DUDLEY, Stephen 1790 US Census Winthrop 1-0-2-0-0

Jesse Lee Church at the corner of route 17 and Plains Road.
This picture was taken about 1900.

As you drive through East Readfield and ascend the hill where the Jesse Lee Methodist Church sits guard you will see a sign that reads “Plains Road.” Those who have lived in Readfield for many years will tell you that road used to be known as “Dudley Plains Road" and after reading this you will better understand why. Many surnames are familiar to older residents in Readfield, but I doubt there is any as prolific in our annals as Dudley.

 

The Dudley family of Readfield descends from Thomas Dudley, who was elected Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony four times between 1635 and 1650.  He had the distinction of being the first Governor selected by representatives of the people in this new country. By his two wives he fathered eight children. The eldest, Samuel, married three times – first to Mary Winthrop, daughter of Massachusetts Bay Colony’s Governor Winthrop, second to Mary Byley, and third to Elizabeth _?_. Samuel’s three wives bore five, five and eight children respectively. His twelfth child, Stephen, married to Sarah, daughter of the honorable John Gilman of Exeter, NH.  Stephen and Sarah’s third of twelve children, James, married to Mercy Folsom, daughter of Deacon John Folsom of Exeter, NH. Of their eight children, four sons – James, Samuel, John and Joseph - sent shoots to Mt. Vernon and Readfield, Maine.



James son, Stephen, came to Hallowell  c1770 and followed spotted trees through the woods to Readfield. Stephen Dudley, as many men did in those early days, chose a beautiful and practical spot in which to live and built his road afterwards. He settled Lot#52 in Mt. Vernon near the Readfield town line and this part of town came to be known as “Dudley Plains.” County records tell us that in 1774 a road was extended from Sandy River Road (route 17) to the Dudley’s and John Stain. Stephen’s wife was an invalid and according to the Dudley Genealogy by Dean Dudley she “did not stand or walk for over forty years, but outlived her husband.” They had one child, Eliphalet, who married, had nine children and lived on the homestead with his parents. His sons Samuel, Stephen, John and Henry carried on the family name in this area.