Descendants of John Maxfield
of Salisbury, Massachusetts
Seventh Generation

CHARLES E.7 MAXFIELD (Caleb6, Zadock5, Edmund4, Timothy3-2, John1) was born at New Bedford, Massachusetts, in June 1836 (place from marriage record, child's birth record, month and year from 1900 Census; 1835/6 in 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900 censuses, 1836/7 in 1850 Census), a child of Caleb Maxfield and his first wife Ann Briggs.

Charles E. Maxfield married CATHERINE E. N. EDWARDS at New Bedford on 5 May 1859 (VR Ma 126:105:266). The event was recorded as follows:

Charles E. Maxfield of New Bedford, 22, clerk, b. New Bedford to Caleb and Anna, 1st
Catherine E. N. Edwards of New Bedford, 20, b. South Dartmouth to Roswell and Cynthia, 1st;
by Sanford S. Horton, JP
Catherine "Kate" Edwards was born at Dartmouth, Massachusetts, a child of Roswell and Cynthia Edwards (marriage record) in July 1838 (1900 Census; 1830/1 in 1860 Census, 1837/8 in 1880 Census, 1838 in 1920 Census, 1838/9 in 1870 Census, marriage record).

The new family of Charles and Kate Maxfield was recorded in the 1860 Census in Ward 2 of New Bedford (490:511) as follows:

Name Age Sex Occupation R.E. P.E. Birthplace
Charles E. Maxfield 24 M clerk Mass
Catherine E. Maxfield 29 F Mass
Cynthia W. Edwards 41 F Mass

Catherine Maxfield's age must be in error; based on other records, it should be 21. In that case, Cynthia Edwards was probably her mother.

Charles E. Maxfield worked for his father Caleb's furniture business. Charles was called a clerk on his marriage record in 1859 and on the 1860 Census. He was called a furniture dealer in the censuses of 1870 and 1880 and in 1881 on his child's birth record. He appeared in the Springfield City Directories for 1890 and 1891 as an upholsterer and furniture dealer. His place of business was his father's business, 99-103 Bridge Street; his home was at 11 Mattoon Street.

The Charles Maxfield family appeared in the 1870 Census (618:203B-204A) at Springfield, Massachusetts:

Name Age Sex Race Occupation R.E. P.E. Birth Other
Maxfield, Chas. E. 34 M W furniture dealer $8000 MA
Maxfield, Kate E. 31 F W keeping house MA
Maxfield, Frank C. 7 M W attending school MA school
Maxfield, Nellie L. 5 F W at home MA
Melaney, Harriet 35 F W domestic servant Ireland father foreign b.
mother foreign b.
Melaney, _________ 3/12 F W at home MA mother foreign b.
b. Apr
Tucker, Bridget 18 F W domestic servant Ireland father foreign b.
mother foreign b.

This record presents some questions. According to her death record, Grace Edwards Maxfield was born in April 1870. This record had an unnamed daughter of the domestic Harriet Melaney born in April. The child's father was not indicated, but was not listed as foreign born. Did the census takers make a blunder in attributing the child to the wrong mother?

The Charles and Catherine Maxfield family appeared in Springfield again in the 1880 Census (536:176D). Charles E. Maxfield, age 44, was a dealer in furniture; Catherine, age 42, was keeping house; son Frank C. Maxfield, age 17, was a clerk in a furniture store; daughter Nellie L. Maxfield, age 15, was at school; and the family had a new Irish servant, Sarah A. Riley, age 22.

The 1900 Census (652:7A) found this Maxfield family at 11 Mattoon Street, Springfield. It gave the birth months of family members: Charley E. Maxfield June 1836; Catherine Maxfield July 1838; Nellie Maxfield August 1864; and R. Ethel Maxfield May 1882. Charley was a furniture dealer, Nellie a clerk in a cooking store. Charley and Catherine had been married 42 years, and she had four children, three living.

Charles E. Maxfield died at Springfield on 23 April 1905 (VR MA GR 85:317:461):

1905 Springfield
Charles E. Maxfield d. Springfield Hospital, Springfield, Mass., April 23, 1905;
residence 48 Chase Ave., Springfield, Mass.,
age 68 y 9 mo, male white married
b. New Bedford to Caleb Maxfield (b. New Bedford) + Anna Briggs (b. Marion, Mass.);
furniture salesman; informant: Nellie Maxfield,
buried Springfield Cem., Springfield, Mass. April 25, 1905;
intestinal nephitis with sclerosis of the coronary arteries
The 1910 Census (593:1:289B) found widow Catherine E. Maxfield, 71, at 48 Chase Avenue, Springfield, with daughters Nellie L., 45, and Rose E., 28. Nellie was a saleslady for a retail store; Rose was stenographer for a typewriter company.

The 1920 census (703:7B) found widow Catherine A. Maxfield, age 81, at 10 Sumner Avenue, Springfield, with her son, Frank S. Maxfield, a widower, age 57, salesman in a department store. She appeared again, in 1930, with son Frank in Springfield. Kate Maxfield died in Ju;y 1931 (Springfield Cem).

Charles and Kate Maxfield had the following children:

  1. FRANK C.8 MAXFIELD b. at New Bedford on 14 July 1862
  2. NELLIE L.8 MAXFIELD
    • b. at New Bedford on 18 September 1864 (VR Ma 168:100:53)
      • Sep 18, 1864, Nellie L. Maxfield, female, b. New Bedford to Charles E. Maxfield of Maxfield Street, accountant, b. New Bedford, and Kate E. Edwards, b. Dartmouth
    • d. at Springfield on 1 August 1910 (VR MA GR 96:337:1055)
        1910 Springfield
        d. Connecticut river near Pecousic, Springfield.
        Nellie L. Maxfield of 58 Chase St., Springfield, female white single,
        b. Sept 18, 1864 age 45-10-13, clerk, Caina & Crockery Store,
        b. New Bedford to Chas. E. Maxfield (b. New Bedford) + Catherine Eliza Edwards (b. New Bedford).
        informant: Frank C. Maxfield;
        d. prob. Aug 1, 1910 drowning, probably suicide, sudden;
        bur. Springfield Cem., Aug 5, 1910
  3. GRACIE EDWARDS8 MAXFIELD
    • b. at Springfield on 7 April 1870 (based on death record)
    • d. at Springfield on 22 January 1872 (NB Merc D 936; VR Spring(H) Deaths 5:27:9)
      • age 1-9-15, croup, of Springfield, b. Springfield to Charles E and Kate E. Maxfield, both b. New Bedford; bur. Springfield--VR Spring
        daughter of Charles E. and Kate E., late of New Bedford, age 1-10--NB Merc
  4. ROSE ETHEL8 MAXFIELD
    • b. at Springfield on 6 July 1881 (VR Spring(H) Births 28:364)
      • to Charles E. and Kate E. (Edwards) of Springfield; he furniture dealer, b. New Bedford; she b. New Bedford
    • d. at Los Angeles County, CA on 8 September 1954 (unmarried) (Ca D 1940-97)
REFERENCES

Information on this family can be found in:

Other sources abbreviated above include:
CA D 1940-97
State of California. California Death Index, 1940-1997. Sacramenta, Ca.: State of California, Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics, 19--, Reprint: Provo, Ut.: Ancestry.com, 2000.
NB Merc D
Deaths Recorded in the New Bedford Mercury, 1845-1874. Free Public Library, New Bedford, Ma.
Springfield Cem
Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, Hampden County, MA. Find a grave (findagrave.com),.
VR Ma
Massachusetts Vital Records. Division of Vital Statistics, State House, Boston, Ma.; microfilm, Genealogical Society, Salt Lake City, Ut.
VR MA GR
Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA (americanancestors.org).
VR Spring(H)
Holbrook, Jay Mack, ed. Vital Records of Springfield, Massachusetts. Oxford, Mass.: Holbrook Research Institute.
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