HENRY EDGAR MAYNARD – The Maynards of this country can point with pride to a name of great antiquity. The name Manard or Maynard, appears in the Rolls of Battle Abbey, as among the Normans who came to England with William the Conqueror. John Maynard was appointed Governor of Breast Castle, in Brittany, July 28, 1352, by Edward, Prince of Wales. Sir Henry Maynard, the sixth in descent from John Maynard, mentioned above, was sheriff of Essex County, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth. His son William, was created “Lord of Wicklow” in Ireland, May 30, 1520, by King James I. Lord William was made Baron of the Realm in 1620, by King Charles I. Whether any of these were ancestors of the Maynards in America is not known, but it shows the Maynard family as one of great prominence and antiquity in England.
John Maynard, immigrant ancestor of the Maynards in this country, was born in England about 1610. He was a farmer for most of his life, but had the trade of a malster. He was a proprietor first of Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 29, 1644. He removed to Sudbury, and was one of the proprietors of that town. He was a selectman there in 1646. The name was spelled in the records Maynard, Mynard, and Minor. He was one of the forty-seven petitioners who divided the Sudbury Meadows in 1638. He married (second)„ June 16, 1646, Mary Axtell, widow or daughter of Thomas Axtell, of Sudbury. He died December 10, 1672. His will was dated September 4, 1672, and was proved April 1, 1673. He bequeathed to his wife, Mary, sons John and Zechary, daughters Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Graves; Lydia, wife of Joseph Moores, and Mary Maynard. His children, born in Sudbury: John; Zechary; Elizabeth; Lydia; Hannah; Mary.
Christopher Maynard, grandfather of Henry Edgar Maynard, resided near Tolland, Connecticut, at what is now known as Chrystal Lake. His wife was Elizabeth Maynard. They had children: Daniel; James; Anderson; Eli, of whom further; Elias; Betsey; Amy; Christopher, Jr.
Eli Maynard, son of Christopher and Elizabeth Maynard, thought to have been born in New London, Connecticut, but according to another report at Tolland, in that State, April 11, 1816, died March 3, 1895, in Ellington, Connecticut. He was a farmer in that town for fifty years. He married Elvira Harriet Squaires, born in Mansfield, Connecticut, January 10, 1820. Her mother was an Evans. They had children: Charles Augustus; two children died in infancy, and Henry Edgar, of whom further.
Henry Edgar Maynard, son of Eli and Elvira Harriet (Squaires) Maynard, was born in Enfield, Connecticut, September 17, 1848, died in Northampton, Massachusetts, May 18, 1905. He was in South Manchester, Connecticut, for a short time, and came to Easthampton, Massachusetts, where he remained a year or two. Thence he came to Northampton in 1872, where he served on the police force for twenty-two years. He was chief of police for eighteen years, and at the time of his death was detective for the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railway. He was a member of Nonotuck Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He married Minnie Webber, born in Nova Scotia, died in Northampton, Massachusetts, September 19, 1919. Her people originally came from Holland. Their children: Wilbur Edgar, who is a conductor on the Massachusetts Central Division of the Boston & Maine Railroad; Mabel Alice, of whom further; Maud E., died in infancy; Mortimer Dewey, of Wethersfield, Connecticut.
Mabel Alice Maynard, daughter of Henry Edgar and Minnie (Webber) Maynard, was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, and educated in the schools of that city. She was graduated from the high school in 1892, and worked as a reporter on the “Hampshire Gazette” of Northampton for nine years. She later took up the study of music and went to Europe, studied French in Paris, and upon her return became a musical instructor, specializing in voice culture. In this she is now very successful, having a large clientele. The family residence is at No. 57 Center Street.