General Notes

REFN: 1054AN
REFN: P1054
A BRIEF HISTORY OF WILLIAM DODGE OF BEVERLY
1629 - 1692
by
Dona ld R. Dodge *
In the approximate year of our Lord 1604, John and Margery Dodge of
Middle Chinnock, County of Somerset, England, had born to them William,
their first of three sons. John Dodge and his sons William, Richard, and
Mic hael were linearly descended from that Saxon race of warriors who
served as s teel clad barons in wars waged for the Norman kings of England
.
On April 25, 1 629, Mr. William Dodge joined a company of Puritan planters
and craftsmen and journeyed to America on the Lion's Whelp, a small ship
of 120 tons displacem ent. The Lion's Whelp and her sister ships the
Talbot and the George carried their goods and passengers to Naumkaeg, the
Indian name for the North America n territory settled by England's
Massachusetts Bay Company at Salem.
William Dodge, aged 25 years, or thereabouts, was described as well over
usual statu re, with a well formed athletic physique, with the dark hair,
eyes, and compl exion typical of the ancient Britons. Reverend John White
of the Massachusett s Bay Company called Mr. William Dodge a " skillful
and painful husbandman" i n reference to his skills as a farmer. He
recommended that Governor Endicott give William the charge of a team of
horses to facilitate his work efforts in the expanding Puritan
settlements in the Salem area The records indicate tha t William returned
to England on October 15, 1635 to be present at his father 's deathbed.
William was one of three witnesses to John Dodge's will which ga ve him a
sum of 40 pounds and a team of oxen. This inheritance was described as
supplemental to whatever gifts his father had given him before he first
emigrated to the New World in 1629.
William returned to Salem, presumably with his inherited money and farm
animals to resume his life as an English Plante r. As a freeman of the
Salem settlement, William was given two lots of land c omprised of 80
acres and 20 acres each, on September 3, 1637. In May, 1641, W illiam
purchased 200 more acres of good, farmable land from John Palfrey. The
land was located in an area of Salem near the headwaters of the Bass
River . This land area later became part of the new town of Beverly where
William m aDe his permanent residence in 1645.
William Dodge's 280+ acres of land made h is land holdings the largest of
the early 17th century Planters according to the recorded land deeds of
the Salem/ Beverly area. Records show that on Dece mber 3, 1641 he gave 40
acres of his land to his brother Richard Dodge who ha d emigrated to Salem
in 1638, nine years after his younger brother William.
William Dodge was a well respected farmer and citizen of the
Salem/Beverly co mmunity. The area's historical texts and records show
over 35 instances where Farmer William was appointed or elected to public
services for his community . He held such offices as selectman, grand
juryman, and surveyor of roads and properties. He is noted as one of the
founders of the First Church in Beverl y in 1667. He was a neighbor and
close friend of the Reverend John Hale.
Wil liam Dodge was a family man. According to historical records, he
married Mary Conant, the widow of John Balch of Beverly, in his later
life. However, the maiden name of the wife and mother of his four
children is not recorded. His children, in order of birth were;
* John Dodge Baptized December 25, 1636
* W illiam Dodge Baptized September 19, 1640
* Hannah Dodge Baptized July 24, 1642
* Josiah Dodge ( Baptismal date not recorded)
Farmer William Dodge Sr. died in his 80's at some time between the years
1685 and 1692. He deeded most of h is property to his second son Captain
William Dodge. No mention is made in Fa rmer William's will , or in other
records, of his bequests to his eldest son Captain John Dodge, who
outlived his father by more than 30 years. It is reco rded that Captain
John Dodge and his two brothe