Dorothy Blandford

Erroneous Genealogies

Her first husband is *unknown.* She did *not* have a son in Concord. Their family did *not* own a castle in Englnad. She was not the widow of Francis Wright in England who did own a castle. From Dawes-Gates Vol 1 p 679:

"There arc more misstatements relative to this family than almost any other of early days, for our DOROTHY is erroneously assigned a husband she never had, a castle in England and a son Edward of Conord' who really sold that castle, but that man was not our EDWARD' who lived only at Sudbury. Through a misreading of the early script, EDWARD' is frequently recorded as having married Hannah Axtel2 (Thomas1) instead of HANNAH' UPSON. But what is really worse he is repeatedly shown in print as having three wives instead of but one and as being the composite of three contemporaneous men of that name, himself, the above-mentioned Edward of Concord and an Edward of Boston. Samuel2 (Edward1) is erroneously called son of a Thomas; and our Dorothy is made to marry Noah Brooks of Concord (who really had a wife Dorothy.) instead of marrying our BENJAMIN Moore, as a legal document proves that she did. The facts that Edward Wright of Concord actually owned land at Sudbury (though he never lived there) and that he and our EDWARD' of Sudbury both used for their children, contemporaneously the five names Sarah, Elizabeth, Edward, Martha and Samuel, explains in a degree, but docs not excuse, the published misinformation... Erroneous statements will be found in Pope's Pioneers, p. 516; J. H. Temple's Framinghauh 1887, pp. 754-5; Hubbard Thompson Memorial, L. K. Stewart, 1914, pp. 336-41; Vital Records of Sudbury, p. 157; New England Register XIX, 127; XXII, 143; LIII, 227 {and see 359); W. Barry's Framingham, 1847, p. 449; Hudson's Sudbury, p. 56, etc."[1]

Edward Wright of Concord is often conflated with Edward Wright of Sudbury:

1) Edward Wright of Concord had a father Francis Wright who owned a castle in England. He did not have a mother named Dorothy (Unknown) Blandford. He married Elizabeth. He died on 28 Aug 1691.

2) Edward Wright of Sudbury had an *unknown* father and a mother Dorothy (Unknown) Blandford. Dorothy of Sudbury did *not* have a son in Concord. Their family did *not* own a castle in Englnad. She was not the widow of Francis Wright in England who did own a castle. Edward Wright of Sudbury had one wife Hannah (Upson) Wright. He died on 7 Aug 1703.

Biography

She arrived by 1639.[2] Her maiden name and first husband are unknown. We simply know her as Dorothy or Widow Wright and her name was mis-transcribed as "widow Rice."[1][2][3]

She had two children by her first unknown husband:[1]

1. Edward Wright (1634-1703), born in England[1]
2. Samuel Wright (1641-1664)[1]

She married second to John Blanford (1611–1687) on 10 Mar 1642 in Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts. They had five children (only three of whom married):[1][4][5]

1. Sarah Blanford (1643–1724)[1][6][7]("Sarah [dup. Sara Blanford], d. John and Dorothie [dup. Dorothy], Jan. 27, 1642. [d. John and Mary. MR]" Sudbury births Vol 1 p 18)[8]
2. Hannah Blandford (1645–1680)[6]("–––––, d. John and Dorothy, Mar. 7, 1644. [Hanna, d. John and Dorothie. MR]" Sudbury births Vol 1 p 18)[8]
3. John Blandford III (1646–) He is not named in his mother's or father's will.[6]("John [dup. Blanford], s. John and Dorithy [dup. Dorothy], Mar. 6, 1646. [s. John and Dorothie. MR]" Sudbury births Vol 1 p 18)[8]
4. Lydia Blandford (1647–1676)[6]("Lidia, d. John and Dorothy, Feb. 28, 1647" Sudbury births Vol 1 p 18)[8]
5. Stephen Blandford (1649– )[1][6]("Steeven, s. John and Dorothy, Dec. 3, 1649. MR" Sudbury births Vol 1 p 18)[8]

Note John Blandford had a daughter Mary from his previous marriage to Mary who died on 4 Dec 1641 in Sudbury.[1] [6]

Dorothy died March 1, 1703, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts.[1] [6][9]

Disputed Children

Note that *no* other children are recorded in vital records or mentioned in the probate records of any of these parents. There is absolutely no evidence that Thomas Blanford (1648 - 1698) of Maryland has any relationship to this family. He should be removed.

Disputed Origins

Robert Charles Anderson in the Great Migration Directory published in 2012 lists her origins as unknown. She arrived by 1639. Her maiden name and first husband are unknown. We simply know her as Dorothy or Widow Wright. She is not related to Francis Wright. Some derivative sources on the Internet give her parents as: Edward Wright, Jr. (1575–1617) and Mary Wiggins (1587–1705); however, Edward Wright was Francis' father, and Mary Wiggins was Francis' first wife.[10] Many sources say Dorothy was born in Sudbury, Massachusetts, but that obviously is not possible. Francis Wright (1616-1639/40)[11] and his son of Concord are often conflated with this family of Sudbury.

Sources

• 1. ↑ Mary Walton Ferris, Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines: a memorial volume containing the American ancestry of Rufus R. Dawes (Salem, MA: Higginson Book Company, 1931) Vol 1 The Wright Family p 686 available at Ancestry.com subscription required
• 2. ↑ Robert Charles Anderson. The Great Migration Directory: Immigrants to New England, 1620–1640 (Boston, Massachusetts. New England Historic and Genealogical Society. 2015) p 386
• 3. ↑ Richard Morgan Wright, Edward Wright of Sudbury, Massachusetts, three volumes (Baltimore, Maryland, 2012).
• 4. ↑ Clarance Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, April 2011) p 45 link
• 5. ↑ Frederick Chester Warner, “The Ancestry of Samuel, Freda and John Warner,” typescript, 5 vols. (Boston, 1949, 1955)
• 6. ↑ Grout: James, Elizabeth E. Boice, Capt. John Grout of Watertown and Sudbury, Mass., and Some of His Descendants. A Contribution Toward a Genealogy of the Grout and Allied Families, with Special References to the Line of Henry Whittemore Grout of Waterloo, Iowa (Waterloo, Iowa, 1922) p 75
• 7. ↑ Josephine C. Frost, Ancestors of Charles Dana Bigelow and his wife Eunice Ann Howe (New York: F.H. Hitchcock, 1926) p 26
• 8. ↑ Vital Records of Sudbury, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston, MA: NEHGS, 1903) Vol 1 Births
• 9. ↑ Vital Records of Sudbury, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston, MA: NEHGS, 1903) Vol 2 Deaths.
• 10. ↑ https://familysearch.org/photos/stories/2084802
• 11. ↑ Source: https://familysearch.org/photos/stories/2084802
• CHARLES HENRY POPE, The Pioneers of Massachusetts, A Descriptive List, Drawn from Records of the
• Colonies, Towns and Churches, and other Contemporaneous Documents. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1998. 550p.Page: 516 (read with caution - many errors).
• PETER WILSON COLDHAM The Complete Book of Emigrants: A Comprehensive Listing Compiled from English Public Records of Those Who Took Ship to the Americas for Political, Religious, and Economic Reasons; of Those Who Were Deported for Vagrancy, Roguery, or Non-Conformity; and of Those Who Were Sold to Labour in the New Colonies. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. 1607-1660. 1988. 600 p. Page 195

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• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Apr 19 2016, 20:58:02 UTC
• https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Dorothy_Unknown_%28350%29