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A.I. Maxwell came from New York State with the Coburn family, arriving at Lyndon in July, 1837. Soon afterwards he married
Miss Hulce, who had also come West with the Coburns. Their children have been:
Hiram, Samuel A., Louisa, Mary, and one son (Calvin A.) who died in the army at the commencement of the war.
Hiram resides in Minnesota;
Samuel A. married Miss Esther Austin, daughter of Dennis Austin, and is a resident of Como, having charge of the Como public school; Louisa and Mary are married, the former
living at Mendota, Illinois, and the latter in Minnesota; both were popular school teachers in Whiteside county prior to their marriage.
Mr. Maxwell is a
mill-wright and house carpenter by trade. In 1837 he worked on Haines' mill in Union Grove, and run it a short time, sawing hard wood lumber. He afterwards
attached a pair of burrs, and ground grain. This mill had been built in
1836, but the dam washed out, and it was rebuilt in 1837. Mr. Maxwell also
worked on the Hamilton school house in 1837. In 1840 he assisted to construct
the first frame school house in what is now Union Grove township, at Unionville.
Many of the buildings of the early settlers were also constructed in whole or
part by his handicraft.
From - Bent & Wilson History of Whiteside County IL 1877
 Ambrose I. Maxwell, a Whiteside County pioneer of 1837, was born April 18, 1814, in the town of Delhi, Delaware Co., N. Y. His father, Christopher Maxwell, was born in 1779, in Connecticut and married Lucy Green who was born in 1782, in Rhode Island. She was a daughter of Silas Green, who was a Colonial soldier. He was in the service under Arnold and fought at Quebec, as in many other engagements The family of Green went to the State of New York about 1787, and two years later they settled near Delhi, in Delaware County. Later they went to Decatur, in Otsego County, where the father died, about 1834. James Maxwell, paternal grandfather of Ambrose, was born in Connecticut, of Scotch lineage. About 1797 he located in the vicinity of Delhi. His son, Christopher, was married in 1801, and at once, on settling in life, became a farmer in the township of Delhi, and also engaged in the lumber trade and constructed several saw-mills. With the exception of one year, which he spent with his son in Lyndon, he was a resident of Delaware County until his death, in 1860. His wife died at the home of her daughter in Erie, in 1855. They had 12 children. Ambrose was the eighth in order of birth and was an inmate of the parental home until he was 22. To that time he had been a farmer, and he acquired a knowledge of carpentry and also of the business of a millwright. In the spring of 1836 he came to Illinois, accompanied by George Dennis and P. L. Jeffers. They obtained employment on a farm on De Soto Island, where they stopped two days. He and Dennis went to Peoria, where they remained two weeks and made their way thence to Chicago by stage, the fare being $15. Mr. Maxwell took passage on the lakes to Buffalo, went from there to Syracuse on the canal, and readied Delhi the first of July. He remained in Delaware County until the spring of the following year, when he started, accompanied by several others, to Illinois. The party had seven wagons and thirteen horses. Mr. Maxwell went with them to Cattaraugus County, where he embarked on a raft on the Allegheny River, going to Pittsburgh. He made the passage thence on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to Peoria, where he waited for the arrival of his brother-in-law, C. R. Coburn, who was on his way there overland. They came together to Lyndon Township, where they arrived July 9, 1837. Mr. Maxwell contracted to build a house for Elisha Hazard, which was the second frame dwelling in the village of old Lyndon. In August of the same year he engaged to build a saw-mill for Jonathan Haines, in Mt Pleasant Township, which was the first mill operated in the county. The establishment was completed in the middle of December of the same year. He built a wheel and attached the power to a small run of stones on the same flume, and, Dec. 25, 1837, ground the first grain in this portion of Whiteside County. In January, 1838, he went to Ogle County, where he was employed as a carpenter and builder until October, 1839, when he returned to Lyndon. May 4, 1839, he was married at Peoria, to Artemsia, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Plummer) Hulee. Her father was born in Goshen, Ulster Co., N. Y., and her mother at Egg Harbor, N. J. The families to which they belonged became residents of the State of New York in the early part of the 18th century, Mrs. Maxwell was born April 2, 1810, in Deposit, Delaware Co., N. Y. She was educated with care and became a teacher, commencing that occupation when 18 years of age in Broome County, in her native State. She came to Illinois and taught at Sugar Grove, Lee County. Mr. Maxwell had secured a claim in Ogle County, which he sold and settled at Lyndon, where he worked at his trade. In 1842 he made a claim on section six of " town 20 north, 5 east," where he built a frame house, and broke and fenced about 20 acres of prairie. In the fall of 1844 he sold his land and stock. In 1845 he secured another claim on section 8, of town 15, range 5. He" built a house, granary and stable and fenced 80 acres of land. In 1851 he rented the farm and went to Union Grove and did the wood work in a grist-mill. In 1853 he sold his farm to J. D, Fisk, who is still its owner and occupant. Mr. Maxwell engaged at his trade in Unionville. In the spring of 1854 he bought land on section 8, of town 21, range 5 east, and built a house. He held the place but a few a months, exchanging it for the first claim he had made in the township of Lyndon. Mr. Maxwell was successful in his land operations and was chiefly a resident of Lyndon Township. In 1872 he bought a house in Lyndon village. His family has included five children, of whom four are living: Lousia M., wife of William Patrick, was born Jan. 31, 1840, in Lyndon Township; Calvin A. was born March 13, 1842 ; he enlisted in 1861 in the 7th Ill. Cav., and died at; Bird's Point, Mo., Jan. 23, 1862; James H. was born Feb. 19, 1845, and enlisted in the same regiment and, company with his brother. He was enrolled in September 1861 and was discharged in February, 1862. He is a resident of Noble Co., Minn; Mary E., born Feb. 22, 1847, is the wife of George W. Cale, of Noble Co., Minn.; Samuel A., born Dec. 27, 1851, lives at Unionville.
Son of Ambrose I. Maxwell Samuel A. Maxwell, teacher, at Unionville, has been all his life a resident in Whiteside County, having been born Dec. 27, 1851, in the township of Mt. Pleasant. His father and mother were Ambrose I. and Artemisia (Hulce) Maxwell. His father and mother were natives of Delaware Co., N. Y., and came thence, in 1837, to Lyndon Township, with the family whom they accompanied from their native State. They were married in 1839, and they went for a brief period to Ogle County, whence they returned to Lyndon Township, the scene of their life's labors, and where they are still resident. The father was one of the first mechanics in the county, and his services were in eager demand among the settlers. Mr. Maxwell is the youngest of five children, and he had two brothers and two sisters — Louisa, Calvin A., James H. and Mary M. He obtained his education previous to his 20th year, in the common schools of his native county, and he subsequently attended the High Schools at Lyndon and at Polo, Ogle County. He was graduated at the latter institution in 1875. He interspersed his periods of study with teaching, to which he has since devoted his time in various parts of the county. In 1882 he took charge of the school at Unionville, in which capacity he is still operating. Mr. Maxwell holds credentials from the highest educational tribunals in the State, and is a member of the National Educational Association. He was united in marriage Dec. 27, 1876, in Lyndon Township, to Esther W., daughter of Dennis and Harriet (Gary) Austin, and the three children now belonging to the family are named Edith L., Ralph E. and Vera J. Mrs. Maxwell was born April 20, 1857, in Lyndon Township. Her father was born in Indiana, and her mother in the State of New York. They settled in Lyndon Township in 1854, and had 10 children, named Emery, Willard F., Franklin P., Harrison C, Esther W., Olive B., Lincoln A., Hattie B., Clara E. and Clark D. In political adherence Mr. Maxwell is a Republican, and supports the issues of the party of Prohibition. He is a member of the Baptist Church, to which his wife also belongs. Portraits and Biographical Whiteside Co IL 1885
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