RUFUS6 MAXFIELD (Stephen5, Nathaniel4, Eliphalet3, Nathaniel2, John1) was born at Loudon, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, on 25 June 1808. His parents were Stephen Maxfield and his wife Hannah Moody.[1] He died at Loudon on 16 April 1891.[2] He married at Lowell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, on 5 September 1837 IRENE JOHNSON, the daughter of Obadiah Johnson and Sarah Perry.[3] She was born at Groton, Grafton County, New Hampshire, on 17 November 1814, and died at Loudon on 18 February 1889.[4]
The fifth of five children, Rufus Maxfield grew up in Loudon. He moved around a few times, but ended up back in Loudon, which after 1823 was in Merrimack County, New Hampshire.
According to their marriage record, both Rufus and Irene were residents of the textile mill town of Lowell. Soon after marriage, they moved to Mansfield, Lamoille County, Vermont, to farm, where they were reported in the 1840 Census, a family of a male in his 30s (Rufus 32), a female in her 20s (Irene 25), and a male child under 5 (Alfred 1).[5] Alfred was born in nearby Stowe, Lamoille County, in 1838. Another child, Sarah, was also born at Stowe in 1841, and died there in 1845. The family had returned to Loudon by the time of birth of their third, Rufus Percy in 1849.
At the time of the 1850 Census the Rufus Maxfield family was located at another mill town, Manchester, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, as follows:[6]
| Name | Age | Sex | Occupation | R.E. | Birthplace | Other |
| Rufus Maxfield | 40 | M | laborer | $300 | NH | |
| Irena Maxfield | 33 | F | NH | |||
| Alfred W. Maxfield | 11 | M | Vt | school | ||
| Rufus P. Maxfield | 7/12 | M | NH | |||
| Sarah Johnson | 72 | F | Mass |
Sarah Johnson was probably Rufus Maxfield's mother-in-law.
Their fourth child, Chauncey, was born in 1855 at Manchester and died there four months later. By the time of the 1860 Census the family was at Loudon, where they would stay. The family consisted of Rufus, 50, farmer, Irene, 45, Sarah Johnson, 82, and Rufus P. Maxfield, 10, at school.[7] Alfred, 21, was reported a farm laborer in the household of Joseph and Sarah Sanborn, at Loudon.[8]
Alfred W. Maxfield fought in the Civil War, but did not survive. He enlisted in Company F, New Hampshire 12th Infantry Regimant, on 14 August 1862, and died at Chancellorsville, Spotslvania County, Virginia, on 3 May 1863.[9] So of their four children, one died in infancy, one in childhood, and one in battle; only Rufus P. survived.
Rufus Maxfield, age 60, was a farmer in Loudon in the 1870 Census. He had real estate of $1600 and a personal estate of $500. The family included wife Irene, age 55, son Rufus P. Maxfield, age 20, working on the farm, and Sarah Johnson, reported as 22[?] years of age.[10]
The younger Rufus married in the mid 1870s. The 1880 Census reported the family in Loudon as follows:[11]
| Name | Related | MS | Sex | Race | Age | B | Occupation | FB | MB |
| Rufus Maxfield | self | M | M | W | 70 | NH | farmer | NH | NH |
| Irena Maxfield | wife | M | F | W | 65 | MA | keeping house | MA | MA |
| Rufus P. Maxfield | son | M | M | W | 30 | NH | farmer | NH | MA |
| Sarah O. C. Maxfield | daughter-in-law | M | F | W | 31 | NH | keeping house | NH | NH |
Irene (Johnson) Maxfield died at Loudon in 1889 with apoplexy.[12] Rufus Maxfield died there two years later, also with apoplexy.[13]
Rufus and Irene Maxfield had the following children:
1French, Harry Dana. Descendants of John Maxfield of Salisbury, Mass., New Hampshire Historical Society Library, Concord, New Hampshire, about 1952.
2New Hampshire, State of, Division of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire, New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card 6185, Death, Rufus Maxfield, 1891; digital images, New England Historical and Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 25 January 2017).
3Vital Records of Lowell, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Salem, Massachusetts: Essex Institute, 1930), v. 3, p. 61.
4New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card 6186, Death, Mrs. Rufus Maxfield, 1889.
5Sixth Census of the United States: 1840, population, Mansfield, Lamoille County, Vermont, p. 79, Rufus Maxfield; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 27 September 2012); NARA microfilm publication M704, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
6Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population, Manchester, Hillsboro County, New Hampshire, roll 432, p. 77A, household 40, Rufus Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 9 October 2012); NARA microfilm record group M432, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
7Eighth Census of the United States: 1860, population, Loudon, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, roll 676, p. 87, household 668, Rufus Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 9 November 2012); NARA microfilm record group M653; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
81860 Census, Loudon, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, roll 676, p. 100, household 784, Joseph R. Sanborn family.
9Historical Data Systems, comp., "U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865," database, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 12 July 2013).
10Ninth Census of the United States: 1870, population, Loudon, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, roll 846, p. 383A, household 152, Rufus Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 8 February 2013); NARA microfilm record group M593; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
11Tenth Census of the United States: 1880, population, Loudon, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, enumeration district (ED) 184, roll 766, p. 370D, household 182, Rufus Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 13 March 2013); NARA microfilm publication T9, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
12New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card 6186, Death, Mrs. Rufus Maxfield, 1889.
13New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card 6185, Death, Rufus Maxfield, 1891.
14French, Harry Dana. Descendants of John Maxfield of Salisbury, Mass.
15Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, Vermont Births, Marriages and Deaths to 2008, index card 4408, Death, Sarah P. Maxfield, 1845; digital images, New England Historical and Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 29 June 2013).
16New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, index card 6142, Death, Chauncey Laurence Maxfield, 1855.
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.
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 : 2017.
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.
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.
Vital Records of Lowell, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849. Salem, Massachusetts: Essex Institute, 1930.
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