THOMAS6 MAXFIELD (Jacob5, Eliphalet4-3, Nathaniel2, John1) was born at Sandwich, Strafford County, New Hampshire on 21 September 1820, probably a child of Jacob Maxfield and his wife Rachel Griffin. He died at Guilford, Piscataquis County, Maine, on 24 February 1894.[1] He married at Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, on 27 December 1841 SUSAN T. VINCENT, a child of John Vincent.[2] She was born at Salem on 25 August 1824 and died at Guilford on 10 February 1908.[3]
If I have correctly identified the parents of Thomas Maxfield, Thomas was thirteen years old when his father committed suicide. Thomas next appears of record in 1841 when he married Susan Vincent at Salem.
The Thomas Maxfield family lived at Salem at least until the birth of a child in 1857. The 1860 Census found them at nearby Beverly, Essex County. By the birth of a child in 1863 they were in Maine and reported at Guilford at the following censuses. Thomas was called a laborer at the birth of a child in 1845, watchman in the 1850 Census, a carpenter in the birth record of a child in 1851, laborer at the birth of a child in 1855, worker in a gas plant in the 1855 census, a miller in the 1860 Census, and a farmer in the 1870 and 1880 censuses
The 1850 Census found the Thomas Maxfield family in Salem as follows:[4]
| Name | Age | Sex | Occupation | R.E. | Birthplace | Other |
| Thomas Maxfield | 30 | M | watchman | $1000 | NH | |
| Susan T. Maxfield | 29 | F | Mass | |||
| Cassandra Maxfield | 6 | F | Mass | school | ||
| John V. Maxfield | 5 | M | Mass | school |
The 1855 Massachusetts state census reported this family at Salem, consisting of Thomas 34, Susan 33, Casandre 13, John 10, Mary 48 months, and Eva 4 months.[5] I believe Mary is a mistake and it should be Merritt.
In 1860 another child, George, had entered the family, and Cassandra was no longer in the home. The census that year reported the family at Beverly consisting of Thomas, 39, Susan 38, John 14, Merritt 9, Eva 5 and George 2. Later in 1860 disaster struck.[6] In October Eva, age 5, died of a sore throat.[7] The following month George, age 3, died from the same sickness.[8] The family soon moved to Maine.
The 1865 census reported Cassandra Maxfield working as an operative [factorty worker] and living in the household of Nathaniel and Mary Pitts of Salem.[9] Son John V. Maxfield fought in the Civil War from December 1863 through September 1866. John married in 1867; Cassandra married in 1869. Meanwhile, two new members had joined the family through birth: Evelyn in 1863 and Dora (or Cora) about 1867-8.
The 1870 Census found the Thomas Maxfield family in Guilford, Foxcroft Post Office:[10]
| Name | Age | Sex | Race | Occupation | R.E. | P.E. | Birth | Other |
| Maxfield, Thos. | 48 | M | W | farmer | $3500 | $1268 | NH | |
| Maxfield, Susan | 47 | F | W | keeping house | MA | |||
| Maxfield, Merritt C. | 19 | M | W | works on farm | MA | |||
| Maxfield, Emeline R. | 7 | F | W | ME | school | |||
| Maxfield, Dora | 2 | F | W | ME |
The person called Emeline is elsewhere called Evelyn.
In 1880 only Melvin C. [Merritt) and Evelyn remained at home.[11] Dora [here called Cora] was reported a servant, age 12, in the home of David and Ellen Straw of Guilford.[12]
In 1894 Thomas Maxfield died of paralysis.[13] That record clearly identifies his parents as Jacob Maxfield and Rachel Griffin.
The 1900 Census reported Susan T. Maxfield, 77, as a household of one,[14] but in the same dwelling as her son Merritt and his family.
Thomas and Susan Maxfield had the following children:
1Maine, Division of Vital Statistics. State Board of Health, Augusta, Maine, Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921, index card, Death, Thomas Maxfield, 1894; digital images, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 28 February 2017).
2Vital Records of Salem, Massachusetts: to the Year 1849. (Salem, Massachusetts: Essex Institute, 1918), v. 4, p. 76.
3Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921, index card, Death, Susan T. Maxfield, 1908.
4Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population, Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, roll 312, p. 124A, household 193, Thomas Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 4 October 2012); NARA microfilm record group M432, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
5Massachusetts, Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1855 Massachusetts State Census, population, Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, v.12, p. 118, household 342, Thomas Maxfield family; digital images, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 14 August 2022); Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, Massachusetts.
6Eighth Census of the United States: 1860, population, Beverly, Essex County, Massachusetts, p. 670, household 1445, Thomas Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 17 November 2012); NARA microfilm record group M653; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
7Massachusetts Archives, "Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," digital images, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 12 September 2017), vol. 138, p. 256, e. 389, Salem Deaths 1860, Eva R. Maxfield.
8"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 138, p. 257, e. 418, Salem Deaths 1860, Geo. T. Maxfield.
9Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1865 Massachusetts State Census, population, Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, v. 12, p. 134, household 739, Nathaniel Pitts family; digital images, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : accessed 16 August 2013); Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, Massachusetts.
10Ninth Census of the United States: 1870, population, Guilford, Piscataquis County, Maine, roll 556, p. 104A, household 179, Thomas Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 3 August 2017); NARA microfilm record group M593; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
11Tenth Census of the United States: 1880, population, Guilford, Piscataquis County, Maine, enumeration district (ED) 66, roll 487, p. 93B, household 17, Thomas Maxfield family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 5 August 2017); NARA microfilm publication T9, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
121880 Census, Guilford, Piscataquis County, Maine, ED 66, roll 487, p. 98C, household 109, David Straw family.
13Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921, index card, Death, Thomas Maxfield, 1894.
14Twelth Census of the United States: 1900, population, Guilford, Piscataquis County, Maine, enumeration district (ED) 136, roll 598, p. 15B, household 366, Susan T. Maxfield; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 29 September 2017); NARA microfilm group T623; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
151855 Massachusetts State Census, Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, v.12, p. 118, household 342, Thomas Maxfield family.
16"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 217, p. 274, e. 124, Salem Marriages, 1869; Averill-Maxfield.
17George Francis Dow, "William Averill of Ipswich and Some of His Descendants," Essex Institute Historical Collections, 48 (1912): p. 254.
18"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 90, p. 233, Salem Births, 1855, Eva R. Maxfield.
19"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 138, p. 256, e. 389, Salem Deaths 1860, Eva R. Maxfield.
20"Vital Records of Massachusetts, 1841-1910," vol. 138, p. 257, e. 418, Salem Deaths 1860, Geo. T. Maxfield.
21Elmwood Cemetery, Guilford, Piscataquis County, Maine, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 14 August 2017), John-Evelyn Herring; created by James Bianco, photo by Patty & Anthony W.
22Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, "Maine Marriages, 1771-1907," database, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 14 September 2012), Herring-Maxfield, 1881.
23Elmwood Cemetery, Guilford, John-Evelyn Herring; created by James Bianco, photo by Patty & Anthony W.
241870 Census, Guilford, Piscataquis County, Maine, roll 556, p. 104A, household 179, Thomas Maxfield family.
Dow, George Francis. "William Averill of Ipswich and Some of His Descendants." Essex Institute Historical Collections 48 (1912): 133-48, 245-59.
Elmwood Cemetery, Guilford, Piscataquis County, Maine. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2017.
Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. "Maine Marriages, 1771-1907." Database. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2012.
Maine Division of Vital Statistics, State Board of Health, Augusta, Maine. Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921. Digital images. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2017.
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 : 2022.
_______. 1865 Massachusetts State Census, population. Digital images. American Ancestors. americanancestors.org : 2013.
United States Department of the Census. 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 : 2017.
______. Tenth Census of the United States: 1880, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2017.
________. Twelth Census of the United States: 1900, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2017.
Vital Records of Salem, Massachusetts: to the Year 1849. Salem, Massachusetts: Essex Institute, 1918.
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