RUFUS G.6 MAXFIELD (Eliphalet5, Nathaniel4, Eliphalet3, Nathaniel2, John1) was born at Union, Lincoln County, Maine, on 12 November 1808, a child of Eliphalet Maxfield and his wife Jane McCrillis,[1] and died at Grant, Herkimer County, New York, on 6 January 1884.[2] He married first at Exeter, Penobscot County, Maine on 1 January 1832 HANNAH BROWN of Dexter, Penobscot County.[3] She was born on 24 February 1812 and died on 16 May 1891.[4] They probably got divorced, asn Rufus married second before 1840 (birth of child) MEHITABLE BENNETT, who was born at Herkimer County on 6 August 1818 and died on 29 June 1868.[5]
Born at Union, Rufus moved with his family as an infant to Appleton, Lincoln County. When he was twenty-one his family moved to China, Kennebec County, Maine.
Rufus Maxfield moved to Herkimer County some time after the burial of a child at Exeter in 1837 and the 1840 Census. Rufus also appears to have left his wife behind, as he had a child by his second wife in New York in 1840.
Herkimer County contained the highest concentration of Maxfields in the state at this time. Most were descended from John and James Maxfield, apparent brothers, who migrated after the American Revolution from Dutchess County, New York, to the western edge of Montgomery County, New York, on the border of Herkimer County. Most of their children settled in Herkimer County. However I can find no connection between Rufus Maxfield and the other Maxfields of Herkimer County.
The 1840 Census reported the Rufus Maxfield family in the Town of Ohio, Herkimer County, consisting of a male aged 20-30 (Rufus 31), a female 20-30 (Mehitable 21), a male 15-20 and a female under 5.[6] These last two I cannot identify. If Julia, his daughter by his first marriage was still living, she would have been 8.
The 1850 Census reported the family at the Town of Ohio as follows:[7]
| Name | Age | Sex | Occupation | R.E. | Birthplace | Other |
| Rufus Maxfield | 38 | M | laborer | Me | ||
| Mehitable Maxfield | 32 | F | NY | |||
| Mary J. Maxfield | 10 | F | NY | school | ||
| Edgar Maxfield | 8 | M | NY | school | ||
| Rouse Maxfield | 3 | M | NY |
Thanks to Mary Ellen Morgan, who has shared with me information on the New York state censuses. The 1855 New York State Census for the Town of Russia, Herkimer County, New York:[8]
| Name | Age | Sex | Relation | Birthplace | marital stat. | Occupation |
| Maxfield, Rufus | 42 | M | husband | Me. | married | lumberman |
| Maxfield, Mehetible | 36 | F | wife | Herkimer | married | |
| Maxfield, Mary J. | 15 | F | daughter | Herkimer | ||
| Maxfield, Edger | 12 | M | son | Herkimer | ||
| Maxfield, Rouse | 8 | M | son | Herkimer |
The 1860 Federal Census for the Town of Russia follows:[9]
| Name | Age | Sex | Occupation | R.E. | P.E. | Birthplace |
| Rufus G. Maxfield | 48 | M | farmer | $1720 | $ 100 | Me |
| Mehetable Maxfield | 42 | F | NY | |||
| Duane Maxfield | 17 | M | NY | |||
| Rouse Maxfield | 13 | M | NY |
Duane in this record would appear to be the same person called Edgar in 1855. In his military records he is called David.
Both sons of Rufus and Mehetable served in the Civil War. The first son, called David here, enlisted in Company E, New York 97th Infantry Regiment on 7 October 1861. [10]According to an obituary of Rouse:[11]
| His brother was fatally wounded at the battle of Antietam and he ran away from home the day after the news of the death was received, and although but 15 years or age, enlisted in the same company, E, of the 97th New York Volunteers. He served in a number of engagements and at Gettysburg was wounded in the right arm and was taken prisoner. In 1882 he was forced to have this arm amputated. |
Rouse served from 2 October 1862 to 16 June 1865.[12]
Mehitable (Bennett) Maxfield died in 1868 at the age of forty-nine.
Elizabeth Wright's last reference to Rufus Maxfield was a letter to his brother Oren, dated 29 June 1868. Rufus was still in New York State, and mentioned three children, Rouse, Mary Jane, and David.[13] Rufus Maxfield was reported in the 1870 Census at Russia (Newport Post Office), a sawyer age 58.
In the 1875 state census and the 1880 Federal Census, Rufus was living with his daughter Mary, her husband Robert Hodge, and their children, in Russia. Rufus was still called a sawyer or lumberman.[14] In December 1879 Rufus was granted a pension as father of a deceased soldier, of $8.00 per month.[15]
Hannah (Brown) Maxfield was reported in the 1850 Census age 41, in the household of her apparent brother, Eben S. Brown, 31 and wife Sarah Brown 26.[16] In 1870 she continued in that household.[17]
In his will dated 26 May 1881. Rufus G. Maxfield left to his daughter Mary Jane Hodge $5.00 and the remainder to his son Rouse B. Maxfield.[18] Rufus died in 1884.
Rufus Maxfield and his first wife Hannah Brown had the following children: Rufus Maxfield and his second wife Mehitable Bennett had the following children:
1Elizabeth Wright, "John Maxfield of Salisbury, Massachusetts, 1652, and Some of His Descendants," The Nebraska and Midwest Genealogical Record (1928–1930): v. 7, p. 67.
2Barbara Andresen, "Rome Citizen Death Notices in 1884," New York GenWeb Project, information sharing site, 1999 (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nygenweb/ : accessed] 1 February 2014).
3Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, "Maine Marriages, 1771-1907," database, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 14 September 2012), Maxfield-Brown, 1832.
4Exeter Mills Cemetery, Exeter Mills, Exeter, Penobscot County, Maine, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 13 August 2017), Hannah & Samuel Maxfield; created by PMSmith, photo by Dale & Patti.
5Woodin Corners Cemetery, Russia, Herkimer County, New York, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 11 December 2012), Hetty Maxfield; Created and photo by: DBT.
6Sixth Census of the United States: 1840, population, Ohio, Herkimer County, New York, p. 83, Rufus Maxfield; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 26 September 2012); NARA microfilm publication M704, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
7Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population, Ohio, Herkimer County, New York, p. 277A, household 84, Rufus Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 11 October 2012); NARA microfilm record group M432, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
8New York State Census, 1855, population, Russia, Herkimer County, New York, enumeration district (ED) 2, p. 5, household 35, Rufus G. Maxfield family; digital images, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 12 September 2013).
9Eighth Census of the United States: 1860, population, Russia, Herkimer County, New York, p. 365, household 993, Rufus G. Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 11 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 15 July 2013), David Maxfield.
11"[Obituary]," database, Find a Grave (findagrave.com: accessed 14 December 2018), Rouse B. Maxfield (Rome Daily Sentinel, Friday Evening, January 30, 1914); Created by: DBT.
12"U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865," Rouse B. Maxfield.
13Wright, "John Maxfield of Salisbury, Massachusetts, 1652, and Some of His Descendants," v. 7, p. 67.
14Mary Ellen Morgan to Charles A. Maxfield, electronic mail, 6 November 2000, "Maxfield Genealogy," privately held by Maxfield, Lansdale, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Transcription of 1875 census record. Tenth Census of the United States: 1880, population, Russia, Herkimer County, New York, enumeration district (ED) 36, p. 342C, household 32, Rufus Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 15 March 2013); NARA microfilm publication T9, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
15Nabinger, "Pensioners of Herkimer County, N.Y., On the Roll on January 1, 1883," New York GenWeb Project, 10 November 2000.
161850 Census, Exeter, Penobscot County., Maine, roll 265, p. 118B, household 45, Eben Brown family.
171870 Census, Exeter, Penobscot County, Maine, roll 553, p. 506B, household 40, Eben Brown family.
18Herkimer County, New York, New York Probate Records, 1629-1971. Herkimer County, Wills V:404-406 Rufus G. Maxfield; digital images, Family Search (familysearch.org: accessed 10 January 2012).
19Genealogical Society of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah, "Maine Births and Christenings, 1739-1900," database, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 22 October 2012), Julia Mariah Maxfield, 1831
20"Maine Births and Christenings, 1739-1900," Samuel Maxfield, 1835.
21Exeter Mills Cemetery, Exeter Mills, Hannah & Samuel Maxfield; created by PMSmith, photo by Dale & Patti.
22Morgan to Charles A. Maxfield, electronic mail, 6 November 2000. Transcription of Death Record.
231880 Census, Russia, Herkimer County, New York, ED 36, p. 342C, household 32, Rufus Maxfield family.
24Ibid.
251850 Census, Ohio, Herkimer County, New York, p. 277A, household 84, Rufus Maxfield family.
26"U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865," David Maxfield.
Exeter Mills Cemetery, Exeter Mills, Exeter, Penobscot County, Maine. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2017.
Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. "Maine Births and Christenings, 1739-1900." Database. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2012.
________. "Maine Marriages, 1771-1907." Database. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2012.
Herkimer County, New York. New York, Probate Records, 1629-1971: Herkimer County. Digital images. Family Search. familysearch.org: 2012.
Historical Data Systems, comp. "U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865." Database. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
Morgan, Mary Ellen. "Maxfield Genealogy." Electronic mail, to Charles A. Maxfield. 6 November 2000. Privately held by Maxfield, Lansdale, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
New York County Offices. New York State Census, 1855, population. Digital images. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2013.
New York GenWeb Project. Information sharing site. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nygenweb/.
"[Obituary]." Rouse B. Maxfield. Database. Find a Grave. findagrave.com: 2018.
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.
________. Tenth Census of the United States: 1880, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2013.
Woodin Corners Cemetery, Russia, Herkimer County, New York. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2012.
Wright, Elizabeth. "John Maxfield of Salisbury, Massachusetts, 1652, and Some of His Descendants." The Nebraska and Midwest Genealogical Record (1928–1930): 6:52-56; 7:20-24, 42-47, 61-71, 87-96; 8:15-22.
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