Descendants of John Maxfield
of Salisbury, Massachusetts
Sixth Generation

BENJAMIN⁶ MAXFIELD (James⁵, John⁴, Michael³ , John^2-1) was born at Chichester, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, on 11 June 1804,^[1] a son of James French Maxfield and his wife Rachel Blake. He died at Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, on 23 December 1878.^[2] He married first before 1829 MARY LANE.^[3] She was born at Chichester on 21 October 1796, a daughter of Abijah and Hannah (Wallace) Lane.^[4] She died at Salem on 11 July 1864.^[5] He married second, at Salem on 21 September 1865 MARY (McLAUGHLIN) MATHESON.^[6] She was born at Liverpool, Queens County, Nova Scotia, about 1813/4, a daughter of Alexander and Mary McLaughlin. She died at Salem on 8 February 1877.^[7]

Benjamin Maxfield grew up in Chichester, the second of eight children. His first wife, Mary Lane, who was almost always called "Polly" Lane, was also born in Chichester. I have not found a record of their marriage, but it was probably before the birth of their first child in 1829.

Benjamin and Polly had moved to Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, before the birth of their second child in January 1833. A daughter, age four, died in December of that year. The couple had two more children, a total of three that survived to adulthood. They lived in Salem the rest of their lives. Benjamin's occupation was described in census records as follows:^[8]

Salem entered the whaling industry in 1831. Whaling gave prosperity to Salem during the 1830s, lingered through the 1840s, and became unprofitable after the discovery of oil underground in Pennsylvania in 1859.^[9] Benjamin Maxfield evidently worked in the land side of this whale oil business during his young adult years.

The 1840 Census just reported the number of persons in the household in various age and sex categories. These can be explained with the known members of the family as follows:^[10]

In 1850 the household consisted of Benjamin, 46, Mary, 54, Joseph, 18, a shoemaker, Mary A. 15, Emily, 13, in school, and two apparently unrelated persons, Lucy M. Higgins, 22, and Mary D. Eldridge, 14.^[11] Son Joseph would marry Mary D. Eldridge in 1853, and daughter Mary Ann married in 1854. As a result, the 1855 Massachusetts state census reported a much smaller household, of Benjamin, 50, Polly, 58, and Emily A., 18.^[12] This continued to be the composition of the household in the 1860 Census, which reported Benjamin, 56, Mary, 63, and Emily A., 22, a shoe binder.^[13]

Polly (Lane) Maxfield died in 1864. The 1865 State Census reported Benjamin Maxfield, a household of one, age 56.^[14] The rest of the dwelling in which he lived was occupied by the large family of Henry and Sarah Luscomb, which included son Charles P. Luscomb, 25, mariner, who would, after Benjamin's death, marry Emily Maxfield. However I cannot find Emily in that census.

After fourteen months of widowerhood, Benjamin married Mary (McLauchlin) Matheson. However, the 1870 Census did not report them in the same household. Benjamin and daughter Emily were living with the family of Benjamin's sister, Rachel Kenney, as follows:^[15]

Mary Maxfield, 56, no occupation, born Nova Scotia, was also living in Salem, but at a different address, with Mary Ames, 89.^[16]

Mary (Mclachlan) Maxfield died from heart disease in 1877. She was married, age 66.^[17] Benjamin Maxfield, widower, died the following year, age 73 years and six months, also from heart disease,^[18]

Twenty-four days after his death, daughter Emily married Charles P. Luscomb at Salem.^[19]

Benjamin Maxfield and his first wife Mary "Polly" Lane had the following children:

1. MARY ANN⁷ MAXFIELD b. abt. 1829; d. at Salem bef. 24 December 1823 (date of Newspaper report of death), age 4 years.^[20]
2. JOSEPH H.⁷ MAXFIELD b. at Salem on January 1833.
3. MARY ANN⁷ MAXFIELD b. at Salem on 30 November 1834; d. at Salem on 3 September 1892;^[21] m. at Salem on 8 January 1854 WILLIAM B. MANSFIELD,^[22] b. at Salem on 16 November 1823, d. at Salem on 29 December 1878, child of John Mansfield and his wife Lucy Boden.^[23]
4. EMILY A.⁷ MAXFIELD b. at Salem on 13 April 1837; d. at Salem on 20 February 1897;^[24] m. at Salem on 16 January 1879 CHARLES P. LUSCOMB,^[25] b. at Salem abt 1838/9, d. after spouse, child of Henry and Sarah (Eastman) Luscomb.

¹New Hampshire, State of. Division of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire: Births to 1901, Deaths and Marriages to 1937. Benjamin Maxfield, 11 June 1804; digital images of index cards, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 4 October 2016).
²Massachusetts, Commonwealth of, Division of Vital Statistics, State House, Boston, MA, Deaths vol. 301: p. 272; l. 518, Benjamin Maxfield.
³Edmund J. Lane, "Descendants of William Lane," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 27 (1873): 180. Supported by other records.
⁴New Hampshire, State of. Division of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire: Births to 1901, Deaths and Marriages to 1937, 5065, Polly Lane.
⁵Massachusetts, Commonwealth of, Division of Vital Statistics, State House, Boston, MA, Deaths vol. 174: p. 263; l. 301. Polly Maxfield.
⁶Massachusetts, Commonwealth of, Division of Vital Statistics, State House, Boston, MA, Marriages vol. 180: p. 260, l. 185. Maxfield-Matheson.
⁷Massachusetts, Commonwealth of, Division of Vital Statistics, State House, Boston, MA, Deaths vol. 292: p. 264 l. 80. Mary Maxfield
⁸Sixth Census of the United States: 1840 , population, Salem Ward 1, Essex Co., MA, 182:250, B. Maxfield; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 25 September 2012); Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population, Salem Ward 3, Essex Co., MA, roll 312, p. 140B-141A, household 469, Benj. Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 30 January 2012); Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1855 Massachusetts State Census, population, Salem Ward 3, Essex Co., household 532, Benjamin Maxfield family; digital images, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 26 September 2011); Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, MA; Eighth Census of the United States: 1860, population, Salem Ward 5, Essex Co., MA, roll 497: p. 1147, household 4024, Benj Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2 November 2012); Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1865 Massachusetts State Census, population, Salem ward 5, Essex Co., MA, household 126, Benjamin Maxfield; digital images, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 16 August 2013); Ninth Census of the United States: 1870, population, Salem Ward 3, Essex Co., MA, roll 613; p. 553A, household 34, Benj. Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 4 February 2013).
⁹"Oil and Bone: Salem's Whaling Industry." Pickled Fish and Salted Provisions (The official newsletter of Salem Maritime National Historic Site, 160 Derby Street, Salem, MA 01970) vol 11, no. 2 (Summer 2010). National Park Service (www.nps.gov: accessed 5 October 2016).
¹⁰Sixth Census of the United States: 1840, Population, Salem Ward 1, Essex Co., MA, 182:250, , B. Maxfield.
¹¹Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, Population, Salem Ward 3, Essex Co., MA, roll 312, p. 140B-141A, household 469, Benj. Maxfield family.
¹²Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1855 Massachusetts State Census, Population, Salem Ward 3, Essex Co., household 532, Benjamin Maxfield family.
¹³Eighth Census of the United States: 1860, Population, Salem Ward 5, Essex Co., MA, roll 497: p. 1147, household 4024, Benj Maxfield family.
¹⁴Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1865 Massachusetts State Census, Population, Salem ward 5, Essex Co., MA, household 126, Benjamin Maxfield.
¹⁵Ninth Census of the United States: 1870, Population, Salem Ward 3, Essex Co., MA, roll 613; p. 553A, household 34, Benj. Maxfield family.
¹⁶Ninth Census of the United States: 1870, Population, Salem Ward 2, Essex Co., MA, roll 613, p. 534B, household 651, Mary Maxfield.
¹⁷Massachusetts, Commonwealth of, Division of Vital Statistics, State House, Boston, MA, Deaths vol. 292: p. 264 l. 80.
¹⁸Massachusetts, Commonwealth of, Division of Vital Statistics, State House, Boston, MA, Deaths vol. 301: p. 272; l. 518.
¹⁹Massachusetts, Commonwealth of, Division of Vital Statistics, State House, Boston, MA, Marriages vol. 307: p. 276; l. 10, Luscomb-Maxfield.
²⁰Vital Records of Salem, Massachusetts, to the Year 1849 (Salem, MA: Essex Institute, 1918), 6:62 Reference to Salem Chronicle.
²¹Massachusetts Archives, "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," digital images, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 4 October 2016), vol. 427, p. 500, l. 574; Mary A. Mansfield.
²²Massachusetts, Commonwealth of, Division of Vital Statistics, State House, Boston, MA, vol. 78: p. 231; l. 114, Mansfield-Maxfield.
²³"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," digital images, American Ancestors, vol. 301, p. 272, l. 529; William Mansfield
²⁴"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," digital images, American Ancestors, vol. 472, p. 597, l. 99; Emily Luscomb.
²⁵Massachusetts, Commonwealth of, Division of Vital Statistics, State House, Boston, MA, Marriages vol. 307: p. 276; l. 10.

Lane, Edmund J. "Descendants of William Lane." New England Historical and Genealogical Register 27 (1873): 176-81.

Massachusetts Archives. "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910." Digital images. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2016.

Massachusetts, Commonwealth of, Division of Vital Statistics, Boston. State House. Vital Records of Massachusetts. New Bedford Free Public Library, New Bedford, MA. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1855 Massachusetts State Census, population. Digital images. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2011.

________, 1865 Massachusetts State Census, population. Digital images. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2013.

New Hampshire, State of, Division of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire. New Hampshire: Births to 1901, Deaths and Marriages to 1937. Digital images of index cards. New England Historic Genealogical Society. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2016.

"Oil and Bone: Salem's Whaling Industry." Pickled Fish and Salted Provisions (The official newsletter of Salem Maritime National Historic Site, 160 Derby Street, Salem, MA 01970) vol 11, no. 2 (Summer 2010). (www.nps.gov: accessed 2016).

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

Vital Records of Salem, Massachusetts, to the Year 1849. Salem, MA: Essex Institute, 1918.