F
CURRIER5 MAXFIELD, Jr. (Currier4, Joshua3, Joseph2, John1) was born at Fishersfield, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire on 23 August 1818 a son of Currier Maxfield and his wife Mary Carr.[1] He died at Lempster, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, on 10 January 1890.[2] He married before 1840 LYDIA YOUNG5 MAXFIELD (Richard4, Joseph3-2, John1). She was born at Bradford, Hillsborough County, about 27 June 1814, a daughter of Richard Maxfield and his wife Sally Young. She died at Goshen, Sullivan County, on 27 March 1881.[3] They were second cousins, sharing one set of great-grandparents.
Currier grew up on his parents' farm at Goshen; Lydia grew up on her parents' farm at Bradford. They married before 1840, as the census that year reported the Currier Maxfield family at Bradford, consisting of one man and one woman in their 20s.[4] Currier began his career as a farmer, but was reported in 1860 as a laborer, and after that date as a shoemaker.
On 9 October 1845, Currier Maxfield, Jr., of Warner, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, mortgaged to Imri Purrington of Goshen, for $600, a parcel in Goshen, part of 75 acre lot #7, 1st division 1st range, except 25 acres previously sold and burying ground, also 1 ½ acres adjoining. Lydia wife of Currier relinquished her right of dower.[5]
At the time of the 1850 census, Currier's young family was scattered. Currier, 32, was living with his father and farming, and daughter Adelaide, 6, and son Day, 3, were with him.[6] Daughter Lenora, 9, was living at Goshen with the local physician, Harvey G. McIntire, and his family.[7] Ellen, 8, and Woodbury, 5, were in the farm home of Jonathan and Betsey Whittaker at Wendell, Sullivan County.[8] I have not located in this census Lydia, who would have been about seven months pregnant at the time.
Census takers in 1860, 1870 and 1880 found this family at Goshen with the following ages and compositions:[9]
Name | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 |
Currier | 42 | 52 | 61 |
Lydia | 46 | 57 | 66 |
Lenora | 19 | ||
Ellen | 17 | ||
Adelaide | |||
Woodbury | 14 | ||
Day | 13 | 23 | |
Charles | 3 | 13 | |
Martha |
In addition to those listed above, the household contained Sarah Dodge, 85, pauper, in 1860, and Alfred Booth, 84, pauper, in 1870. The Maxfields were probably caring for these persons on behalf of the Town. "Charles" refers to Charles Lynch in 1870, called Charles Maxfield, grandson, in 1880. He was a child of daughter Lenora. I cannot explain the absence of Martha, born in 1850 and married about 1864, whose death record clearly places her in this family. Daughter Adelaide, born about 1842-3, may have already left home to work in the mills in Lowell by 1860. The years immediately after 1860 brought great changes to this family: Woodbury died in 1863, Ellen married in 1863, Martha married about 1863-44, Adelaide married in 1865, and Lenora married in 1866. In a court case in 1908 an A. Emerson Maxfield of Goshen testified, presenting himself as a brother to Ellen (Maxfield) (Smith) Shaw. I have found no other record of this person. This person testified that their mother "was lockerd in a cage in her room" from 1871 through 1873.[10]
When Lydia died, Currier reported to probate court that she died intestate, "but did leave your petitioner, her husband, and also three children now living, Day E. Maxfield, Ellen M. Shaw and Martha A. Thurber." He requested that son Day be appointed administrator.[11]
Woodbury F. Maxfield fought in the Civil War, in Company F, 9th New Hampshire Infantry Regiment. He enlisted on 17 July 1862. His regiment saw action at South Mountain, Maryland, 14 September, 1862; Antietam, 16-17 September; Waterloo Bridge 9-10 November; Fredericksburg, 12-15 December. Woodbury died of disease at Falmouth, Virginia, on 5 February 1863.[12]
Information about Adelaide is confusing. In 1865 Susan A. Maxfield, 22, born at Hollis, Hillsborough County, to Warren and Sarah Maxfield, married William Smith, machinist of Lowell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, born in England to George and Ann Smith.[13] The 1870 Census reported William Smith, 38, farmer, living at Winchendon, Worcester County, Massachusetts, with his wife Addie F., 25, born at New Hampshire, and their two sons.[14] Five months later Addie Smith died from exhaustion in labor and inflamation of the womb. Her birth place was reported at Goshen, Vermont, child of Currier Maxfield.[15] There were no Maxfields in this time period in either Hollis, New Hampshire, or Goshen, Vermont; but there were many in Goshen, New Hampshire, not far from Vermont, some named Currier. Also note that Adelaide/Sarah and her sister Ellen both went to Lowell to work in the mills and married brothers. Lowell in the first half of the Nineteenth Century became a Mecca for young women seeking to work and earn their own income. In a few cases, young women came under assumed names to hide their identity from anyone back home who might look for them; a husband or father could claim their wages according to the law at that time.[16] This may explain why Addie falsified her name, birthplace and parents when at Lowell. The dispersion of the family in the 1850 Census, and the testimony of A. Emerson Maxfield, suggest that there was some disfunction in the family, which might cause a young woman to conceal her identity.
Daughter Ellen Maxfield spent most of her life in Lowell and vicinity. She married Charles H. Smith, who died a year and a half later. Ten years later she married Francis E. Shaw. He was a hotel proprietor who owned significant properties. Following his death Ellen's niece, Mrs. Mabelle E. Dutton, petitioned the Middlesex Probate Court to appoint a conservator to handle Ellen's property.[17] Ellen Shaw was active in a religios cult called the Mazdaznans, and had begun selling property, intending to build a temple in Montreal.[18] At court she shared some of her background:[19]
I am 66 years old. I learned to read and write in the district country school, attending school a few months in spring and in fall. I never had any education beside that. At 14 I worked at home and had no assistance from my parents. I know very little about my mother's people. She had three sisters and a brother, Jesse Maxfield.Her son, injured at birth, and deformed in some way, never made a sound until the age of three months. For five years she had been a follower of the Mazdaznans. This cult, vaguely reflective of Zoroastrian ideas, was founded by Otoman Zar-Adusht Ha'nish, and its High Priestess was Mary Elizabeth Ruth Hilton. At one point in the trial High Priestess Hilton was asked to move further back after being accused of trying to hypnotize a witness. At the conclusion of a six day trial, the judge dismissed the petition and ruled that Mrs. Shaw was competent to handle her own property. When she heard the verdict, she said, "I am all forgiveness; there is no malice, na hatred, no enmity in my heart."[20]
After all the controversy, and the gossip around Lowell, Ellen published a statement in the Lowell Sun:[21]
To the Public Through the Sun
I have been a Mazdaznan for the past five years. I am in no way ashamed to make this statement, and I have yet to find any reason for regretting it. I have attended classes and meetings, private and public, and have never heard anything taught but purity and goodness. My belief has given me health, happiness, and above all, a contented, peaceful mind. It has cost me only what I could well afford, and what I have acquired by my own exertions. The prejudice existing in many minds is the result of false and misleading reports made through the public press to feed a polluted and demoralized appetite. The book "Inner Studies" has been inverted and distorted. It is a medical work, and, when compared with other medical works, treating on the same subject, it seems to me is much more delicate and intelligent. I believe I am better able to judge of Mazdaznanism, as one of its devoted followers for the past five years, than those who are ignorant of the first principles of the work, and too busy, or too prejudiced, to find out the truth; but who are ever ready to make themselves self-elected instruments of criticism and slander. Let them remember the words of the Great Teacher: "Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." I have the pleasure of knowing intimately both Dr. Harnish and Mrs. Hilton, and I know them both to be living examples of all that is true, good and beautiful, and that their teachings and their lives correspond. I hope greatly that their work may continue to grow and prosper until every town and hamlet shall hear the message of health, happiness and purity. The cause has for its object the welfare of the world, and the salvation of mankind. Let the public examin before they condemn. And to all my friends in Lowell, those who have known me for many years, let me say publicly that I wish now, more than ever, for their friendship, and their good opinion; that if I find myself deceived in any one thing, I have closed no doors behind me. And with the love of Christ always in my heart, and, as taught by him and my philosophy, I forgive truly all my traducers. Sincerely yours, |
Day E. Maxfield married in 1872; they had no children. He worked as a blacksmith at Newport, Sullivan County, as reported in the 1880 and 1900 censuses.[22] In 1910 he was farming at Goshen. His wife, Emma, died at Goshen in 1913. The 1920 census found him renting a room at Newport with relatives including his cousin Joel.[23] At age 73 he worked as a ticket taker at a theater. In 1930 he was boarding at Manchester, Hillsborough County.[24]
Currier Maxfield, Jr., and his wife Lydia Young Maxfield had the following children:
Lenore and Henry had the following children:[33]
Children of William and his second wife Adelaide:[49]
Children of Martha Hiram:[56]
1New Hampshire, State of, Division of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire, New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card 9469, Birth, Currier Maxfield, Jr., 1818; digital images, New England Historical and Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 30 December 2016).
2New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card 6145, Death, Currier Maxfield, 1890.
3New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card 6168, Death, Lydia Y. Maxfield, 1881.
4Sixth Census of the United States: 1840, population, Bradford, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, roll 240, p. 103, Currier Maxfield Jr.; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 25 September 2012); NARA microfilm publication M704, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
5Deeds, 39:185; digital images, Sullivan County Registry of Deeds (nhdeeds.com/sullivan : accessed 29 August 2012).
6Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population, Goshen, Sullivan County., New Hampshire, roll 441, p. 68A, household 22, Currier Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 9 October 2012); NARA microfilm record group M432, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
71850 Census, Goshen, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, roll 441, p. 73A, household 111, Harry G. McIntire family.
81850 Census, Wendell, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, roll 441, p. 1A, household 9, Jonathan P. Whitaker family.
9Eighth Census of the United States: 1860, population, Goshen, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, roll 681, p. 864, household 554, Currier Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 9 November 2012); NARA microfilm record group M653; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration; Ninth Census of the United States: 1870, population, Goshen, Sullivan Coounty, New Hampshire, roll 850, p. 506A, household 4, Currier Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 8 February 2013); NARA microfilm record group M593; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration; Tenth Census of the United States: 1880, population, Goshen, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, enumeration district (ED) 269, roll 768, p. 317B, household 22, Currier Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 13 March 2013); NARA microfilm publication T9, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
10"Mazdaznan Case," Lowell Sun, 14 October 1908; Newspaper Archive (http://newspaperarchive.com : accessed 2013). p. 9.
11Sullivan County, New Hampshire, Probate Records, 54:324; "New Hampshire, County Probate Records, 1660-1973," digital images, Family Search (familysearch.org: accessed 13 January 2014).
12Historical Data Systems, comp., "U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865," database, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 12 July 2013), Woodbury F. Maxfield.
13Massachusetts Archives, "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," digital images, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 28 August 2017), vol. 182, p. 273, e. 19; Winchendon Marriages, 1865; Smith-Maxfield.
141870 Census, Winchendon, Worcester County, Massachusetts, p. 441B, household 540, William Smith family.
15Old Centre Burial Ground, Winchendon, Worcester County, Massachusetts, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 31 July 2018), Addie Sarah Maxfield Smith; Created by: Michael Raymond.
16Harriet H. Robinson, Loom and Spindle, or, Life Among the Early Mill Girls Kailua, Hawaii: Press Pacifica, 1976, p. 41.
17"Suits Are Brought to Restrain Mrs. Shaw from Selling Out," Lowell Sun, 9 September 1908.
18"Will Build Temple," Lowell Sun, 3 September 1908.
19"Mazdaznan Case," Lowell Sun, 15 October 1908.
20"Mrs. Shaw Wins," Lowell Sun, 12 November 1908.
21"Mrs. Shaw Gives Statement to the Public," Lowell Sun, 26 October 1908.
221880 Census, Newport, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, ED 273, roll 768, p. 344B, household 123, Day Maxfield family; Twelth Census of the United States: 1900, population, Newport, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, enumeration district (ED) 251, roll 952, p. 7A, household 165, Day Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 5 August 2013); NARA microfilm group T623; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
23Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910, population, Goshen, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, enumeration district (ED) 313, roll 866, p. 6A, household 12, Day E. Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 8 August 2013); NARA group T624, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.; Fourteenth Census of the United States: 1920, population, Newport, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, enumeration district (ED) 173, p. 6A, household 150, George W. Fuller family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 10 August 2013); NARA microfilm record group T625, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
24Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930, population, Manchester, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, enumeration district (ED) 27, p. 1A, household 1, Masonic Home; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 13 August 2013); NARA record Group T626.
25Mill Village Cemetery, Goshen, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 20 February 2021), Lenora George; Created and photo by: Sue.
26Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, Vermont Births, Marriages and Deaths to 2008, index card 4298, Marriage, Lynch-Maxfield, 1866; digital images, New England Historical and Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 29 June 2013).
27Elizabeth Wright, "John Maxfield of Salisbury, Massachusetts, 1652, and Some of His Descendants," The Nebraska and Midwest Genealogical Record (1928–1930): 7:63.
281900 Census, Goshen, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, ED 248, p. 6, household 140, Henry George family.
29New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card 5251, Marriage: George-Dodge, 1881.
301900 Census, Goshen, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, ED 248, p. 6, household 140, Henry George family.
31New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card 19706, Marriage: Dodge-Rowe, 1860.
321870 Census, Goshen, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, p. 506A, household 7, Henry S. George family.
33New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card 6090, Birth: Lizzie George, 1874; index card 5934, Birth: Frank George, 1875; ndex card 6185, Birth: Perley George, 1878.
341900 Census, Lowell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, ED 819, roll 661, p. 5, household 108, Francis E. Shaw family.
35"Mrs. Ellen Marie Shaw Dies at Spencer Ranch," Mountain Democrat, 24 August 1928; Newspaper Archive (newspaperarchive.com : accessed 21 November 2013). p. 3.
36"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 163, p. 110; Lowell Marriages, 1863; Smith-Maxfield.
37"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," v. 184: p. 94, e. 47; Lowell Deaths 1865; Charles Smith.
38"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," v. 272, p. 123, e. 406; Lowell Marriages 1875; Shaw-Smith.
39"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," Deaths 1907; v. 58, certificate 306; Francis Shaw.
40"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," v. 296, p. 118; Lowell Births 1878; Russell Shaw.
41"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," Deaths 1907, v. 13, certificate 396; Lowell Deaths 1907; Russell Shaw.
42Old Centre Burial Ground, Winchendon, Addie Sarah Maxfield Smith; Created by: Michael Raymond.
43"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 182, p. 273, e. 19; Winchendon Marriages, 1865; Smith-Maxfield.
441900 Census, Winchendon, Worcester County, Massachusetts, ED 1709, p. 9, household 199, William Smith family.
45Old Centre Burial Ground, Winchendon, William Smith; Created by: Michael Raymond.
46"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," v. 237, p. 336, e. 17; Marriages Winchendon 1871; Smith-Wallace.
47"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," v. 339, p. 460, e. 66; Deaths Winchendon 1882; Adalade Smith.
481870 Census, Winchendon, Worcester County, Massachusetts, p. 441B, household 540, William Smith family.
491900 Census, Winchendon, Worcester County, Massachusetts, ED 1709, p. 9, household 199, William smith family.
50French, Harry Dana. Descendants of John Maxfield of Salisbury, Mass., New Hampshire Historical Society Library, Concord, New Hampshire, about 1952.
51New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card 15109, Death, Day E. Maxfield, 1935.
52New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card 9847, Marriage, Maxfield-Dodge, 1872.
53New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card 15127, Death, Emma M. Maxfield, 1913.
54New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, certificate 10235, Death: Martha Thurber, 1901.
55New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, certificate 10219, Death: Hiram Thurber, 1928.
561880 Census, Lempster, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, ED 272, p. 336D, household 83, Hiram Thurber family; 1900 Census, Lempster, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, ED 250, p. 2B, household 182, Hiram Thurber family.
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.
Lowell Sun, Lowell, Massachusetts. 3, 9 September. 14, 15, 236 October, 12 November 1908. Newspaper Archive (http://newspaperarchive.com : accessed 2013-14).
Massachusetts Archives. "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910." Digital images. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2017.
Mill Village Cemetery, Goshen, Sullivan County, New Hampshire. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2021.
Mountain Democrat, Placerville, California. 24 August 1928.
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.
Old Centre Burial Ground, Winchendon, Worcester County, Massachusetts. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2018.
Robinson, Harriet H. Loom and Spindle, or, Life Among the Early Mill Girls (Kailua, Hawaii: Press Pacifica, 1976).
Sullivan County, [New Hampshire]. Probate Records. "New Hampshire, County Probate Records, 1660-1973." Digital images. Family Search. familysearch.org: 2014.
Sullivan County Registry of Deeds. "Land Records." Digital images. Sullivan County Registry of Deeds. nhdeeds.com/sullivan : 2012.
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.
________. Twelth Census of the United States: 1900, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
________. Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
________. Fourteenth Census of the United States: 1920, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
________. Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
Vermont State Archives and Records Administration. Vermont Births, Marriages and Deaths to 2008. Digital images. New England Historical and Genealogical Society. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 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.
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