Person:Thomas Hodgman (3)

The conventional wisdom on Thomas Hodgman, as much as can be found, seems somewhat lacking in critical analysis. It seems to selectively use or ignore data, so that a seemingly complete picture can be given without advertising the glaring inconsistencies.

There are not many sources, which may be part of the problem. Using Source:Stearns, Ezra S. Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire as a representative example, though the same may be found on many websites, the conventional wisdom is that Thomas Hodgman of Reading m. 1713/14 Abigail Gerry/Geary and had a son Thomas m. 1740 Elizabeth Blood. Supplementing from the Concord VRs, his wife Elizabeth d. early 1759 and in late 1759 Thomas Hodgman m. Jane Flint. A nice, neat picture? Not so fast, my friend!

Checking the records of Reading:

• (p. 127) Hodgman, Thomas, s. Josiah and Elizebeth, Feb. 18, 1692-3.
• (p. 368) Hodgman, Thomas and Abigail Garey of Charlestown Jan. 19, 1713-4.
• (p. 127) Hodgman, Thomas, s. Thomas and Abigail, [born] May 11, 1727.
• (p. 531) Hodgman, Thomas, [died] Aug. 28, 1729.

The Hodgman family moved to Concord, so the records continue there:

• (p. 432) Hodgman, Thomas, [died] Oct. 4, 1739, in his 47th y. GR1
• (p. 152) Hodgman, Thomas, and Elisabeth Blood, Dec. 25, 1740.
• (p. 163) Hodgman, Thomas, s. Thomas and Elisabeth, July 13, 1741.
• (p. 159) Hodgman, Thomas, s. Thomas and Elisabeth, [died] Aug. 24, 1744.
• (p. 205) Hodgman, Elizabeth, w. Thomas, [died] Jan. 27, 1759.
• (p. 204) Hodgman, Thomas and Jane Flint, Sept. 25, 1759.
• (p. 225) Hodgman, Thomas, s. Thomas and Jane, June 10, 1766.

Notice that the source above did not mention that Thomas was born in 1727 because making him only 13 when he married Elizabeth Blood is plainly a problem. (Some websites mention the birth in 1727 but don't mention the year of marriage. Either way, it works if only half the picture is presented.) A second problem is the death record in 1729, which death record must be him, since his father's death record is found in 1739, and those are the only two Thomas Hodgmans found in Reading!

If we take the above records at face value, Elizabeth Blood could not have married the son Thomas who was 13, nor the father who was dead. This is a problem, because Hodgman was a rare name, and there does not seem to be any other candidates. The records of yet a third town, Lynn, provide a clue that suggests there is an error in these records that, once fixed, makes everything more satisfactory.

Lynn records, p. 193, shows three baptisms from "First Congregational Church records, Lynnfield":

• Hodgman, Joseph, s. Thomas, bp. June 18, 1727. CR2
• Hodgman, Timothy, s. Thomas, bp. May 20, 1731. CR2
• Hodgman, John, s. Thomas, bp. May 6, 1733. CR2

Comparing these to the births of some of the sons of the father Thomas as recorded in Reading (Thomas 11 May 1727, Timothy 22 Apr 1731, John 18 Jan 1732/33), it is apparent they are the same individuals, except that the 1727 son is called Joseph. If we assume this son was recorded as Thomas by the Reading town clerk in error (and consistently making the same error again, we assume the death record in 1729 also applies to Joseph, not unreasonable since the marriage to Elizabeth Blood suggests Thomas did not die), we are now left to conclude that son Thomas' birth was not recorded. The children of parents Thomas and Abigail start in 1720, despite their marriage in early 1714. The birth record of daughter Elizabeth has no year (though her marriage in 1738 suggests it was previous to 1720), and what would be more natural than filling this gap that precedes the recorded birth of Josiah in 1720 with a son named Thomas after the father? The order of Thomas and Elizabeth is probably unknowable, but given that the legal age of men (age at which they could marry) was greater than that of women, we might guess Thomas was the older of the two. The marriage to Elizabeth Blood in 1740 is then very reasonable.