Little is known about Maxwell: no information could be found concerning the date and place of his birth, his parents, any wife or children, and the date and place of his death. Available information shows that he served as a private in Case’s Regiment of the New York Volunteers and Militia during the War of 1812. He is listed in the 1830 census for Southampton NT but no relevant information appears. In 1870 the New York State Business Directory shows under the category Meat Markets “Griffing, Maxwell, Shelter Island”.
Maxwell served as master for three voyages on two ships with New London as home port:
MANCHESTER PACKET (AS1834): (ship, 237 tons, length 87 ft., built in New York NY in 1806, withdrawn and condemned off of Gambia in 1834). PACKET sailed on May 21, 1828 for the So. Pacific, returned in June 1829. Decker records the master as M. Grissing. AV08807.
ELECTRA (AS1261): (ship, 348 tons, built in Kensington PA in 1811, lost off Nunavik Island in July 1863). ELECTRA made two voyages under Maxwell: sailed on June 27, 1829, returned May 31, 1830, then sailed on July 15, 1830, returned May 9, 1831. Both voyages were to the So. Atlantic. W. Williams Jr & Barns was the agent for both voyages. AV04099 and AV 04100.
Maxwell also served as master for six voyages on four ships, all with Sag Harbor NY as home port: ABIGAIL (AS0813) for its 1820-1821 voyage, ANDES (AS0874) for its 1822-1823 voyage, UNION (AS2533) for its 1823-3, 1824-1825, and 1825-1826 voyages, and WASHINGTON II (AS2595) for its 1834-1835 voyage.
The census report and the business directory cited above place him at the east end of Long Island NY: Southampton and Shelter Island. His connection with that area is supported by his service as master for several voyages on ships home ported in Sag Harbor NY. These three places are within a few miles of each other. Also relevant is the not uncommon name of Griffing in that area. AOWV shows four other masters named Griffing sailing as masters on ships with home ports in either Sag Harbor or nearby Greenport NY: Absalom (AM2320), master for two voyages on two ships from 1826-1829; Charles (AM2321), master for seven voyages on three ships from 1828-1845; Sylvester (AM2324), master for eight voyages on five ships from 1823-1830; and Seth (AM2323), master for four voyages on three ships from 1836-1843. Absalom, Charles, and Sylvester were brothers. While no connection could be found between Maxwell and his other namesakes, he sailed from the same harbor in the same time period as the others and undoubtedly knew them. It is probable that Maxwell grew up in that part of Long Island.
Sources used: see sidebar and sources cited in text.
George Shaw
American Institute for Maritime Studies
Mystic Seaport Museum
December 2025