“People don’t believe me,” wrote Marion Damiano of Turlock, CA.
Marion had submitted three queries to the editor of a genealogy magazine. Here’s what she wanted to know:
- Parents of Susan Wormwood who married her ancestor John Doe. He was born about 1703 at Durham in Strafford Co., NH.
- Parents of Tamson Edgerly, wife of John Doe. He was born in 1764 at New Durham, NH, and probably a son of John and Susan (Wormwood) Doe.
- Parents of Lois Nutter Berry, the wife of Josiah Doe. He was born in 1803, the son of John and Tamson (Edgerly) Doe.
Descendants of Nicholas Doe
The third John Doe in a row? Well, Marion only had three, but some close kin may have had even more. Marion’s third John Doe is the John Doe (1669-1742) who, with his wife Elizabeth, were parents of the John Doe (b. 1703) who reportedly married Susan Wormwood.
This elder John Doe was born at Oyster River, NH, to Nicholas Doe (b. ca.1632) and his wife, the former Martha Thomas (b. ca. 1635). Nicholas, the immigrant, was believed to have been born in London. He was a constable at Dover, NH.
The name of Nicholas Doe appears on a variety of early New Hampshire records. Records indicate he purchased at least three tracts of land, witnessed the will of Richard York of Dover in 1672, and served on a grand jury in 1679 and 1680 at Dover.
Early Doe Soldiers
The John Doe born in 1703 served in the French and Indian War. His son John, a shoemaker, served in the Revolutionary War.
If we return to this third John Doe in a row for Marion, we find that he and Tamson Edgerly also had a son, John, who was, then, brother of Marion’s ancestor, Josiah Doe. He would be, in his line, the fourth John Doe in successive generations.
Beware: Erroneous Online Doe Data
Beware of erroneous online family trees in this Doe family. One of them says John Doe and Susan Wormwood were both born in 1702 and both died in 1722, but still were parents for the John Doe born in 1764! It is possible, however, that we have a missing generation here. If Susan were her husband’s age she would be too old to have a child born in 1764.
A branch of this same Doe family descended from Nicholas, the immigrant, was in Parsonsfield, Maine by the time of the Revolutionary War. They, too, had three John Does in a row. Another online tree mixes them in with the related Does in Durham, NH and claims Tamson Edgerly was the wife of one of the Maine Does.
Clearly there is more work to be done on these lines. Also, the warning about use of online family trees remains in effect. Use them as clues, but do not copy undocumented data from them. Never!
SOURCES: The Descendants of Nicholas Doe, by Elmer E. Doe, 1918; History of the Town of Durham (Oyster River Plantation), by Everett Stackpole and Winthrop Meserve, 1913; Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, by Sybil I. Noyes, Charles T. Libby and Walter G. Davis, reprint (2002: Baltimore).
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