SAMUEL W.5 MAXFIELD (probably Joseph4, Joseph3-2, John1) was born at New Hampshire about 1813-4 probably a son of Joseph Maxfield and his wife Dorothy Worthen. He died at Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, on 8 March 1876.[1] He and MARY E. BLANCHARD published at Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, on 26 February 1837, their intention to marry.[2] She was born at Vermont about 1813-4 and died at Detroit on 29 April 1898.[3]
I have not found any birth record for Samuel. Harry Dana French listed him as probably a child of Joseph and Dorothy.[4] His place of publishing marriage intentions is the main cause for this theory; the only other Maxfield of record at Woburn was Levi, a child of Joseph and Dorothy. Three census records gave his birthplace as New Hampshire, and an age that fitted into the earlier census records of Joseph Maxfield. None of this is clear evidence. So until some information is found that can either prove or disprove this connection, we will say that Samuel was probably a child of Joseph and Dorothy.
If this designation is correct, Samuel grew up at Warner, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, perhaps the last of many children. He published his intentions to marry in the community where his brother lived in Massachusetts. By 1840 he resided at New York, New York County, New York. The household consisted of a man and a woman in their 20s, no children.[5]
The 1850 census reported the family still at New York in a household headed by Jane Robertson, 43, a native of Scotland. The Maxfield family consisted of Samuel, 36, cartman, Mary, 36, Walter, 10, attending school, and Fanny, 5. Samuel was born at New Hampshire, Mary at Vermont, the children at New York.[6]
The 1860 census reported this family at Napoleon, Jackson County, Michigan:[7]
| Line | Name | Age | Sex | Occupation | Birthplace | Other |
| 3 | Samuel Maxfield | 46 | M | farmer | NH | personal estate $500 |
| 4 | Mary Maxfield | 46 | F | VT | ||
| 5 | Walter Maxfield | 20 | M | farm laborer | NY | |
| 6 | Fanny T. Maxfield | 15 | F | MI | school | |
| 7 | Sarah A. Maxfield | 10 | F | MI | school |
All other records place the births of all the children at New York.
Son Walter B. Maxfield fought - and died - in the Civil War. When he enlisted, on 9 August 1862, he was described as 22 years old, from Brooklyn, Jackson County, Michigan. He served in Company E of the 17th Michigan Infantry Regiment. He did not survive the war, and was "mustered out" at Campbell Station, Tennessee, on 16 November 1863.[8]
In 1870 Samuel and Mary "Maksfield" were reported at Detroit. Samuel was a teamster, Mary was keeping house;[9] the children were all gone. Walter had died, Fannie had married, and Sarah "Sally" Maxfield was living in a hotel at Detroit and working as a waitress.[10]
Mary Maxfield's death record stated that she had given birth to six children, two of whom were still living. So Mary probably had three other children, who did not live long enough to be recorded in a census. The eight year interval between the births of Fannie and Sarah could be the period in which some of these other children were born.
Samuel Maxfield died at Detroit on 8 March 1876.[11]
The 1880 census reported Mary Maxfield at Detroit, living in the household of her daughter Sarah Stapleton. The household included Sarah's husband, William Stapleton, 36, a potter, born at Ireland, and their children, William, 4, and Maud, 1.[12]
Mary E. Maxfield, age 84 years, died at Detroit on 29 April 1898 from "La Grippe."[13]
Samuel Maxfield and his wife Mary Blanchard had the following children, and probably others:
1Woodmere Cemetery, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : database 10 September 2018), Samuel Maxfield; Originally Created by: Laura, Maintained by: Find A Grave.
2Edward F. Johnson, "Marriage Intentions of Woburn, Massachusetts," database, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 1 September 2013).
3Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics, Lansing, Michigan., Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952, Wayne County, certificate 1517, Mary E. Maxfield, 1898; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 8 July 2023).
4French, Harry Dana. Descendants of John Maxfield of Salisbury, Mass., New Hampshire Historical Society Library, Concord, New Hampshire, about 1952.
5Sixth Census of the United States: 1840, population, New York, New York County, New York, p. 56, Samuel 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, New York, New York County, New York, p. 362B, household 798, Jane Robertson household; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 11 October 2012); NARA microfilm record group M432, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
7Eighth Census of the United States: 1860, population, Napoleon, Jackson County, Michigan, p. 306, household 1855, Samuel Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 5 November 2012); NARA microfilm record group M653; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
8Historical Data Systems, comp., "U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865," database, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 15 July 2013).
9Ninth Census of the United States: 1870, population, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, p. 451B, household 692, Samuel Maksfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 6 February 2013); NARA microfilm record group M593; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
101870 Census, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, p. 58B, household 812, hotel.
11Woodmere Cemetery, Detroit, Samuel Maxfield; Originally Created by: Laura, Maintained by: Find A Grave.
12Tenth Census of the United States: 1880, population, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, enumeration district (ED) 269, p. 532A, household 169, Wm. Stapleton family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 9 March 2013); NARA microfilm publication T9, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
13Michigan Death Records, 1867-1952, Wayne County, certificate 1517, Mary E. Maxfield, 1898.
14Oak Grove Cemetery, Napoleon, Jackson County, Michigan, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 6 September 2018), W B Maxfield; Created by: Deb Hayes-Wolfe, Photo added by Vernon W. Goodrich.
15Jordan Dodd, Liahona Research, comp., "Michigan Marriages, 1851-1875," Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 3 September 2013), .
16Michigan Death Records, 1867-1952, Wayne County, certificate 7865, Sadie N. Stapleton, 1910.
171880 Census, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, ED 269, p. 532A, household 169, Wm. Stapleton family.
18Ibid.
Dodd, Jordan , Liahona Research, comp. "Michigan Marriages, 1851-1875." Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
French, Harry Dana. Descendants of John Maxfield of Salisbury, Mass. New Hampshire Historical Society Library, Concord, New Hampshire, about 1952.
Historical Data Systems, comp. "U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865." Database. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
Edward F. Johnson. "Marriage Intentions of Woburn, Massachusetts." Database. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2013.
Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics, Lansing, Michigan. Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2023.
Oak Grove Cemetery, Napoleon, Jackson County, Michigan. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2018.
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 : 2013.
________. Tenth Census of the United States: 1880, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
Woodmere Cemetery, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2018.
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