St. Clair; Created by: Anonymous, Photo added by Cheshire.
22New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, , Marriage: St. Clair-Maxfield, 1834.
23Evergreen Cemetery, Winchester,Winthrop-Martha St. Clair; Created by: Anonymous, Photo added by Cheshire.
24French, Harry Dana. Descendants of John Maxfield of Salisbury, Mass., New Hampshire Historical Society Library, Concord, New Hampshire, about 1952.
25New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, Deaths, Sarah Hodge, 1901.
26New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, Marriage: Hodge-Maxfield, 1838.
27Information on the birth of James Hodge and their children is from: Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population, Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, p. 95B, household 1458, James Hodge family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 28 August 2022); NARA microfilm record group M432, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
28New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, Deaths, Hannah Blake, 1909.
29New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, , Marriage: Blake-Maxfield, 1847.
30Contoocook Village Cemetery, Contoocook, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 19 November 2017), John-Hannah Blake; Created by: FranBod, Photo added by graveseeker.
311870 Census, Hopkinton, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, roll 846, p. 360A, household 191, John Blake family.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Contoocook Village Cemetery, Contoocook, Merrimack County, New Hampshire. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2017.

Evergreen Cemetery, Winchester, Cheshire County, New Hampshire. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2017.

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

Hill, Sylvia A. "Vera Ann Maxfield--'untitled.'" Electronic mail to Charles A. Maxfield. 5 August 2001. Privately held by Charles A. Maxfield. See Note below

Merrimack County, New Hampshire. Probate Records. "New Hampshire, County Probate Records, 1660-1973." Digital images. Family Search. familysearch.org: 2014.

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.

Pleasant View Cemetery, Springfield, Sullivan County, New Hampshire. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2023.

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

Sullivan County Registry of Deeds. "Land Records." Digital images. Sullivan County Registry of Deeds. nhdeeds.com/sullivan : 2012.

United States Army. "Register of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914." Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.

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

________. 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 : 2022.

________. 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 : 2013.

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.

Note on information provided by Sylvia A. Hill

Sylvia A. Hill sent to me a list of the children of Joseph R and Sarah Jane (Hill) Maxfield, with birth dates. She wrote on 6 August 2001:

The information I listed was written by Mary Susan George Maxfield . . . on a piece of paper and given to her only surviving child, Vera Ann Maxfield, in the Maxfield Family Bible, to the best of my deciphering in 1924 which would have been the year Vera's brother died from a head injury trying to stop a runaway train. There is a notation by Joseph's name in Grammie's handwriting (Vera) that says "my grandfather." The bible is now in the possession of my oldest brother Lee Huntoon.
Return to "Chuck Maxfield's Genealogy Page"

Return to Maxfield Genealogy

Go to Maxfield Genealogy Outline Index

This web page in the intellectual property of Charles A. Maxfield of Lansdale, PA.
Permission is granted to create links to this page.
Permission is granted to make a copy of this page for personal use only.
For any other use, contact the proprietor of this website Charles A. Maxfield
Last updated 2023