Descendants of John Maxfield
of Salisbury, Massachusetts
Sixth Generation

NATHAN⁶ MAXFIELD (Eliphalet⁵, David⁴, Eliphalet³, Nathaniel², John¹) was born at Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, about 1799, a child of Eliphalet Maxfield and his wife Polly.^[1] He died at Waterford, Oakland County, Michigan, on 1860.^[2] He married at North Hero, Grand Isle County, Vermont, on 24 January 1823 LUCINDA KNOWLTON,^[3] a child of Elijah Knowlton and Polly Hamlin, who was born at North Hero on 23 September 1803 and died at Potsdam, Saint Lawrence County, New York, on 25 September 1875.^[4] Nathan is often called Elnathan.

I do not have conclusive evidence linking Nathan to the person I beleive to be his father, Eliphalet Maxfield. But their is evidence that points clearly in that direction. The argument for that connection was presented to me in an email from Cathy Hollister:

I am confused also about the Eliphalets. My Eliphalet (who married ???). is listed as born in NH about 1774-5. He was a joiner who moved about in NY, CT, NH and VT. How did I link them? While checking my Elnathan, also a joiner/builder, I noticed that he and Eliphalet both lived in Clinton County, NY and North Hero, VT. Looking at the census for 1850 I found more matches. Nathan married Lucinda Knowlton of North Hero (daughter of Elijah Knowlton and Polly Hamlin) about 1822 and had about 8 children. She had three sisters (Polly Freeman, Lovina, and Charlotte Temple) who married Hazens from North Hero. They all remained in North Hero and had large families. By 1840 Nathan and Lucinda had moved to southern Clinton County and up the river to Saranac, Clinton Co. In 1850 they were in Franklin Falls. Their son Sylvanus enlisted in the Civil War from Dublin, NH. In his seventies, Eliphalet went to live with one of his Hazen sons-in-law. Nearby in the 1850 census is Polly Maxfield, 55 born in Mass., living with Charlotte Hazen (Lucinda's sister). Is Polly Eliphalet's wife?? (Source: Hazen Family in America, etc.)
I don't know what the evidence is for saying that Elnathan was born in CT. He was a joiner whose work caused him to travel as did his father. I found several Maxfield families in Connecticut but the details don't match. The Waterford, Oakland Co. MI family is my family. They must have tried it and not liked it. Even the grandchildren returned. Lucinda had TB and went to Pierrepont, NY. The Franklin Falls family did not go west. ^[5]

To understand these connections we need to look into the Hazen family. The following information is not from my research, but based on several entries in the Pedigree Resource File at familysearch.com. Joseph Hazen (b. 1741) married Olive Stoddard, and they migrated from Connecticut to Grand Isle, in what would become Vermont, where they raised ten children.

• Joseph, son of Joseph (b. 1741), had a son, Andes, who married Lavina Knowlton.
• Solomon, son of Joseph (b. 1741), had a son Jesse who married Polly Freeman Knowlton
• Andrew, son of Joseph (b. 1741), had a son Spellman who had a son Andrew.
• Daniel, son of Joseph (b. 1741), had a son Dexter married Charlotte Temple Knowlton.

In the 1850 census, Polly Maxfield was living with Charlotte (Knowlton) Hazen, a sister of Lucinda.
In the 1850 census Eliphalet Maxfield was living with Andrew Hazen, whose father, Spellman, was a cousin to the husbands of the other three Knowlton women.

This doesn't prove anything. But it strongly suggest a connection.

Some of Nathan's life was summarized in an article on his son Elijah, in a history of Saint Lawrence County, published in 1894.

[Elijah Maxfield was] a son of Elnathan, a contractor and builder, and a native of Hartford, Conn, who came to Vermont when a young man, where he married Lucinda Knowlton. Later he went to Michigan where he followed his trade until his death. He had ten children, four of whom are living . . . ^[6]

The 1830 Census reported the Nathan Maxfield family at North Hero. The household consisted of a male-female couple in their 30s, a boy and a girl between 5 and 10, and a boy under 5.^[7] The girl has not been identified; otherwise this corresponds with what we know of this family from other records.

Judging from the birth states of children, the family moved to New York State some time between 1835 and 1838. The 1840 Census reported the family at Plattsburg, Clinton County, New York. At that time the household consisted of a man in his 40s (Nathan), a woman in her 30s (Lucinda), a woman between 15 and 19 (not identified), two young men between 10 and 15 (Montravilla and Josephus), two boys and a girl between 5 and 10 (Samuel, Sophronia, Elnathan), and a boy and a girl under 5 (Sylvanus, Sarah Ann).^[8]

The 1850 Census reported the family at the Town of Franklin, Franklin County, New York, as follows:^[9]

The Census reported Sophronia Maxfield, age 16, at the town of Chataugay, Franklin County, in a large household headed by Thomas Persons.^[10]

In the decade of the 1850s Nathan and Lucinda, and some of their children migrated to Michigan. Nathan Maxfield died probably about 1860 or soon before. The 1860 Census reported Nathan - the son of Nathan and Lucinda - head of a household at Waterford as follows:^[11]

Nathan, Sarah, Susan and Elijah were all siblings, childen of Lucinda. Of the older children:

• Montraville Maxfield remained in the East. The 1860 Census found him at Parishville, Saint Lawrence County, with his wife and three children.^[12]
• Josephus Maxfield, shoemaker, was reported in 1860 at Waterford next to Nathan's family, with his wife and two children.^[13]
• Charlotte (Maxfield) Merrill was also at Waterford with her husband and one child.^[14]
• Samuel Maxfield in 1860 resided at Pierrepont, Saint Lawrence County, with his wife and a two-month old baby.^[15]
• Sylvanus Maxfield, 21 and unmarried, worked as a carpenter and joiner and lived at Franklin.^[16]

The 1870 Census found Lucinda Maxfield, age 66, an invalid, living at Pierrepont (Ellsworth Post Office) in the household of Timothy and Sally Shurtleff.^[17]

Daughter Sarah Ann Maxfield never married. The 1870 Census reported her at Lawrence, Essex County, Massachusaetts, age 30, living in a boarding house and working in a textile mill.^[18] In 1880 she was at Lawrence, living in a boarding house; other boarders included her sister Susan Olmstead, 35, and niece, Bertha Olmstead, 6. Sarah was a housekeeper.^[19] The 1900 Census found Sarah, Susan and Bertha in a household at Lawrence, headed by Susan, a nurse; Sarah was housekeeper.^[20] In 1910 Sarah was at Potsdam with her brother Elijah.^[21] She died at Middleboro, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, in 1915, from a fracture of the hip, when she stumbled getting out of bed (see below).

Nathan Maxfield and his wife Lucinda Knowlton had the following children:

1. MONTRAVILLA⁷ MAXFIELD b. at Vermont about 1823-4
2. JOSEPHUS W.⁷ MAXFIELD b. at Vermont on 1828
3. CHARLOTTE⁷ MAXFIELD b. at Vermont about 1830-1; m. REUBEN H. MERRILL b. at New York about 1831-2. Child of Charlotte and Reuben:
   1. Charlie Merrill b. at Michigan about 1855-6.^[22]
4. SAMUEL⁷ MAXFIELD b. at North Hero on June 1833
5. SOPHRONIA⁷ MAXFIELD b. at Vermont on 1834, d. on 1910; m(1). WILLIAM HATCH b. on 1831, d. on 1897;^[23] Sophronia m(2). at Chateaugay, Franklin County, on 4 October 1902 HENRY HAWKINS McBRIDE.^[24]
6. ELNATHAN⁷ MAXFIELD "Nathan the shoemaker" b. at Vermont about 1835,^[25] living at Waterford on 1860 (census).
7. SYLVANUS⁷ MAXFIELD b. at Franklin County about 18378
8. MARGARET⁷ MAXFIELD b. about 1839-40.^[26]
9. SARAH ANN⁷ MAXFIELD b. at Saranac Lake, Franklin County, on 7 May 1840, d. at Middleboro on 17 September 1915^[27] (See Death record below).
10. SUSAN⁷ MAXFIELD b. at Plattsburg on 3 April 1844, d. at Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, on 9 July 1900;^[28] m. MELANCTHON OLMSTEAD b. at New York about 1846-7.^[29] Children of Susan and Melancthon:^[30]
    1. Ernest Olmstead b. at new York about 1868-9.
    2. Bertha Olmstead b. at Canada on June 1874.
11. ELIJAH KNOWLTON⁷ MAXFIELD b. at Saranac, Clinton County, on 8 April 1848

Death Certificate of Sarah Ann Maxfield
Massachuestts Vital Records

¹Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population, Franklin, Franklin County, New York, p. 90A, household 121, Nathan Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 30 May 2012); NARA microfilm record group M432, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
²"Reeves Family Tree", database, rebekkahr1, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 4 January 2014); undocumented and unnamed family tree submitted by Rebekkah L. Reeves.
³Ibid.
⁴Bayside Cemetery, Potsdam, Saint Lawrence County, New York, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 17 December 2018), Lucy Maxfield; Created and photo by: Derek Maxfield.
⁵Cathy Hollister to Charles A. Maxfield, electronic mail. 13 March 2004.
⁶Gates Curtis, ed., Our County and Its People: A Memorial Record of St. Lawrence County, New York (Syracuse New York: D. Mason & Co., 1894; reprint, Salem, Massachusetts: Higginson Book Co.), v. 3, pp. 237-38.
⁷Fifth Census of the United States: 1830, population, North Hero, Grand Isle County, Vermont, p. 13, Nathan Maxfield; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 22 September 2012); NARA microfilm publication M19, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
⁸Sixth Census of the United States: 1840, population, Plattsburg, Clinton County, New York, p. 178, Nathan Maxfield; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 25 September 2012); NARA microfilm publication M704, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
⁹1850 Census, Franklin, Franklin County, New York, p. 90A, household 121, Nathan Maxfield family.
¹⁰1850 Census, Chateaugay, Franklin County, New York, p. 162A, household 870, Thomas Persons family.
¹¹Eighth Census of the United States: 1860, population, Waterford, Oakland County, Michigan, p. 381, household 1278, Nathan Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 30 May 2012); NARA microfilm record group M653; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
¹²1860 Census, Parishville, Saint Lawrence County, New York, p. 926, household 1269, Montraville Maxfield family.
¹³1860 Census, Waterford, Oakland County, Michigan, p. 381, household 1277, Josephus W. Maxfield family.
¹⁴1860 Census, Waterford, Oakland County, Michigan, p. 381, household 1276, Reuben H. Merrill family.
¹⁵1860 Census, Pierrepont, Saint Lawrence County, New York, p. 484, household 381, Samuel Maxfield family.
¹⁶1860 Census, Franklin, Franklin County, New York, roll 754, p. 782, household 2493, Thos. Ryan family.
¹⁷Ninth Census of the United States: 1870, population, Pierrepont, Saint Lawrence County, New York, p. 52A, household 379, Timothy Shurtleff family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 8 February 2013); NARA microfilm record group M593; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
¹⁸1870 Census, Lawrence, Essex County, Massachusetts, roll 609, p. 137A, household 5, Abby Manning family.
¹⁹Tenth Census of the United States: 1880, population, Lawrence, Essex County, Massachusetts, enumeration district (ED) 194, roll 530, p. 358D, household 160, Herbert Damon boarding house; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 7 March 2013); NARA microfilm publication T9, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
²⁰Twelth Census of the United States: 1900, population, Lawrence, Essex County, Massachusetts, enumeration district (ED) 323, roll 642, p. 6, household 143, Susan Olmstead family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 12 April 2013); NARA microfilm group T623; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
²¹Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910, population, Potsdam, Saint Lawrence County, New York, enumeration district (ED) 173, p. 9A, household 235, E. K. Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 16 October 2013); NARA group T624, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
²²1860 Census, Waterford, Oakland County, Michigan, p. 381, household 1276, Reuben H. Merrill family.
²³Moira Community Cemetery, Moira, Franklin County, New York, "Northern New York Tombstone Transcription Project," database, RootsWeb (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ : accessed 3 October 2011), William-Sophronia Hatch.
²⁴New York State Department of Health; Albany, New York, "New York State, Marriage Index, 1881-1967," database, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 2 March 2018), McBride-Maxfield, 1902, p. 589, # 19463.
²⁵Cynthia Herrin, "Oakland County, Michigan Vital Records, 1800-1917," database on-line, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 4 January 2014), Birth: Nathan.
²⁶1850 Census, Plattsburg, Clinton County, New York, p. 257A, household 149, Wm. Thompson family.
²⁷Massachusetts, Commonwealth of, Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, "Massachusetts Vital Records, 1911-1915," American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 19 January 2023), 1915 Deaths v. 52, p. 333; Sarah Ann Maxfield.
²⁸Massachusetts Archives, "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," digital images, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 20 January 2023), v. 504, p. 553, e. 771; Susan M. Olmstead.
²⁹1870 Census, Potsdam, Saint Lawrence County, New York, p. 98A, household 415, Samuel Maxfield family.
³⁰1870 Census, Potsdam, Saint Lawrence County, New York, p. 98A, household 415, Samuel Maxfield family; 1900 Census, Lawrence, Essex County, Massachusetts, ED 323, roll 642, p. 6, household 143, Susan Olmstead family.

Bayside Cemetery, Potsdam, Saint Lawrence County, New York. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2018.

Curtis, Gates, ed. Our County and Its People: A Memorial Record of St. Lawrence County, New York. Syracuse New Yprk: D. Mason & Co., 1894; reprint, Salem, Massachusetts: Higginson Book Co.

Herrin, Cynthia. "Oakland County, Michigan Vital Records, 1800-1917." Database on-line. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2014.

Hollister, Cathy, to Charles A. Maxfield. Electronic Mail, 13 March 2004.

Massachusetts Archives. "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910." Digital images. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2023.

Massachusetts, Commonwealth of, Registry of Vital Records and Statistics. "Massachusetts Vital Records, 1911-1915." American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2023.

Moira Community Cemetery, Moira, Franklin County, New York. "Northern New York Tombstone Transcription Project." Database. RootsWeb. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ : 2011.

New York State Department of Health; Albany, New York. "New York State, Marriage Index, 1881-1967." Database. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2018.

Reeves, Rebekkah L. "Reeves Family Tree." Database. rebekkahr1. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2014.

United States Department of the Census. Fifth Census of the United States: 1830, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2012.

________. 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.