Dodge Family History: Benjamin Dodge (1764-1847)

The following is from Ancestry of John Dodge Pioneer of Newcastle, Maine and Some of His Early Descendants by Carolyn Stetson Ames.

BENJAMIN DODGE⁶ (John⁵, Thomas⁴, Josiah³, ‘Lt.’ John², Richard¹), yeoman b. 1764 probably in Newcastle; d. Carthage, Maine [9 Sep 1847]. Married in Edgecomb 5 Dec 1784 MARY MERROW of Edgecomb, b. 1765, probably a daughter of Joseph and Abagail Merrow/Merry; d. Carthage, Maine 6 May 1848. Buried with Benjamin⁶ in Carthage. These facts of birth, marriage and death are known because of Oscar Earl Merrow’s “Henry Merrow of Reading, Mass. and his Descendants,” Winchester, Mass., 1954, pp. 119-121. But Merrow had no idea of Benjamin Dodge’s⁶ connection with Newcastle nor of his parentage.

As noted in the discussion of Thomas Dodge’s⁶ mortgage, the location of Benjamin Dodge’s⁶property in Newcastle side by side with that of Thomas⁶, John⁶and Porter Dodge⁶suggests that he was one of four brothers who had inherited their estates from John Dodge⁵. Benjamin’s⁶ Real Estate deeds confirm that premise. In 1782, recorded 1787, John Dodge⁶ sold to Benjamin Dodge⁶ for £15 “part of a house, 33' on one side and 24' on the other side, standing on the lot I (John Dodge⁶) now live on, and it being on that part of the lot which I have this day sold to Porter Dodge⁶, together with ten rods of land each way from the house.”(V. 20 - 159). In a deed transaction 19 Mar and recorded 20 Mar 1787 Benjamin Dodge⁶ with his presumed in-laws Joseph and Samuel Merrow for ₤20 sold to Porter Dodge⁶ Benjamin’s⁶ lot in Newcastle of unstated size, adjoining that of Porter⁶ (V. 20 - 133).

Then immediately the same trio bought for £10 from Sam’l Cunningham land in Newcastle beginning with Porter Dodge’s⁶ southern line on the Damariscotta River, thence WNW to John Dodge’s⁶ line (V. 20 - 134). But in March 1789, recorded December 1789, Benjamin Dodge⁶ of Newcastle sold for ₤9 to Ebenezer Perkins “½ of the dwelling that I now live in, with ½ the cellar with 2 ½ rods of land which lays round said house (V. 25 – 93). On 11 June 1789 Benjamin Dodge⁶of Sandy River (now Farmington, Maine), sold for ₤50 to John Perkins of Newcastle an 18 acre tract, bounded by the river to Job Day’s land; also another tract of 21 acres bounded by Job Day’s and John Dodge’s⁶ land, together with all the buildings and appurtenances thereon (V. 23 – 204).

Evidently Benjamin⁶ thought at first of settling in Newcastle, as he added to his holdings there, but soon changed his mind and disposed of all his property in Newcastle. In 1789 he was briefly in Sandy River, but by 1790 he was head of household in Middletown Plantation, later Strong, where he and Polly [Mary Merrow] continued to raise a family, 9 children in all. Their first two daughters were named Abagail (As was Polly’s [Mary’s] mother) and Rachel. Among their sons were a John and a William. Merrow traces their numerous descendants for several generations.

[U.S. Census notes for Benjamin Dodge⁶]

1790 - Sandy River; Lincoln, Maine: 1 male 16 & up; 1 male under 16; 3 females

1800 - Farmington, Franklin, Maine: 3 males 0-10; 1 male 10-16; 1 male 16-45 1 female 0-10; 1 female 10-16; 1 female 26-45

1810 - Strong, Somerset, Maine: 3 males 0-10; 2 males 10-15; 1 male 15-25; 1 male over 45 1 female 10-15; 1 female over 45

[Children of Benjamin Dodge⁶]
i. Abigail, b. 1785
ii. Joseph, b. 21 Mar 1788
iii. Rachel, b. 12 Jun 1790
iv. John, b. 15 Jun 1794
v. William, b. 25 Nov 1795
vi. Benjamin, b. 11 Sep 1798
vii. Polly, b. 1801
viii. Samuel, b. 10 Mar 1805
ix. James, b. 1807
x. Elias, b. 4 Feb 1809

The following is from Henry Merrow of Reading, Massachusetts, and his descendants named Merrow, Marrow and Merry by Oscar Earl Merrow.

142. MARY (MERROW) DODGE, 1765-1848, (Joseph, Joseph, Dr. Samuel, Henry), was born in Edgecomb, Me., probably, in 1765. Her identity as a daughter of this Joseph is hypothetical and is not supported by documentary evidence. No direct proof has been found to establish her relationship to any other member of the family. She married Benjamin Dodge in Edgecomb 5 Dec. 1784, both of them being from Edgecomb. He was born in 1764.

Benjamin Dodge was a yeoman in Edgecomb in 1787 when on March 19 of that year he was a grantor of a deed together with Joseph Merrow and Samuel Merrow. Benjamin and Mary Dodge moved to Middletown Plantation, later known as Strong, Me., before 1790, because in that year they were listed as one of the fourteen families there. In Strong she was known as Polly Dodge. In 1790 there were, besides themselves, in their family one male under sixteen and two females. Benjamin Dodge was a purchaser in 1791 for £6 from the Massachusetts Committee for Sale of Eastern Lands of 100 acres in Strong. He was a farmer and, like all early settlers, cleared the wild land for fields and pastures. He also had a small mill on a stream where he sawed lumber during a few weeks in the year. He was at an early date a class leader of the Methodist group, formed in 1794, before they erected a church in Strong in 1917. Benjamin Dodge preached before this group. He died in Carthage, Me [9 Sep 1847]. She died there 6 May 1848, age 83y, and both are buried there. Later, they together with their gravestones were removed to the cemetery on the farm of their son, Samuel Dodge, in Freeman, Me., though this farm is partly in Freeman and partly in Phillips.