U.S. Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ -- USGenNet Inc. -- Please read the U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on the following page: ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Maxwell Family ------------------------------------------------------------------- History of Ritchie County by Minnie Kendall Lowther Wheeling News Litho. Co., Wheeling W.Va., 1911 Pages 600-604 THE MAXWELLS.— Though the Maxwells were not residents of this county in pioneer days, they have had large land interests here almost throughout its history, and quite a number of their descendants are identified with its present citizen-ship. Lewis Maxwell was an early surveyor, and when he found a piece of vacant land, he laid a warrant upon it and entered it, and thus he came into possession of large tracts of valuable wood-lands all over this section of the state. Without doubt he was the largest individual landowner that this county has ever known, and at his death his nephew, Franklin Maxwell, fell heir to much of his estate here. But since the death of Franklin, the heirs have principally disposed of these lands, but have retained their royalties which are now, to some extent, under development for oil and gas purposes. The name "Maxwell" originated in Northumberland, county, England, near the year 1000, it being, at first spelled "Maccuswell." Prior to this date the family are supposed to have come from Saxony, and to have become connected with the Athlings of Northern England in some way, but, as this tradition is such an ancient one, it is not well authenticated. However, they went from England to Scotland at the time of the conquest of William the Conqueror, and are said to have figured in the Border wars with Wallace and Bruce; and from "Scotia" they migrated to America before the year 1700. and settled in Connecticut and in New Jersey, and to the New Jersey branch of the family, the Ritchie County Maxwells trace their ancestry; although they are unable to give definite connections farther back than Thomas Maxwell, of Pennsylvania. Thomas Maxwell was married, near the year 1785 to Miss Jane Lewis, daughter of Alexander and Mary Smith Lewis, who was born in the Keystone state, on July 17, 1707. He was probably the son of Robert and Elizabeth Maxwell of East Nottingham township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, as Robert's will, dated December 30, 1791, and probated November 13, 1792, mentions his son, Thomas. He (Thomas) died in 1796, but his burial place is unknown. He had been making arrangements to remove from the Keystone state to Western Virginia, and had made one or more trips to this wilderness; but on his last journey, be was lost to view and all efforts to learn something of his fate were met with defeat. He was traced as far as Morgantown, and there all clew was lost. He was known to have had a considerable sum of money in his possession and the theory of robbery and murder was entertained by some, and others thought that he might have been drowned, but nothing was ever known. In 1799 his widow, Mrs. Jane Lewis Maxwell, with her six orphaned children removed to Harrison county, and settled on land owned by Col. William Lowther near what is now the little town of West Milford. Mrs. Maxwell's means were very much limited and when she arrived with her little flock, she found shelter with the family of Col. Lowther in the old cabin shown in an earlier chapter until another one could be fitted out upon the farm; and here she reared her family — one member of which, Lewis Maxwell, became a Congressman. And to this day sacred memories linger about the crude walls of this ancient dwelling for the descendants of Mrs. Maxwell, as well as for those of Col. Lowther. She afterwards removed to Lost creek, and finally to near Jane Lew in Lewis county where she died on October 20, 1835. This town, "Jane Lew" was named by her son, Lewis, in her honor. Her family consisted of four sons and two daughters; viz., Abner, Levi, Lewis, Robert, Amy and Mary Maxwell. Abner Maxwell, the eldest son (1785-1864), was captain of a Harrison county company in the war of 1812, and remained a citizen of the Clarksburg vicinity until, perhaps, some time in the forties, when he removed to Doddridge county, where he spent his last hours, near West Union, in 1864. He was first married to Miss Susan Davidson, and his second wife was Miss Judith Modisette, and his children were twelve in number: Marshall (born 1811), Franklin (1814), Mary, who became Mrs. A. W. Flucky (1816), Levi (1819), and William (1821), were the fruits of the first union. And Frances Jane, wife of Archibald Lowther, of Goose creek: Lewis Maxwell, formerly of Pullman, but now of Glenville; Charles, of Summers; Amy M., who became Mrs. Asa Coplin, Abner M., James, and Robert, Doddridge county, of the second marriage. Franklin Maxwell (son of Abner) was born in 1814; and, in 1840, he deserted single life when he claimed Miss Frances Jane Runnels as his bride, and though he lived and died in Doddridge county, he owned large interests here, and was widely known. He is said to have helped many a poor laborer in this county to a home of his own by permitting him to live on his lands and by giving him almost his own time in making the payments, provided that he was honest and industrious; for he had no patience with dishonesty or laziness. He died very suddenly in his potato-patch at his home near West Union, on July 4, 1892, and not far from the scenes of his activities, he lies in his last sleep. His children: Leman, Lewis, Porter, Rector, Wm. Brent, Harriet P., who married G. W. Brown (1853-1890), Mary Martha (1855-1860), Franklin Post (1857-1880), Frances Jane, who became Mrs. B. C. Bland (1859-1880) and Susan Alice (1861-1883). Frances Jane Maxwell, half-sister of Franklin, was married to Archibald Lowther, brother of the late William I. Lowther, of Pullman, on November 9, 1848, and after a brief residence in Doddridge county, removed to Goose creek this county, where she died in 1904. Mr. Lowther preceded her to the other world in 1899, and both He at rest, on Goose creek. Their children were: Mrs. Sarah Juda (A. B.) Wilson, the late Mrs. Amy Carpenter, Robert M. Lowther, Frances, who is now Mrs. Ross Webb, Elizabeth, the wife of John Scott, and the late Minter, all of Goose creek; and John Franklin Lowther, of Pullman. Lewis Maxwell, brother of Mrs. Lowther, who was born on May 18, 1831, was married to Miss Margaret Mitchell, sister of Mrs. Wm. I. Lowther, in 1861, and for long years resided at Pullman, and from there, removed to Glenville, in Gilmer county, twenty years ago, where he and his wife still survive. Their children are as follows: Mrs. Anna V. (Ulyses S.) Upton, Braxton county; Mrs. Cordelia Jane (Spencer) Collins, Glenville. who was formerly a teacher here; Irvin F., Charles Lewis, William E., Sylvester S., and M. C. Maxwell. Abner M. Maxwell, brother of Lewis and Mrs. Lowther, was married to Lydia Jane Osbourne in 1862, and they were the parents of Mrs. Mary Frances (Homer) Griffin, Elizabeth; Mrs. Ella Jane (Calvin E.) Wilson, Summers; James A. Maxwell, Harrisville; Wm. Bruce, Porter, Levi, and the late Miss Rebecca Blanche Maxwell, Doddridge county. Levi Maxwell, son of Thomas and Jane Lewis Maxwell, was born on July 25, 1788, and died at his home near Weston, on November 13, 1884. On March 23, 1823. he was married to Miss Sarah Haymond, daughter of Captain John and Mary Wilson Haymond, and grand- daughter of Col. Ben Wilson, senior, and the following named children were born of this union: Angelina (1823-1864), unmarried; Edwin Maxwell (1825-1893), Clarksburg; John (1827-1860), Rufus, Semira, and Jane, who remained single. Rufus Maxwell, born on October 19, 1828, was a lawyer in his early life but never engaged in the practice of this profession after the Civil war. He was justice of the peace in Lewis county, but removed from there to Tucker county in 1856, where he filled the offices of District Attorney. Superintendent of schools, County surveyor, and was a representative in the House of Delegates; and there he still survives. On June 1, 1852, he was married to Miss Sarah Jane Bonnifield, who was born on Horse Shoe run, in this state, on July 14, 1834, and died at Denver, Colorado, on February 10, 1897. She was the daughter of Arnold and Elizabeth Minear Bonnifield. This couple were the parents of twelve children who are quite prominently known throughout the state: Elizabeth A. (1855-1861), Mary A. was first married to W. S. M. Spesert, and her second husband was W. A. Lipscomb, of California; Dorcas Angelica is the wife of the Rev. Oliver Lowther, of the M. P. church, Pullman; Hu Maxwell is the well-known historian, who now holds a position in the Forestry Service at Washington city; Cyrus Haymond is of Morgantown; Thomas E. (1865-1896, unmarried), John F. and Levi H., California; Charles J., Texas: Robert R. (1874-1899), and Anna Catharine (1877-1879). Lewis Maxwell, third son of Thomas and Jane Lewis, born in 1790, was a member of Congress from 1827 to 1833, and was a man of no small means for his time. Being an early surveyor, as before mentioned, he entered large tracts of land all over this part of the state, and as he left no heirs much of his fortune fell to his nephew, Franklin Maxwell. In 1814, he was first married to Miss Safronia Wilson, and his second wife, whom he married in 1859, was Miss Jane Pritchard, daughter of Peter Pritchard, of White Oak. He died near Weston in Lewis county in 1865, and his widow who was many years his junior is now Mrs. Wiley of Fairmont. Robert Maxwell, the fourth son of Thomas and Jane Lewis, was born on February 19, 1791, and on March 19, 1812, he was married to Miss Rebecca Eastlack, who was born on November 6, 1792, and died at their home in Ohio, on May 9, 1843. After her death he returned to Lost creek in Harrison county, where he contracted two subsequent marriages, and where he died on February 5, 1844. His children were as follows and all were born of the first union: Thomas J., Frances B. (Mrs. Wm. Boggs), Jane Lewis, and Amy, who died in childhood, Rebecca H., (Mrs. Joseph Lefevre), Meiggs L., Caroline A. (Mrs. B. F. McMillian) Mary Melvina (Mrs. Alexander Ireland), Robert C., and Emma Ann (Mrs. Sylvanus Page) all of whom reside, and rest, in Ohio, and other Western states. Caroline, Meiggs, and Rebecca, alone survive. Mary Melvina Maxwell was born on June 27, 1828, and was married to Alexander Ireland, brother of G. M. Ireland, on October 7, 1851, the marriage taking place in Ohio, where Mr. Ireland had gone in his single days. Mrs. Ireland died in 1907, but he still survives at the old home at Cardington, Ohio. His children: Caroline Belle is the wife of the Rev. Louis C. Haddox, of the Methodist Episcopal church of Columbus, Ohio; Corydon Boyd is a prominent physician of Churchville. New York; Lillie Love (1857-1875) Rosalind C., (1858-1875), Mary Alexandria is Mrs. Stephen C. Kingman; Elba Nile, Mrs. Wm. F. Duncan; and Virginia V., the wife of Dr. H. B. Campbell. Amy Maxwell, daughter of Thomas and Jane Lewis Maxwell, born August 27, 1799, became the wife of John Peck on August 7, 1825, and went to Ohio, where she died on May 23, 1847. Her children: were Lemon B., Dewitt C., David B., John S., Tarleton, and Minerva who married George R. Cunningham, and two sons that died in infancy, all of whom were of Cardington, Ohio, but are now numbered with the dead. Mary Maxwell, daughter of Thomas and Jane Lewis Maxwell, was first married to John Swisher, and her second husband's name was Hawley, but little is in our possession concerning her family other than the names of the Swisher children; viz., Alvira, John, George, Lewis, and Amy, who married Thomas Curl. ------------------------------------------------------------------- If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access other biographies for Ritchie County, WV by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/wv/ritchie/bios.html -------------------------------------------------------------------