Jabez Hodgson was my great great grandfather and he is an intriguing character. (Hodgson is sometimes spelled Hodson, and I have learned that it was pronounced that way in the past, and still is in New Brunswick.)  Jabez was born in Clitheroe, Lancashire, England in 1825.

He appears to have been the 5th child of Thomas and Agnes (Gradwell), who were married in 1815 in St. Leonard's, the parish church in Walton-le-Dale.

Although St. Leonard's is an Anglican church, Thomas and Agnes appear to have become Protestants by the birth of their third child, Samuel Moon, whose baptism is found in Nonconformist records.

We have passenger lists (download below) documenting the arrival of Thomas in Boston in 1827 and the arrival in 1829 of Agnes and their 6 children: Mary Gradwell, Margaret Ann, Samuel Moon, Joseph G., Jabez, and Agnes S.  Two more children were born after the family arrived in America: Thomas in 1830 and Judah, in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1834.

By 1859, Thomas and Agnes had made their way to New Maryland, New Brunswick, a farming village just outside of Fredericton, where Thomas filed a land grant petition (download below) for 100 acres of land. New Maryland, settled in 1817 by descendants of Loyalists from the state of Maryland, is still a small village retaining its rural character, despite its proximity to Fredericton.

Four of the Hodgson children (Jabez, Samuel, Margaret, and Joseph) stayed in the Fall River, Massachusetts/Cumberland, Rhode Island area, perhaps because these were thriving mill towns. The other four children migrated to the Fredericton area, perhaps because they preferred farming to mill work.

• • Thomas (Jr.) became a farmer in New Maryland--probably farming the land granted to his father (although the grant was not made until 1874, 15 years after the original request).

  • Judah became a farmer in Rusagonis (pronounced Rushagornish), a village next to New Maryland.

  • Mary married George Ball in Cumberland. Their second child was born in 1853 in Woonsocket, RI. Their third child was born in 1856 in New Maryland.

  • Agnes married Thomas Moss, probably in Rhode Island. Their fourth child was born in Woonsocket in 1854. Their fifth child was born in New Maryland in 1858.  The Moss, Ball, and Thomas Hodgson farms can all be located on an 1878 map of New Maryland (download below).

Jabez seems to have been the most restless member of the family. He moved around quite a bit.  Perhaps, as a carriage painter, his skills were in demand, giving him the flexibility to be on the move. Jabez and Elizabeth Groves announced their marriage intentions in Northbridge, MA, in 1847. It appears that daughter Minnie was born not long thereafter in Blackstone, RI. There is a record of a wedding in Cumberland, RI, in 1848. Daughter Isabelle was born in Connecticut around 1849, Ellen in an unknown location around 1851. Two more children were born to Jabez and Elizabeth in Chicopee, MA: Eliza in 1853 and William in 1855. Unfortunately both died in infancy. In 1861 the family was counted in the Canadian census as living in St. Ann's Ward in Fredericton. (This record was hard to find because Jabez was listed as "Joseph Hodson.") A new member of the family, my great grandmother Jeannette, was just a few months old, having been born in Fredericton.

By 1867 Jabez and children were back in Massachusetts, but there is no further trace of Elizabeth. In 1867 Jabez married Isabela Brown in Easthampton, MA. and by 1870 he had settled permanently in Fall River.  Isabela was absent when the census was taken in 1870.  Jabez sought a divorce from Isabela on the grounds of adultery, and it was granted in 1872.

In 1882, at the age of 57, Jabez married a 37-year old Irishwoman named Catherine Dunn. They had three daughters in quick succession.  Sadly, the first two died young. Margaret, born in 1883, died while Catherine was pregnant with Fannie, born in 1885.  Both Margaret and Fannie died of marasmus, a form of malnutrition.  Jennie was born in 1886 and lived to the age of 89.  She married Daniel Neylon, but no records of any children have been found.  A 1930 census places Catherine in the household of Jennie and Daniel.