EDMUND6 MAXFIELD (Zadock5, Edmund4, Timothy3-2, John1) was born at Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, on 10 November 1806, son of Zadock Maxfield (son of Edmund) and Susanna Soule his wife.[1] He married at New Bedford, Bristol County, on 4 January 1838 CATHERINE F. CLARK, a daughter of William and Sarah Clark.[2] She was born at New Bedford on 8 June 1819 and died there on 29 September 1898.[3]
The eighth of eleven children, Edmund was about fifteen years old when his father died. Seth Russell was appointed his guardian at that time.[4]
Edmund was called "Captain" in a child's birth record in 1841; "master mariner" in 1844; "mariner" in 1846 and 1849, "sailor" in the 1850 Census, "master mariner" again in the 1860 Census, and "merchant" on his 1876 death record. He clearly received his livelihood from the whaling industry so strong in New Bedford at that time. From 16 October 1841 to 1 September 1843 he was Captain of the Lagoda on a whaling tour of the Atlantic Ocean.[5] The New Bedford Whaling Museum contains a half-size replica of the Lagoda. The Edmund Maxfield family lived at 207 Purchase Street, New Bedford.
The Edmund Maxfield family was reported in New Bedford in the 1840 Census with the parents and their first child in their correct age groups, and also a female age 15-19.[6]
In the decade of the 1840s son Henry died (1840), son Edmund was born (1841), a second son Henry was born (1844), Catherine was born and died (1846-1849), and daughter Mary was born. The 1850 Census reported the family, with the three living of their first five children, at New Bedford:[7]
| Name | Age | Sex | Occupation | R.E. | Birthplace | Other |
| Edmund Maxfield | 40 | M | sailor | $4600 | Mass | |
| Catharine Maxfield | 27 | F | Mass | |||
| Edmund Maxfield | 9 | M | Mass | school | ||
| Henry Maxfield | 7 | M | Mass | school | ||
| Mary E. Maxfield | 5/12 | F | Mass | |||
| Margaret Grace | 22 | F | Ireland |
Another daughter, Annie, was born soon after the 1850 Census, the second Henry died in 1851, and there is no further mention of Mary. The 1855 state census reported a family with only two of their six children living. It reported the family at New Bedford, consisting of Edmund, 48, mariner, Cathrine, 35, Edmund, 13, and Ann, 5.[8]
A seventh child, Ida, was born in 1860, in time for the census, which reported the following:[9]
| Name | Age | Sex | Occupation | R.E. | P.E. | Birthplace | |
| Edmund Maxfield | 54[?illeg] | M | master mariner | $2800 | $14,100 | Mass | |
| Catherine F. Maxfield | F | Mass | |||||
| Edmund F. Maxfield | 19 | M | machinist | Mass | |||
| Anna C. Maxfield | 10 | F | Mass | school | |||
| Ida E. Maxfield | 7/12 | F | Mass | ||||
| Elizabeth Allen | 29 | F | domestic | Ireland |
Son Edmund (called Edward F. on the record) enlisted in the U. S. Navy during the Civil War. He was a commissioned officer, serving from 2 October 1862 to 15 January 1864.[10]
The 1865 state census reported the Edmund and Catharine family at New Bedford with their three surviving children. The family consisted of Edmund, 55, merchant, Catherine, 43, Edmund F., 23, engineer, Annie C., 15, and Ida E., 5. The household also included domestic servant, Anna Green, 22, born in the Western Isles[11] (that is, the Azores).
The 1870 Census reported Edmund and Ida still at home with their parents. Edmund Senior was credited with a personal estate of $75,000 and real estate of $7000. Edmund Junior was engineer of a steamer.[12]
Captain Edmund H. Maxfield died at New Bedford on 3 August 1876, from "softening of brain."[13]
Widow Catherine Maxfield was reported in New Bedford in the 1880 Census, living with son Edmund, called an engineer, daughter Ida, and sister Adeline Davis.[14]
Widow Catharine Maxfield died at 81 State Street, New Bedford, on 29 September 1898, from debility with valvular disease of the heart.[15]
The 1900 Census reported son Edmund living with his sister Ida and her husband:[16]
| Line | Name | Related | Race | Sex | Born | MS | B | FB | MB | Occupation |
| 20. | Maxfield, Edmund F. | head | W | M | May 1841 | S | MA | MA | MA | capitalist |
| 21. | Macomber, Ida E. | sister | W | F | Jan 1961 | M | MA | MA | MA | |
| 22. | Macomber, Catherine M. | niece | W | F | Dec 1882 | S | MA | MA | MA | at school |
| 23. | Macomber, William H. M. | brother-in-law | W | M | Jan 1860 | M | MA | MA | MA | traveling salesman |
| 24. | Meehan, Agnes B. | servant | W | F | Feb 1873 | S | Ireland | Ireland | Ireland | servant |
The 1910 Census reported Edmund F. Maxfield, 68, single, retired, at New Bedford, with a housekeeper, Nancy Hathaway, 76.[17] He died in 1918 from chronic interstitial nephritis, also angina.[18]
Edmund and Catherine Maxfield had the following children:
1Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts: to the Year 1850 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1929,1929,1930), v. 1, p. 157.
2Vital Records of New Bedford, Massachusetts: to the Year 1850 (Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1932. 1932, 1941), v. 2, p. 365.
3Oak Grove Cemetery, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 24 January 2023), Catharine F. Maxfield; Created and photo by: Carol L.; Massachusetts Archives, "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," digital images, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 12 September 2017), vol. 481, p. 313, e. 924, New Bedford Deaths, 1898, Catherine F. Maxfield.
4Bristol County, Massachusetts, Probate Records, 59:243-44; Court House, Taunton, Massachusetts.
5"Whaling Archives," database, New Bedford Free Public Library, City of New Bedford, Massachusetts (https://www.newbedford-ma.gov/Library/Whaling/Whaling.html : accessed 20 January 2014)
6Sixth Census of the United States: 1840, population, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, roll 178, p. 431, Edmund Maxfield; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 25 September 2012); NARA microfilm publication M704, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
7Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, roll 309, p. 337A, household 2031, Edmund Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2 October 2012); NARA microfilm record group M432, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
8Massachusetts, Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1855 Massachusetts State Census, population, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, v. 6, p. 117, household 363, Edmund Maxfield family; digital images, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 5 April 2018); Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, Massachusetts.
9Eighth Census of the United States: 1860, population, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, roll 490, p. 490, household 311, Edmund Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2 November 2012); NARA microfilm record group M653; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
10Historical Data Systems, comp., "U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865," database, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 16 July 2013).
11Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1865 Massachusetts State Census, population, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, v. 6, p. 79, household 158, Edmund Maxfield family; digital images, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 16 August 2013); Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, Massachusetts.
12Ninth Census of the United States: 1870, population, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, roll 605, p. 97A, household 774, Edmund Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 4 February 2013); NARA microfilm record group M593; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
13"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 283, p. 123, e. 62, New Bedford Deaths, 1876, Edmund H. Maxfield.
14Tenth Census of the United States: 1880, population, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, enumeration district (ED) 108, roll 525, p. 79D, household 294, Catherine F. Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 8 March 2013); NARA microfilm publication T9, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
15"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 481, p. 313, e. 924, New Bedford Deaths, 1898, Catherine F. Maxfield.
16Twelth Census of the United States: 1900, population, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, enumeration district (ED) 184, roll 637, p. 2, household 36, Edmund F. Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 12 April 2013); NARA microfilm group T623; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
17Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910, population, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, enumeration district (ED) 193, p. 3B, household 80, Edwin Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2 October 2013); NARA group T624, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
18Massachusetts, Commonwealth of, Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1916-1920," digital images, American Ancestors (american ancestors.org : accessed 20 January 2023), 1918 Deaths, v. 80, p. 203; Edmund F. Maxfield.
19Vital Records of New Bedford, Massachusetts, v. 3, p. 114.
20Vital Records of New Bedford, Massachusetts, v. 1, p. 323.
21"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1916-1920," 1918 Deaths, v. 80, p. 203; Edmund F. Maxfield.
22"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 10, p. 72; New Bedford Births 1844-5; Henry C. Maxfield.
23"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 57, p. 73, e. 193, New Bedford Deaths, 1851, Henry F. Maxfield.
24"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 22, p. 78, New Bedford Births 1846, Catherine Maxfield.
25"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 39, p. 109, e. 368, New Bedford Deaths, 1848-9, Catherine F. Maxfield.
26"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 34, p. 170, e. 690, New Bedford Births, 1848-9, (female) Maxfield.
27"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 199, p. 127, e. 268, New Bedford Marriages, 1867; Ames-Maxfield.
28James Cutler Howard, Howard Genealogy: a genealogical record embracing all the known descendants in this country, of Thomas and Susanna Howard, who have borne the family name or have married into the family (Hartford, Connecticut: 1884), 47; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 13 August 2013.
29"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 132, p. 123, e. 33, New Bedford Births, 1860, Ida Maxfield.
30"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 325, p. 147, e. 255, New Bedford Marriages, 1881; Macomber-Maxfield.
311900 Census, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, ED 184, roll 637, p. 2, household 36, Edmund F. Maxfield family.
Bristol County, Massachusetts, Probate Records. Court House, Taunton, Massachusetts.
Historical Data Systems, comp. "U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865." Database. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
Howard, James Cutler. Howard Genealogy: a genealogical record embracing all the known descendants in this country, of Thomas and Susanna Howard, who have borne the family name or have married into the family. Hartford, Connecticut: 1884. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
Massachusetts Archives. "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910." Digital images. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2017.
Massachusetts, Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1855 Massachusetts State Census, population. Digital images. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2018.
________. 1865 Massachusetts State Census, population. Digital images. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2013.
________. "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1916-1920." Digital images. American Ancestors. american ancestors.org : 2023.
Oak Grove Cemetery, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2023.
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.
Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts: to the Year 1850. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1929,1929,1930.
Vital Records of New Bedford, Massachusetts: to the Year 1850. Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1932. 1932, 1941.
"Whaling Archives." Database. New Bedford Free Public Library. City of New Bedford, Massachusetts. https://www.newbedford-ma.gov/Library/Whaling/Whaling.html : 2014.
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