COLLINS SMITH6 MAXFIELD (Abraham5, Edmund4, Timothy3-2, John1) was born at Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, on 26 May 1815 to Abraham Russell Maxfield and his wife Sylvia Tucker.[1] He died there on 31 August 1859.[2] He married first at Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island on 27 November 1849 ANN ELIZA WEAVER.[3] She was born at New Bedford, Bristol County, about 1829, a daughter of John and Hannah D. Weaver. She died at Dartmouth on 19 June 1850.[4] Collins married second at New Bedford on 12 May 1853 SOPHRONIE MERRY,[5] who was born at Tisbury, Dukes County, Massachusetts, between 13 March and 28 July 1825, a dughter of William and Harriet Merry;[6] she died at Dartmouth on 23 July 1859.[7]
Collins grew up in Dartmouth, the sixth of eight children. He was reported in the 1840 Census a household of one in Dartmouth, engaged in agriculture.[8]
When Collins was 34 and Ann Eliza 20 they married at Providence. About seven months after their marriage Ann Eliza died from bilious fever.[9]
The 1850 Census reported Collins S. Maxfield, 34, farming at Dartmouth. With him were his siblings, Sarah T. Maxfield, 40, Basheba W. B. Maxfield, 29, and Benjamin F. Maxfield, 42.[10]
Three years later Collins married again; he was 37, Sophronie was 28. Their short marriage produced two children. Six years after marriage, Sophronie died from consumption.[11] About five weeks later Collins died from an abscess.[12]
What would happen with their children, Walter and William, aged 5 and 3, who lost both their parents abruptly? The 1860 Census reported them in the household of their unmarried aunt and uncle, Benjamin and Sarah, at Dartmouth (North Dartmouth Post Office). Benjamin, 54, was a farmer; his sister Sarah Maxfield was 51, Walter was 5, William 3. Also in the household were two cousins who had also been orphaned, Mary Russell, 10, and Anne Russell, 8. In a separate residence at the same location was Benjamin's unmarried aunt, Abigail Maxfield.[13] So three unmarried adults became the caretakers of four children.
According to the 1865 state census, Walter continued to live with his uncle and aunt Benjamin and Sarah, along with his two Russell cousins.[14] William had been placed with another uncle, William, and his wife Susan. The older William was a mariner; he and Susan had no children.[15] So both boys were in the care of childless aunts and uncles. The same living arrangements prevailed in 1870.[16]
William married in 1880, but continued to live with his uncle William. Their household in Dartmouth consisted of his uncle William, 65, farmer, Susan, 56, William, 24, farm laborer, and his wife Laura, 18.[17] Meanwhile Walter and his Russell cousins had moved to 33 Cedar Street, New Bedford, where they were reported as follows:[18]
| Line | Name | Race | Sex | Age | Related | MS | Occupation | B | FB | MB |
| 44. | Russell, Annie | W | F | 28 | S | keeps housed | MA | MA | MA | |
| 45. | Maxfield, Walter | W | M | 25 | cousin | S | bookkeeper | MA | MA | MA |
| 46. | Stickney, Mary J. | W | F | 30 | sister | M | at sea | MA | MA | MA |
| 47. | Stickney, Almon | W | M | 31 | brother-in-law | M | whaling captain | VT | VT | VT |
| 48. | Swift, Horace W. | W | M | 23 | boarder | S | maxhinist | MA | MA | MA |
Walter never married. The 1900 Census reported him at 15 Water Street, New Bedford, with one boarder; he was working as a cook in a restaurant.[19] In 1910 he was one of six lodgers at 263 Acushnet Avenue, New Bedford, and was described as a farmer.[20] In 1920, at the age of 63, he was a roomer in the home of Mabel Andrews, 428 Purchase Street, New Bedford; he was a salesman for a cement company.[21] Walter died in 1929 at the age of 75.
Collins Smith Maxfield and his second wife Sophronie Merry 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.
2Jay and Delene Holbrook eds., "Massachusetts Vital and Town Records," digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 22 March 2012), Dartmouth: Deaths, Collins Maxfield; Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts.
3"Marriage Records in the New Bedford Mercury, 1845-1874," p. 787, New Bedford Free Public Library, New Bedford, Massachusetts.
4Massachusetts Archives, "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," digital images, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 12 September 2017), vol. 48, p. 67, e. 106, New Bedford Deaths 1850, Ann Eliza Maxfield.
5"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 69, p. 124, e. 136; New Bedford Marriages 1853; Maxfield-Merry.
6based on age on marriage and death records
7Jay and Delene Holbrook eds., "Massachusetts Vital and Town Records," digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 22 March 2012), Dartmouth: Deaths, Sophronie Maxfield, Deaths, v. 1, p. 29, e. 7; Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts.
8Sixth Census of the United States: 1840, population, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, roll 178, p. 327, Collins S. Maxfield; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 25 September 2012); NARA microfilm publication M704, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
9"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 48, p. 67, e. 106, New Bedford Deaths 1850, Ann Eliza Maxfield.
10Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, roll 309, p. 440B, household 596, Collins S. Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2 October 2012); NARA microfilm record group M432, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
11Holbrook eds., "Massachusetts Vital and Town Records," Dartmouth: Deaths, Sophronie Maxfield, Deaths, v. 1, p. 29, e. 7.
12Holbrook, "Massachusetts Vital and Town Records," Dartmouth: Deaths, Collins Maxfield.
13Eighth Census of the United States: 1860, population, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, roll 492, p. 868, household 2412, Benjamin T. Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2 November 2012); NARA microfilm record group M653; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
14Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1865 Massachusetts State Census, population, Dartmouth, Bristol Co., MA, vol 5, p. 135, dwelling 575, household 608, Benjamin T. Maxfield household; digital images, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 15 August 2013); Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, Massachusetts.
151865 Massachusetts State Census, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, v. 5, p. 135, household 610, William M. Maxfield family.
16Ninth Census of the United States: 1870, population, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, roll 603, p. 117A, household 88, Benjamin T. Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 4 February 2013); NARA microfilm record group M593; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration; and Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, roll 603, p. 119B, household 131, William M. Maxfield family.
17Tenth Census of the United States: 1880, population, Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, enumeration district (ED) 79, roll 523, p. 393D, household 169, William Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 8 March 2013); NARA microfilm publication T9, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
181880 Census, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, ED 113, roll 525, p. 192C, household 258, Annie Russell family.
19Twelth Census of the United States: 1900, population, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, enumeration district (ED) 188, p. [1]3B, household 354, Walter Maxfield household; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 12 April 2013); NARA microfilm group T623; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
20Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910, population, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, enumeration district (ED) 204, p. 7B, household 157, Hannah F. Smith lodging house; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2 October 2013); NARA group T624, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
21Fourteenth Census of the United States: 1920, population, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, enumeration district (ED) 147, p. 23B, household 500, Mabel L. Andrews household; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 11 December 2013); NARA microfilm record group T625, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
22"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 81, p. 79, e. 74, Dartmouth Births, 1854, Walter S. T. Maxfield.
23Rural Cemetery, 149 Dartmouth Street, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts. Spruce-334, Walter S. Maxfield,
Holbrook, Jay and Delene eds. "Massachusetts Vital and Town Records." Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2012.
"Marriage Records in the New Bedford Mercury, 1845-1874." New Bedford Free Public Library, New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Massachusetts Archives. "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910." Digital images. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2017.
Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1865 Massachusetts State Census, population. Digital images. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2013.
Rural Cemetery (149 Dartmouth Street, New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts). Grave marker data.
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.
Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts: to the Year 1850. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1929,1929,1930.
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