Roger Dudley
Encyclopedia
Roger Dudley was an English soldier.
Dudley was born in London
, England, but some say that he was baptised in Yardley Hastings
, Northamptonshire
. However Dudley's parentage has never been satisfactorily established. Genealogist and researcher Marshall Kirk
in 1993 published the results of his exhaustive survey of the Dudley families, and came to the conclusion that he was the son of Henry Sutton Dudley
.
Roger may be the Roger Dudley who was matriculated as pensioner at Christ Church College, Cambridge, in 1566, but left without a degree.
It is believed that he married, on June 8, 1575, at Lidlington
, Bedfordshire
, Susannah (née Thorne), herself recorded as having been born on March 5, 1559/60 in Northamptonshire, and baptised at Yardley Hastings, the daughter of Thomas Thorne and Mary Purefoy.
He is reported to have been a Captain in (the Earl of Leicester
)'s militia, fighting with a commission from Elizabeth I
, and under the banner of Henry of Navarre
. He is thought to have died at the Battle of Ivry
, France
in 1590. Yet in 1586, four years earlier, the Reverend Cotton Mather
of Boston wrote: "Thomas Dudley's father was Captain Roger Dudley, -- slain in the wars, when -- his son, and one only daughter were very young". The will of Thomas Dorne (Thorne) of Yardley Hastings, Gent., dated 29 Oct 1588, bequeathed "to the children of Susan Dudley, my Daughter, widow, £10 to be equally divided". (S1,S11). Therefore, he was apparently dead by the time of the will of his father-in-law, which was written in 1588, which eliminates the time of the Battle of Ivry as a possibility for his death. It is most probable that he died at the Siege of Zutphen in 1586, having followed a relative, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
, who was a principal figure in that battle.
Marshall K. Kirk suggests that Roger made his home after his father's death with Peter Grey, a "Queen's servant", whose manor of Segenhoe was two miles from Lidlington, (Bedfordshire
), where Roger was later married.
Roger and Susannah Dudley raised at least five children, listed as:
Susannah is recorded as having died in 1585 during childbirth, at St. Dunstan's, London
and again three years later in a will, dated October 29, 1588, (Probate 9 May 1589), when Thomas Thorne bequeaths... "to the Children of Susan Dudley, my Daughter..." (etc.)
William Dudley, a son of David, was the first of this line in the family of the lords of Dudley to move to Connecticut, and founded the settlement of Guilford, on the shores of Long Island Sound
. He emigrated to New England sometime between 1636 and 1643.
Three of William Dudley's great grandsons were to give their family name to their new home in the Cornwall hills, when they moved to Owlsbury from Guilford in the mid C17. Owlsbury was renamed Dudleytown
, and thereafter the persistent legend of America's most haunted town was born.
Dudley was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England, but some say that he was baptised in Yardley Hastings
Yardley Hastings
Yardley Hastings is a village in the English county of Northamptonshire. It is located south-east of the county town of Northampton and is skirted on its south side by the main A428 road to Bedford.-History:...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
. However Dudley's parentage has never been satisfactorily established. Genealogist and researcher Marshall Kirk
Marshall Kirk
Marshall Kenneth Kirk was a New England Historic Genealogical Society librarian, and a noted writer and a researcher in neuropsychiatry...
in 1993 published the results of his exhaustive survey of the Dudley families, and came to the conclusion that he was the son of Henry Sutton Dudley
Henry Sutton Dudley
Henry Sutton Dudley, also known as Henry Dudley, was an English soldier, sailor, diplomat, and conspirator of the Tudor period....
.
Roger may be the Roger Dudley who was matriculated as pensioner at Christ Church College, Cambridge, in 1566, but left without a degree.
It is believed that he married, on June 8, 1575, at Lidlington
Lidlington
Lidlington is a small Central Bedfordshire village and civil parish surrounded by farmland, in the Marston Vale. The hamlets of Boughton End and Thrupp End are also part of the parish....
, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, Susannah (née Thorne), herself recorded as having been born on March 5, 1559/60 in Northamptonshire, and baptised at Yardley Hastings, the daughter of Thomas Thorne and Mary Purefoy.
He is reported to have been a Captain in (the Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...
)'s militia, fighting with a commission from Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
, and under the banner of Henry of Navarre
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
. He is thought to have died at the Battle of Ivry
Battle of Ivry
The Battle of Ivry was fought on 14 March 1590, during the French Wars of Religion. The battle was a decisive victory for Henry of Navarre, the future Henry IV of France, leading Huguenot forces against the Catholic League forces led by the Duc de Mayenne...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1590. Yet in 1586, four years earlier, the Reverend Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather, FRS was a socially and politically influential New England Puritan minister, prolific author and pamphleteer; he is often remembered for his role in the Salem witch trials...
of Boston wrote: "Thomas Dudley's father was Captain Roger Dudley, -- slain in the wars, when -- his son, and one only daughter were very young". The will of Thomas Dorne (Thorne) of Yardley Hastings, Gent., dated 29 Oct 1588, bequeathed "to the children of Susan Dudley, my Daughter, widow, £10 to be equally divided". (S1,S11). Therefore, he was apparently dead by the time of the will of his father-in-law, which was written in 1588, which eliminates the time of the Battle of Ivry as a possibility for his death. It is most probable that he died at the Siege of Zutphen in 1586, having followed a relative, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...
, who was a principal figure in that battle.
Marshall K. Kirk suggests that Roger made his home after his father's death with Peter Grey, a "Queen's servant", whose manor of Segenhoe was two miles from Lidlington, (Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
), where Roger was later married.
Roger and Susannah Dudley raised at least five children, listed as:
- Thomas DudleyThomas DudleyThomas Dudley was a colonial magistrate who served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dudley was the chief founder of Newtowne, later Cambridge, Massachusetts, and built the town's first home...
(second governor of MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
) - Mary Dudley
- Richard Dudley (b. 1583 – d. 20 Aug 1603)
- Dorothy Dudley.
- David Dudley.
Susannah is recorded as having died in 1585 during childbirth, at St. Dunstan's, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and again three years later in a will, dated October 29, 1588, (Probate 9 May 1589), when Thomas Thorne bequeaths... "to the Children of Susan Dudley, my Daughter..." (etc.)
William Dudley, a son of David, was the first of this line in the family of the lords of Dudley to move to Connecticut, and founded the settlement of Guilford, on the shores of Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
. He emigrated to New England sometime between 1636 and 1643.
Three of William Dudley's great grandsons were to give their family name to their new home in the Cornwall hills, when they moved to Owlsbury from Guilford in the mid C17. Owlsbury was renamed Dudleytown
Dudleytown, Connecticut
Dudley Town, in Cornwall, Connecticut, otherwise known as the Village of the Damned is a ghost town, founded as a small settlement in the mid-1740s.-History:...
, and thereafter the persistent legend of America's most haunted town was born.