Anatomy of a Murder or Apologia Pro Vita Sua

In 2004 Caleb Johnson published the probable English origins of Peter Browne of the Mayflower [TAG 79:161-78].  In that article he abstracted the 1622 will of Margaret (Symons) (Dendy) Wood of Dorking who made bequests to her grandsons William and Jasper Dudley.  It looked good that William Dudley of  Guilford, Connecticut might be that William Dudley, so I started to research the subject.  I thoroughly abstracted all Dudley entries in the Dorking (co. Surrey) parish registers from 1538 to 1670.  As I worked on this project and I added in the probate records, I pieced together the entire Dudley family.  There was David Dudley and Joan Arnold who had been suggested as parents of the immigrants.  There was Thomas Dudley and Mary Dendy of the above-cited article.  However, as I searched, my analysis led me to William Dudley and  Eleanor Hooker.  I wrote up the results and it was published in TAG in late 2007, 82:63-74.  In this article I included footnote #32, which gave credit to the identification of Jane Lutman, wife of the immigrant, as the daughter of William and Jane Lutman to a Stephen Aberle who wrote about this in an obscure journal: The Dudley Family Newsletter in 2001-2002.  This journal is not in the collections of ANY major genealogical library.  In fact, it is only in the catalog of The Connecticut State Library.  Also, he found William Lutman's will naming his daughter Jane Dudley, but I found his marriage record in Sussex.

Somewhere, as I understand it, there is a happy genealogical community, who meet each other, share information and all is well and good.  That world has never intruded itself upon me.  After I published this article and to this very moment, no one has emailed me to say: thanks or good job.  No one.  However, two people have emailed.  This first accused me of stealing this.  The second was a screwball who still wanted the Dudleys to be noble, which they aren't and, in fact, never were.  So, if I act wary or unfriendly, it's because after a lifetime of experience, I've become shell-shocked from the responses of strangers to my work.

Evidently, Mr. Aberle [not the emailer, btw] continued his studies of the Dudleys in the 2004-5 Dudley Family Newsletter.  However, if one reads his articles, he and I come to different opinions.  He also doesn't piece the family together in the same way I did.  In any case, by reading his work, I did discover that I had erred in transcribing the name of Eleanor Hooker as Gooder.  I've now corrected that in a pending TAG article that gives three more generations of Hookers behind William Dudley.  So, did that article give me the "CLUE" or not?  Well, William Dudley (father of the immigrant) called William Hooker, his brother-in-law.  I remember when reading that will I had to be very careful and not jump to the usual conclusion, i.e. that Eleanor was a Hooker.  William Hooker could have married a Dudley or both men could have married sisters of a surname not known.  However, when I saw how Aberle had transcribed it, together with a search in the IGI, I realized I had goofed.  Sometimes Occam's Razor applies: the simplest solution is usually the correct one.

So, that's how all this happened.  I got inspired by an article; did my own research, which, IMHO, is better than anything else out there; published it; got shit on; realized I made an error; and corrected the error.  In that order.  As bizarre as it sounds, we did the same project, at the same time without realizing it.  Well, two people invented the television at the same time also, so anything is possible.  Mr. Aberle worked in England from the original records.  I worked in Salt Lake City from microfilm.  Sadly, even the vast Family History Library doesn't own the Dudley Family Newsletter.  That journal was called to my attention by another Dudley researcher when I sent him a draft copy of my article.  He kindly showed me the Lutman article, without telling me anything about the other articles.

So that was my first English origins article.  It would have been my last if I hadn't started another that was slated to be published before all this foofaraw began.  I have yet to write a third.  To date Mr. Aberle has never contacted me.  Just some angry bitch from Maine (of all places).

Comments

[Jeff Jacobberger]

Thanks for this info. I have been frustrated by "research" that names David Dudley (born in 1579) is the father of William and, more incredibly, that Thomas (born in 1576) fathered David at the ripe old age of 3. While I understand the impulse to find connections to noble lines, the patent absurdity of some of the claims is frustrating. If you would care to share any of the as-yet unpublished information about the Hooker line, I would be most grateful.

[Derald Dudley]

Mr. Hollick,

I am the new administrator of the Dudley DNA Project at the Family Tree DNA web site. I am a decendant of William Dudley. I've had a recent 12 marker match with another Dudley. His research shows his ancestor, Richard Dudley, coming from England to Montgomery County Maryland sometime between 1729 and 1810. (I'm reserching this now.)

Do you know much about the Dudleys of Montgomnery County Maryland? Do you know of other DNA research that ties two differnt Dudley lines back to England? I'm an amature genealogist at best and am not sure if this is significant? I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Many Thanks,
Derald Dudley

[Martin Hollick]

Im sorry, but I have not researched the Maryland or Virginia Dudley families. Ive also never explored DNA research with the Dudleys since I would be the wrong Y chromosone. Perhaps one of the Dudley Family forums on either ancestry.com or genforum.com will have an answer. Good luck.

[Rob]

What is TAG?

[Martin Hollick]

The American Genealogist. It's a national genealogical journal.

[AliceDCarmel]

Hi Martin,
I used to ask you questions years ago on the Dudley Genforum. You corrected me about not Mary Stow but Mary Roe. My maiden name is Dudley and my upline is Winston, Adolphus M, Adolphus S., Otis, Elias, Daniel, Daniel, William b. at sea, William the immigrant, William, Miles, those last 2 thanks to your careful research. I went to the Dudley Farm in the late 1990's and it was the 4th of July and they couldn't unlock the attic to let me see the family bible, but they thought it might be helpful in determining the ancestors of Wm the immigrant. Some day this spring when it's open I hope to get there as I just retired.
Many thanks for the cobweb cleaning on this line!
Alice Dudley Carmel
Weymouth, MA

[Martin Hollick]

Good to hear from you. Congratulations upon your retirement. Good luck with your continued research. Merry Christmas.