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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Thomas Dudley-1576-1653
GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY
AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BY
GEORGE ELLSWORTH KOUES, Esquire
« a. *
BEFORE THE
Society of Colonial Wars
IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
ON
DECEMBER 19, 1911

PUBLICATION NUMBER 20
Under the Authority of the Council by
THE COMMITTEE ON HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS
AND THE SECRETARY
NOVEMBER. 1912

/YALE

THOMAS DUDLEY— 1576-1653
Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony
A paper read before the Society by George Ellsworth
Koues, Esquire, on December 19, 1911.
To understand the character of the great Puritan,
Thomas Dudley, from whom some of the members of this
Society are descended, we must consider the environment
of his life before he sailed from Cowes, Isle of Wight, in
1630 as Deputy Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
at the age of fifty-four years, in the ripeness of his
experience. Thomas Dudley was born in Northamptonshire in 1576
and was baptized in St. Andrew's Church, Yardley Hast
ings, October 12 of that year, the son of Roger Dudley and
Susan Thorne, whose mother was a Purefoy. Roger Dudley
was slain at the Battle of Ivry, in 1590, fighting as a cap
tain with a commission from Queen Elizabeth under the
banner of King Henry of Navarre. Thomas Dudley left
no written record of his ancestry, unless it was destroyed
when the house of his daughter, Ann Bradstreet, at Andover,
Massachusetts, was burned, and it has not been definitely
proved whose son Roger was.
In 1653 Thomas Dudley affixed to his will the seal of
the Barons of Dudley, with a crescent for difference, denot
ing his descent from a second son. Dudley Castle, the seat
of these Barons Dudley, at Dudley, Staffordshire, was built
by Athelstan in the year 700. As he was trained in the law,
Thomas Dudley affixed the seal advisedly, and his son.
Governor Joseph Dudley, used the same arms both while he
was in England and Deputy Governor of the Isle of Wight
and while in America and Governor of the Massachusetts
Bay Colony. His daughter, Ann Bradstreet, the first
American poet, in her poem on Sir Philip Sidney says :
Let none, then, disallow of these my strains
Who have the self-same blood yet in my veins.

THOMAS DUDI,EY— 1576-1653
Here we have a clear claim of relationship to John
Dudley, Duke of Northumberland and Earl of Warwick, one
of the executors of the will of Henry VIII, the power behind
the throne of Edward VI, whose son, Gilford Dudley,
married Lady Jane Grey, and who was descended, as was
he, from the Barons of Dudley Castle. The Duke's daughter,
Mary, married Sir Henry Sidney and was the mother of
Sir Philip. Sir Philip Sidney's sister in 1576 married
Henry, Earl of Pembroke, and she is the lady celebrated by
Ben Johnson, who wrote her
EPITAPH
Underneath this sable hearse.
Lies the subject of all verse,
Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother.
Death, ere thou has killed another,
Fair and learned, and good as she.
Time shall throw a dart at thee.
Thomas Dudley and his one only sister were left orphans
at an early age and were taken in charge by Mrs. Purefoy, a
relative on his mother's side, "famed in the region around
Northampton for her piety and wisdom, as well as for phil
anthropic works." She sent him to a Latin school where he
was educated. As soon as he had passed his childhood he
was taken as a page into the family of Lord Henry Comp-
ton, who afterwards was created Earl of Northampton, to
be taught all the accomplishments of a knight. The beauti
ful Castle Ashby, whose gates open to Yardley Hastings,
where Dudley was born, was one of the seats of Lord Comp-
ton, and here he continued, says Cotton Mather, until
he was ripe for higher services. At that time, about the
year 1597, when Thomas was twenty-one years of age, there
came down from the Queen a demand for volunteers to go
over into France to help Henry IV, the Protestant Henry
of Navarre, in the time of his Civil War. The lads of
Northamptonshire were none of them willing to enlist in

THOMAS DUDLEY— 1576-1653
that service until a commission was sent from Queen
Elizabeth to the gallant young Dudley to be their captain,
and then immediately more than fourscore offered to
march under him to the scene of conflict. He was sent over
to France, which being at that time an "Academy of Arms
as well as of Arts," he had opportunity to acquire military
skill and fit himself for commanding in the field and in
other affairs.
We are told by Mather in his Magnalia that King
Henry lay before Amiens, and that Dudley had gone to
assist him. The city had been captured by the Spaniards
in 1597, but it was retaken, however, without bloodshed by
King Henry. Dudley and his company participated in the
siege, which was ended after six months by its capitula
tion in September. The siege of Amiens was of great im
portance, because here was the last resistance of Philip II,
and on April the 15th of the following year, 1598, Henry
IV issued his edict of Nantes.
Cotton Mather says that "after Captain Dudley returned
to Northampton he settled again near Northampton, and
meeting with a gentlewoman of both good estate and good
extraction, he entered into marriage with her and took up
his habitation for some time in that part of the country
where he enjoyed the ministry of Mr. Dodd, Mr. Cleaver
and one Mr. Winston, and it is supposed that association
with these men largely influenced his religious views."
Again Mather says that Dudley "was taken by Judge
Nicolls to be his clerk, who, being his kinsman also, by his
mother's side, took more special notice of him and found
him a prompt young man; he learned much skill in the law
and attained to such abilities as rendered him capable of
performing a secretary's place, for he was known to have a
very good pen, to draw up any writing in succinct and
apt expression, which so far commended him to the favor
of the judge that he would never have dismissed him from
his service, but have preferred him to some more eminent

THOMAS DUDLEY— 1576-1653
and profitable employment under him, but that he was pre
vented by death."
Judge Nicolls died in 1616. Says Augustine Jones : "We
cannot give too much attention to the Honorable Augustine
Nicolls, because he must have had a marked influence upon
the character of Dudley. It is said that Nicolls entered at
the Middle Temple in London, November 5, 1575; that he
became a reader or lecturer in 1602 and in the same year
was summoned to take the degree of the Coif, which, in
consequence of the death of Elizabeth, was renewed by
King James, by whom he was knighted; that his arguments
in Westminster Hall are reported by both Coke and Croke
for the next nine years till 1612, when he was elevated to
be Judge of the Common Pleas. Three years afterward he
was appointed Chancellor oi, Charles, Prince of Wales.
It must always be accounted good fortune on the part of
Dudley and creditable to his discernment and incorruptibility
that in the midst of so much wickedness in high places he
made a choice of such a friend and patron as Judge Nicolls,
of whom it could be said freely that he was of 'exemplary
integrity,' even to the rejection of gratuities after judgment.
This was about the time that the Lord Chancellor of Eng
land, Sir Francis Bacon, was found guilty of bribery of
the most flagrant sort."
Dudley's residence in the city of London had much
to do with his development and his quick mental fibre must
have accumulated wisdom as he listened to the trial of many
of the cases in the Common Law by great masters like
Coke, which have served as precedents to guide the succeed
ing generations of jurists. Here, too, he must have listened
to the religious and political agitations of that period, when
the divine right of kings was questioned and England was
about to enter into that remarkable struggle for liberty which
brought Charles I to the block, and Cromwell, to whom our
Dudley has been likened in force and directness of character,
to the Dictatorship of England.

THOMAS DUDLEY— 1576-1653
Westminster Abbey and the beautiful Chapter House,
in which assembled the first Parliament, together with West
minster Hall— the great Hall of William Rufus— was as a
home to him and, in the Jerusalem Chamber of the Abbey,
was being translated King James' Version of the Bible.
Shakespeare was writing his plays and acting in them at the
Globe and Blackfriars theatres, and was, in all probability,
seen' by Dudley and possibly known to him, for in his day
London was a small city containing only about one hundred
and sixty thousand people.
At the death of Judge Nicolls, Lord Say and Sele and
Lord Compton recommended Dudley to administer the
affairs of Theopolis Clinton, fourth Earl of Lincoln, whose
estates were greatly involved, through the lavish expenditure
of his grandfather, Henry, 'the second Earl, particularly
while he was in the train of King Henry VIII, attending
the fete of the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Dudley, it is
said, became to Theopolis what Joseph had been to Pharaoh,
and the earl acted so entirely upon Dudley's advice that he
would do nothing but what he advised. Dudley even
arranged his marriage with Bridget Finnes, daughter of
Lord Say and Sele.
Of Dudley's work for the earl we have his own words :
"I. found the estate of the Earl of Lincoln so much in debt,
all of which I have discharged, and have raised the rents
so many hundreds per annum. God will, I trust, bless me
and mine in such a manner as he did Nehemiah, appealing
unto the judgment of Him, that knew all hearts, for he had
walked in his integrity before God, to the full discharge of
the duty of his place." It is stated that the indebtedness
discharged by him in ten years was equivalent to one hun
dred thousand dollars, equal to-day to at least five hundred
thousand dollars, so that Dudley must have provided ten
thousand dollars yearly besides living expenses, interests,
etc. Dudley completed his task for the earl in 1626 and
retired from his activities a man of comfortable fortune.

THOMAS DUDLEY— 1576-1653
For some few years he lived under the shadow of St.
Botolph's at Boston, that great church with its tower of
three hundred feet and its lantern to guide the mariner of
that day, with the exception of the Cathedrals the greatest
church building in England. Here John Cotton preached
and Thomas Dudley listened. The town took its name from
the church. It was successively St. Botolph's Town, Botolph's
Town, Boston, and I am of the opinion that it was Thomas
Dudley who moved the resolution at the first court of the com
pany held in Massachusetts Bay after the arrival of the emi
grants that the place be called Boston. He was logically the
man to so move, for Winthrop had no association with Boston
or interest in it, living at a distance at Groton, in Suffolk, and
John Cotton did not come to our Boston until three years after
the naming of the place.
Dudley's old biographer says the times grew very
stormy around him, and he was more willing to depart to a
new world of promise where he might enjoy his freedom to
the utmost of what he desired. His circle of intimate
friends included Lord Compton, Lord Say and Sele, the
Earl of Lincoln, Isaac Johnson and John Humphreys, brothers-
in-law of the earl, and these in turn were friends of and
associates of Cromwell, Hampden and Pym. These men, and
Dudley especially, were the moving spirits in the emigra
tion to Massachusetts Bay, which best may be described in
Dudley's own words :
"Touching the plantation which we have begun, it fell
out thus. About the year 1627 some friends being together
in Lincolnshire, fell into discourse about New England and
the planting of the Gospel there, and after some deliberation
we imparted our reasons by letters and messages to some
in London and the West Country, where it was likewise
deliberately thought upon, and at length with often negotia
tions so ripened, that in the year 1628 we procured a patent
from His Majesty for our planting between Massachusetts
Bay and Charles River on the south, and the River Merrimac

THOMAS DUDLEY— 1576-1653
on the north, and three miles on either side of those rivers
and bay, and Mr. Winthrop, of Suffolk, coming into us,
we came to such resolution," etc.
On the 26th of August, 1629, an agreement was entered
into between twelve of the intending colonists to sell their
estates and set sail for Massachusetts Bay on the 1st of
March, 1630. They planned to establish a place of refuge
in New England not only for themselves, but for those who
at the time remained in England to fight the fight for liberty
of conscience, and where, if their efforts were not success
ful, they could find that liberty. Several members of the
Massachusetts Bay Company, undertaking the colonization,
were members of the Long Parliament and under the lead
of Cromwell did secure a large measure of liberty and
therefore remained at home.
The agreement was signed first by Sir Richard Salton-
stall, his title giving him the usual precedence, Dudley
signed second and Winthrop ninth; this order of signing
on Winthrop's part was, I suppose, because he had but a
short time before joined the company. In all the prelim
inaries Dudley's part was that of the chief and of one who
is well content to plan and work and select others to do the
honors. Mathew Craddock was the first governor of the
company and as he was not to go to New England, Win
throp was elected in his place and likewise, at the last
moment, John Humphreys, who was deputy governor, decid
ing not to sail with the company, Thomas Dudley, who had
been secretary, was elected deputy governor in his place.
Dudley speaks of Winthrop "as well approved here for his
piety, liberality, wisdom and gravity," and at another time
Winthrop, speaking of Dudley, says, "besides, this gentleman
was a man of approved wisdom and godliness and of much
good service to the country," and when a difference of
opinion came between them Winthrop wrote Dudley, "I am
unwilling to keep such a cause of provocation by me," to
which Dudley replied, "your overcoming yourself hath

THOMAS DUDLEY— 1576-1653
overcome me." Words of mutual respect are these flowing
between the foremost founders of the small Commonwealth
and a great nation.
Winthrop served as governor four years, at the end
of which time it was thought best to have rotation in office
rather than to perpetuate power in the hands of one person.
Therefore, delegates were chosen and sent to the General
Court in 1634, and Thomas Dudley was, by ballots of paper,
the first time they were used in a public election, elected
governor, and Winthrop the deputy. Previously the governor
was elected by the body of assistants, so that this election
inaugurated a system on the principle which has extended with
but slight interruption even from that day to this, and is one
of the factors that has made possible this great nation, a nation
that owes more to these two great founders than has been
accorded to them.
Dudley and Winthrop from this time worked hand in
hand, having their differences from time to time, but always
working for the upbuilding of the State. They helped to
draft and to enact the laws and, as magistrates, administered
them, and in religious matters officiated in the absence of
the minister. The record shows Dudley everywhere active in legis
lative, social, and in business affairs. In_the twenty-three
years of his life after coming to Massachusetts Bay Dudley
was absent only once from the sittings of the Court and
then because there was to come before it a matter affecting
liimself._ He was elected governor four times and when
not governor was either deputy governor or a member of
the Court of Assistants. Dudley's eldest son married Win
throp's eldest daughter, and again in the third generation
Governor Joseph Dudley's daughter, Anne, married John Win
throp, F. R. S., and I believe it to be a fact that every Win
throp living to-day of the name of Winthrop is a descend
ant of this marriage, and therefore all descended from
Thomas Dudley. 8

THOMAS DUDLEY— 1576-1653
In 1643 Dudley was one of a committee to treat with the
other colonies about a confederacy. Augustine Jones says :
"It has been thought that this confederacy was suggested by
those of the Low Countries." The articles were signed
on the 19th of May. The colonies were represented by two
persons from each colony, as to-day our States are repre
sented in the Senate by two persons from each State. This
confederacy was the prototype of the present United States
of America. Winthrop was chosen president at the first
session of the commissioners and again in 1645, and Dudley
in 1647 and 1649. Thus it appears that either Dudley or
Winthrop presided whenever its sessions were held in Bos
ton during their lifetime and that no one else attained to
this honor.Dudley was the first sergeant-major-general of the
colony — appointed at a General Court held March, 1644.
Whitney's History of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery
Company says : "Honorable Thomas Dudley served as major-
general four years, being the first, in 1648; Honorable John
Endicott succeeded the venerable Dudley, whose son-in-law,
Daniel Dennison, was chosen in 1653 and held office ten
years, and Governor Joseph Dudley and Paul Dudley,
Esquire, sons of the first Governor Dudley, were many
years active members of the company."
John Harvard was of Governor Dudley's company, as
was also George Philips, and it was in 1650 that Governor
Dudley signed the charter of Harvard College, which to-day
hangs on the walls of the college library at Cambridge
For its preservation his son. Governor Joseph Dudley, did
active legislative service and after the Revolutionary War
the charter was renewed by the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. The Rev. Samuel Dudley, Governor Thomas Dudley's
son, settled at Exeter, and his daughter Ann, the poetess,
wife of Governor Simon Bradstreet, at Andover, and as a
perpetual reminder that enlightenment was ever a watchword

THOMAS DUDLEY— 1576-1653
of the Dudleys, to-day we have Philips Exeter and Philips
Andover academies.
Governor Dudley's grandson, John Woodbridge, was
the first graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1642,
in which first class was also graduated George Downing, a
nephew of Governor Winthrop, the second graduate to
appear on its rolls. For this American-bred boy, George
Downing, the great governmental street of the British
Empire was named. Sent to England after his graduation,
he was placed in the Foreign Office to be trained in states
manship. He was the author of the English Ship Bill, for
which he was knighted, and by his marriage with one of
the Howards, of the Duke of Norfolk's family, inherited
land in Whitehall upon which stands the historic Number
10 Downing Street.
The will of Thomas Dudley is written with his own
hand and it is preserved and can be seen to-day in the
Suffolk Probate Ofiice. It reads:

This is the last will and testament of me, Thomas Dudley,
of Roxbury, in New England, made in my perfect health, the six
and twentieth day of April, in the Year of our Lord, one thousand
six hundred and fifty-three. For my soul, I commend it into
the hands of my God, in whom I have believed, whom I have
loved, which he has promised to receive in Jesus Christ, my
Redeemer and Saviour, with whom I desire ever to be, leaving
this testimony behind me for the use and example of my pos
terity, and any other upon whom it may work, that I have hated
and do hate every false way in religion, not only the old
idolatry and superstition of popery, which is wearing away,
but much more (as being much worse) the new heresies, blas
phemies, and errors of late sprung up in our native country of
England, and secretly received and fostered more than I wish
they were, here.

At his death there was found in his pocket, in his own
handwriting, the following lines :
10

THOMAS DUDLEY— 1576-1653
Dim eyes, deaf ears, cold stomach show
My dissolution is in view;
Eleven times seven near lived have I,
And now God calls, I, willing dye,
My shuttle's shot, my race is run.
My sun is set, my deed is done;
My span is measured, my tale is told,
My flowers faded and grown old,
My life is vanished, shadows fled,
My soul's with Christ, my body dead;
Farewell, dear wife, children and friends,
Hate heresy, make blessed ends,
So shall we meet with joy again.
The Rev. Ezekiel Rogers wrote of him :
In books, a prodigal they say
A living cyclopedia;
Of histories of church and priest
A full compendium at least;
A table-talker, rich in sense.
And witty without wits pretense;
An able champion in debate,
Whose work lack numbers but not weight,
In character, a critic bold,
And of that faith both sound and old,
Both Catholic and Christian, too;
A soldier trusty, tried and true ;
New England's senate's crowning grace,
In merit truly as in place;
Condemned to share the common doom.
Reposes here in Dudleys Tomb.
Dean Dudley in his history of the Dudley family was
not content to use his own beautiful rhetoric in closing a
chapter on Thomas Dudley, but quoted the great master,
Dudley's contemporary, Shakespeare:
A man that fortune buffets and rewards.
Hath taken with equal thanks ; and blest is he,
Whose blood and judgment are so well commingled.
That he is not a pipe for fortune's finger
To sound what stop she please. Give me that man
That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him
In my heart's core, aye, in my heart of hearts.
11