| Richard Dodge migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 95) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm |
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Richard1 Dodge, born about 1602 (based on wife's age at death),[1] was the elder brother of William1 Dodge,[2] both sons of John Dodge and his wife, Margery _____ of Middle Chinnock, Somersetshire, England.[3]
Richard married Edith Brayne in Stoke-under-Ham, Somerset, on 5 May 1628.[4][5]
Edith was the daughter of of Edward and Elizabeth Brayne.[citation needed] She was baptized in Stoke-under-Ham, 5 May 1608.[6] Four children web born or baptized to Richard and Edith at England.
Excerpt from: Genealogy of the Dodge Family of Essex County, Mass. 1629-1894 [7]
They settled at Salem, Massachusetts Bay, joining Richard's brother, William Dodge, who had arrived in 1629.[8]
Richard, Edith, and their children lived "for a time" on land that belonged brother William.[9] In October 1638, William was "receaued Inhabitant and desireth accomadeacion," at Salem; he was shortly granted a ten acre lot.[10] There followed grants to both Richard and William of eighty acres to the east of the farms of Roger Conant, John Woodbury and John Balch.[11] Richard built a residence in the area that came to be known as "Dodge Row" in North Beverly, a short distance from Wenham Lake.[12]
Richard was received as a member of the Salem church, 5 May 1655; he and his wife were part of the "Bass River" group to establish the church at Beverly in 1667.[13]
Richard was granted yet additional acreage. In December 1641, he received forty acres.[14] He later purchased another forty acres from Richard Haskell, which had belonged to Haskell's father-in-law, John Hardy.[15]
Richard Dodge became a freeman.[16]
In 1653, he ranked first on the list of twenty-one subscribers to Harvard College, with "the next largest sum ... only one-forth as much as his."[17][18].
He gave a piece of his land for use as a cemetery. "Dodge Row Cemetery," is on Dodge family land of his lifetime, although his burial site is not here. A headstone tribute was placed for him in 1962.[19]
He was the owner of land at England through the time of his death, likely at East Coker. He rented the land to his brother, Michael Dodge for £4 per year.[20]
Richard died at Beverly, 15 June 1671,[21] leaving a will dated "the fourteene of the nine month 1670" [14 November 1670], proved 28: 4: 1671 [28 June 1671].[22] Richard was buried at Beverly.[23]
Edith survived as his widow. She died at Beverly, 27 June 1678.[24]
Richard Dodge. By his will, Richard Dodge gave his wife personal property and "the sole and proper use of the parlor and chamber over it in my now dwelling house." He made provision for annual payments to be made her by their five sons. He gave his sons, Joseph and Edward, his farm, valued at £1000; and he gave his son, John, a farm valued at over £100, Richard Dodge's estate was valued at £1,764.2 [25]
Edith Dodge. Edith died intestate, having left an an unsigned will.[26] "The estate was divided according to the directions given by their mother, and al were well satisfied as witnesses."[27]
Nine children were born to Richard and Edith. The first four were born or baptized at England; the rest, at Massachusetts.[28] A family tradition says Richard1's descenants had sandy hair and their "complexions were 'speckled.'"[29]
Baptismal Record Transcription Issues. An array of English records have been identified Richard and Edith's family. There are a few variances between the record information and that which was pubished by Ferris in 1931. Several records from Ancestry.com are cited in the narrative; at least two records are also available at FamilySearch, but one date variances appeared there too). See Margery Dodge; [https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NT7S-78J John Dodge.
Cemetery markers list online 2009. Ancestry.com cemetery memorial marker photo by Karen Dankar, July 2010; Notice that Richard's headstone does not mark his grave, but memorializes him only, from Norman Dodge 11/2011.
Questionable son Richard? The birth of a first son Richard in 1628 is questionable. Please see Richard Dodge jr. (abt.1628-)
Questionable statement regarding immigration: Genealogy of the Dodge Family of Essex County, Mass. 1629-1894 [32] states that "as the King was at that time obstructing emigration, it is probable that he left England without royal permission." While there were probably some political barriers to immigration, we don't have enough information about Richard Dodge to know whether that was a factor. (See Comments) Emigrants were required to have a Certificate of Conformity attesting to the fact that they had taken the Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of Supremacy, but most of these have been lost, and the absence of that record is not unusual.
See also:
Years of rule by Charles I. No parliament! More taxes! Less religious liberty! War looming on the horizon. There were all kinds of signs that showed that things were not as they ought to be. Increasing anger against King Charles I. Unrest of the citizenry. Brother William was doing very well in the colonies. He had his own farm, and he had a good standing in the community. He could worship as he chose. He didn't need to worry about displeasing a King. He could do as he wished. He was FREE! Richard was married and had several children. He would need to give up his land tenancy. It would be no easy undertaking for him to transport his family to the colonies. He was leaving at least one little child in an English graveyard. Would his wife be willing to pull up roots, leave her family and travel to this strange foreign land? He would be leaving his father and brother, Michael, behind. How would he be able to leave England when King Charles was obstructing immigration. If he left, it would probably have to be without royal permission. There were many problems to work out before he could undertake such a voyage. I am sure that he gave much thought of all of these things. In the end, he decided it was worth it to try to leave his homeland. Richard and his family arrived in Salem in 1638. Immigrants were only admitted to the colony, by applying to the town and obtaining leave.He and his family moved on to the land of his brother, William until he could get established. After awhile he was able to settle with his family on "Dodge Row" in North Beverly, not far from Wenham Lake. He built a home and gave his attention to farming but he held in high esteem the value of education. In 1653, he was the biggest contributor to Harvard College. He gave a piece of his land for a burying ground which is now known as "the Cemetery on Dodges Row". He had 5 sons, and so he has more descendants than William who had 2 sons. by Barb Dodge
Date given in the narrative for the marriage is 5 May 1628, but FreeReg index has the date transcribed as 5 July 1628. This looks like it might be transcription variance about a month numbered "5."
Thank you in advance for any assistance you are able to provide.--Gene
This caught my eye because I'm writing an article about Edith Brayne's family. Interesting that someone interpreted the month as July. It surely is May. I didn't want to post the image of the register here due to copyright restrictions, so I created a page that shows the area of the register that includes the marriage and the other entries that are in the same handwriting. I've also written an explanation about why I say it's May. There are some odd things in this person's handwriting, but there are enough consistencies when looking at other entries to show it's May. I don't see the confusion with July, but maybe that's because I've looked at a lot of "Old English" handwriting. I'm sure there's a more scholarly term for that! Here is a link to the page.
http://dougsinclairsarchives.com/dodge/dodgebraynemarriage.htm
Likewise, I will work to address the profile comments in this process.
Here is a link to one of the articles about what we are trying to accomplish that was published in the Salem News. https://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/city-is-hoping-to-restore-secluded-dodge-burial-ground/article_65b8b99f-5a41-5464-ad29-587a16193f69.html
"The bio: on this person is all messed up. Richard was Brother to William and Michael. Michael never came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His son did, had children and disappeared. At least I can find no record of thiem"
Edited to add: "Middle Chinnock, Somerset Genealogy" at FamilySearch Wiki.
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