John Dudley Family Papers, 1727-1853

Title:

John Dudley Family Papers, 1727-1853

Creator:

Dudley, John, 1725-1805

Accession / Call Number:

1926.004

Object ID:

M 1926-004

Date:

1727-1853

Physical Description:

2 boxes ; 0.63 linear feet

Scope and Content:

The John Dudley Family Papers document the Dudley family of Exeter and Raymond, NH, and consist primarily of the business and personal papers of John and Moses Dudley, with additional papers from other family members, dating from 1727 to 1853. The papers detail the family's legal, business, military, personal, and political activities, containing everything from personal correspondence, Revolutionary War documents, land deeds, and documents relating to Moses Dudley's work as justice of the peace. Many notable New Hampshire figures are represented in this collection. The genealogical and biographical material includes ornamented family charts of John Dudley and Moses Dudley by George Melvill [transferred to the museum], as well as correspondence with Jacob Bailey Moore and John Kelly. The wills and estates folder includes the will of Stephen Dudley (1734/5) and a return of the committee appointed to set off a widow's dower for Hannah Dudley (1751), widow of Trueworthy Dudley. There are also inventory lists detailing the assets of James Dudley's estate (1746) and Thomas Bean's estate (1804), as well as administration accounts for John Dudley's estate (1805), which include lists of notes due. Other probate papers in this collection include documents on the guardianship of the Wadleigh children. John Dudley's materials consist of his public business, his work with the New Hampshire Superior Court, and his personal papers. His public business includes records related to his involvement in local governance, such as letters from Meshech Weare about appointments and military service (1764), from Col. David Gilman discussing officer appointments (1776), and letters concerning elections (1787, 1790). Also included are receipts for troop payments (1776), information on Stephen Holland and the Loyalists, and descriptions of skirmishes with Native Americans at Mount Independence. John Dudley's Superior Court papers feature letters from Josiah Bartlett, Timothy Farrar, Daniel Newcomb, and Simeon Olcott discussing appointments and the difficulty of holding court. In his private papers, the materials include powers of attorney (1757-1779), letters about lumber from Samuel MacClintock (1787), letters from physician Levi Bartlett (1797), and a memorandum book of accounts (1777-1791). He also received several invitations from prominent figures including John Langdon, Theodore Atkinson, John Taylor Gilman, Samuel Livermore, and John Peirce. The Massachusetts items folder includes various local governmental papers from the 1700s, such as Spencer Phipps' report on a meeting house in Scituate (1731) and an order on a sawmill dam in Hingham (1750) to allow the passage of fish. Additional deputy sheriff's reports from the keeper of the Boston jail date from 1766 to 1775. The John Dudley Jr. papers consist of documents relating to his land dealings and activities in Maine, notably a deed for 200 acres in Washington, ME, (1779) and letters detailing his activities clearing land and operating a sawmill. Moses Dudley's papers consist primarily of his work as justice of the peace, in addition to some military commissions (1787-1788) and judicial appointments spanning several decades (1797-1834). The bulk of his material consists of legal papers as Justice of the Peace, which include approximately 100 documents such as warrants, summonses, writs of attachment, and legal cases. Other materials include receipts, a summary of taxes paid (1815-1842), and letters from his children across the country. This collection also includes a number of land deeds for the Dudley family from the early 18th to the early 19th century, including a deed for 100 acres of land in Freetown (1727/28) and numerous deeds of John Dudley detailing property transactions in Allenstown, Brentwood, Candia, Epping, Exeter, Gilmanton, and Raymond, NH. Some of the deeds are for land bought at auction and for mills, like the Freetown Mill (1749-1777) and the Dudley Mill (1771-1773). A few materials from the Richardson family (1786-1829) are also in this collection and include receipts, a letter, and deeds.

Subjects:

American loyalists , Auctions , Census , Courts , Deeds , Elections , Genealogy , Guardian and ward , House furnishings , Indians of North America , Insurance , Judges , Justices of the peace , Lumbering , Massachusetts--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 , Military appointments , Militia , Mills and mill-work , New Hampshire--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 , Politics and government , Probate law and practice , Sawmills , United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783 , Wills

Locations:

Boston, MA
Candia, NH
Cornish, NH
Exeter, NH
Freetown, MA
Gilmanton, NH
Grafton, NH
Hingham, MA
Hopkinton, NH
Raymond, NH
Scituate, MA
Washington, ME

People:

Atkinson, Theodore, 1697-1779 , Bartlett, Josiah, 1729-1795 , Bartlett, Levi, 1763-1828 , Dudley, John, 1725-1805 , Dudley, John, Jr., 1754-1828 , Dudley, Moses, 1766-1843 , Farrar, Timothy, 1747-1849 , Gilman, John Taylor, 1753-1828 , Hill, Isaac, 1789-1851 , Holland, Stephen , Kelly, John, 1786-1860 , Langdon, John, 1741-1819 , Livermore, Samuel, 1732-1803 , Moore, Jacob Bailey, 1797-1853 , Newcomb, Daniel, 1747-1818 , Olcott, Simeon, 1735-1815 , Peirce, John, 1746-1814 , Plumer, William, 1759-1850 , Weare, Meshech, 1713-1786

Organizations:

Dudley family
Harvard University
New Hampshire Mutual Fire Insurance Company
New Hampshire. Committee of Safety
New Hampshire. Militia. Regiment, 17th
New Hampshire. Superior Court

Credit Line:

Gift of Mrs. Christine D. Foster.
Gift of Mrs. Kenneth L. Hoffman.

Restrictions:

Available for research.

Level Description:

Collection

Finding Aid Link:

RS68929_Dudley_John_Family_Papers_1926.004.pdf