Eleanor Dodge (1748 - bef. 1780)

Born 10 Apr 1748 in Beverly, Essex, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Wife of Abner Dodge Sr. — married 16 Oct 1777 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States

Descendants

Died before 24 Jul 1780 before age 32 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States

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Biography

Eleanor Dodge was born on April 10, 1748 in Beverly Essex, Province of Massachusetts Bay. She was the daughter of Mark Dodge, Jr. and Lucy Edwards.^[1]

Marriage: Is This the Wife of Abner Dodge?

An Eleanor Dodge married Abner Dodge in Beverly on 16 Oct 1777.^[2] There are, however, two Eleanor Dodges whose marriages appear in the records of Beverly for the mid-1770s:

"Dodge, Eleanor, and Abner Dodge, Oct. 16, 1777."

"Dodge, Eleoner [Mrs. int.], and Joseph Langdell, Feb. 16, 1773."^[3]

Only one candidate Eleanor Dodge appears in Beverly's register of Births:

"Dodge, Eliner, d. Mark [jr.] and Lucy, Apr. 10, 1748."^[4]

While it is possible that the Eleanor Dodge who married Abner Dodge was born (or registered as born or baptized) outside of Beverly, a scan of the collected records of the surrounding towns has turned up no other viable candidates for Abner Dodge's wife, nor has it revealed an alternative husband for Eleanor, daughter of Mark and Lucy, who would have been 29 years old at the time of the marriage in 1777. If she married Joseph Langdell, in 1773, however, she would have been 24, which may actually be closer to the usual age for a woman's first marriage in that time and place. Neither age is out of the question for either marriage.

Pending further research, which might necessitate switching the two Eleanors who married in the mid-1770s in Beverly, Eleanor, daughter of Mark and Lucy, has been chosen as the wife of Abner, while the mysterious possible widow, Eleanor/Eleoner Dodge, has been designated the wife of Joseph Langdell.

Children

Eleanor and Abner Dodge had two sons: Abner, Jr., born 30 May 1778, and Caleb, born 3 Sep 1779.

Death

Eleanor Dodge, wife of Abner Dodge, died after less than three years of marriage, at the age of 32. She was buried on 24 Jul 1780, in Beverly, Massachusetts.^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ Citing both town records and those of the Second Congregational Church of Beverly: Massachusetts Vital Records Project, Beverly - Births, p. 106: http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Beverly/Images/Beverly_B106.shtml (accessed 25 Mar 2017)
2. ↑ Citing the records of First Parish Unitarian Church of Beverly: Massachusetts Vital Records Project, Beverly - Marriages, p. 90: http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Beverly/Images/Beverly_M090.shtml (accessed 25 Mar 2017)
3. ↑ The record for "Eleoner" does not cite a specific source and, so, is probably from the town's record book: Massachusetts Vital Records Project, Beverly - Marriages, p. 90: http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Beverly/Images/Beverly_M090.shtml (accessed 25 Mar 2017)
4. ↑ Massachusetts Vital Records Project, Beverly - Births, p. 106: http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Beverly/Images/Beverly_B106.shtml (accessed 25 Mar 2017)
5. ↑ Citing the records of the First Parish Unitarian Church: Massachusetts Vital Records Project, Beverly - Deaths, p. 419: http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Beverly/Images/Beverly_D419.shtml (accessed 25 Mar 2017)

• Joseph Thompson Dodge, Genealogy of the Dodge Family of Essex County MASS, 1629-1898, (Democrat Printing Co. Wisconsin - Vol 1 1894 & Vol 2 1898), p. 80.