Richard Godfrey (1734 - bef. 1760)

Born 1734 in Chatham, Massachusetts

Ancestors

Husband of Azubah (Collins) Dexter — married 10 Jan 1751 in Chatham, Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died before 1760 before age 26 in Chatham, Massachusetts [uncertain]

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Biography

He is the son of Moses Godfrey and Deborah Cooke^{[1] [2] [3]}

On October 13, 1750, his intention to marry Azubah Collins, the daughter of Solomon Collins and Eunice Atkins of Chatham, Massachusetts was published^[4], and the marriage was solemnized on January 10, 1751^{[5] [6] [1] [3]} (Note the practice was to start the new year in the spring, so this was recorded January 10th 1750, and is also expressed 1750/1).

Their children, both born in Chatham, included:

1. Enoch (shown here), born April 20, 1752, who married Miriam Smith on November 7, 1772^{[1] [3]}
2. Warren born 6 Apr 1757^[3], who married Abigail Gardner, daughter of Thomas and Sarah Gardner, and died in 1781 at sea, near Sulawesi Tengah, Indonesia^[1]

Richard Godfrey died before May 6, 1760, when his wife was appointed administrator of his estate^{[3] [7]}. Some sources indicate he died in 1759 in Liverpool, Nova Scotia. This is unlikely. Liverpool was founded in 1760, and the government surveyor reported there that the first 50 families arrived in June 1760, after Richard's death, and the first meeting of proprietors occurred in July^[8]. While it is possible that a handful of early settlers arrived perhaps in 1759, the death of a man in his prime among this small number would have been recorded and discussed.

After his death, Azuba remarried Joseph Dexter and did live in Liverpool, Nova Scotia until the Revolution^{[3] [6]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Stephen Hopkins Vol 6, page 422 of the Mayflower Families Fifth Generation Descendants, 1700-1880 (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2017). From Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620. Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1975-<2015>
2. ↑ The Godfrey's of Chatham Mass by Elizabeth Pearson White, Moses and his family is published in Volume 126, page 235-6 of The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (Behind a paywall)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5} The Godfrey's of Chatham Mass by Elizabeth Pearson White, Richard and his family is published in Volume 127, page 44 of The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (Behind a paywall)
4. ↑ Chatham, Mass Vital Records published in Volume 7, page 138 of The Mayflower descendant : a quarterly magazine of Pilgrim genealogy and history] by Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants. Publication date 1899; Publisher Boston : Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, also shown in NEHGS, which states October 13 : 1750 Richard Godfrey and AZuba Collings Both of Chatham had their Intentions of Marriage Each to the other Entred at Chatham with me James Covel Town Clerk
5. ↑ Chatham, Mass Vital Records published in Volume 7, page 140 of The Mayflower descendant : a quarterly magazine of Pilgrim genealogy and history] by Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants. Publication date 1899; Publisher Boston : Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, also shown in NEHGS, which states January 10th 175[1] the marriage Covenant was solemnized between Richard Godfrey & Azubah Collings both of Chatham before the Reverd mr Stephen Emery Minister of the Gospel In Chatham
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Joseph Collins of Eastham and Three Generations of His Descendants published in Volume 17, page 151 of The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (Behind a paywall)
7. ↑ A History of Chatham, Mass by Smith, William C. (Hyannis, Mass.: F. B. & F. P. Goss, 1909), page 222
8. ↑ The history of Queens County, N.S. by More, James F. (James Fullerton), 1802-1878; Publication date 1873; Publisher [Halifax, N.S.? : s.n.]