April 2011 Quiz

(If you are looking for the answer to the March, 2011 quiz, scroll down to the March 2011 Quiz.)

With all of the political turmoil currently going on in the State of Wisconsin lately, I started thinking about all the family members who were involved in politics. Quite a number of our relatives have held positions in local, state and the federal governments. (Currently, Nancy [Niles] Proctor (2) is Village President of Holmen, Wisconsin.)

We are related, albeit very distantly, to someone who was intricately involved in the formation of the state of Wisconsin. This month’s quiz is then, who was he?

A. Henry Dodge
B. James Doty
C. Nathaniel Tallmadge
D. John Catlin

The “extra credit” portion of the quiz is HOW are we related?

Check back next month for the answer!

-- ANSWER

The four men listed in the multiple choice answers were, in chronological order, the four governors of the Wisconsin Territory (1836 – 1848.)

The one who is also a member of our family tree is Henry Dodge.

Henry Dodge was born in 1782 in what is now the State of Indiana, allegedly the “first white child” born there. He was raised in Kentucky. As a young man, he moved to Missouri where, in 1801, he married Christina McDonald. He served in the Missouri militia during the War of 1812.

In 1827, he moved his family to the western portion of Michigan Territory which would later become the Wisconsin Territory. In 1836, he was appointed governor of the Wisconsin Territory and served until 1841.

In 1844, he declined to accept a nomination to run for the US Presidency at the Democratic National Convention. He was reappointed governor of the Wisconsin Territory in 1845 and served until he was elected the first US Senator from the State of Wisconsin in June 1848.

He was the father of Augustus Henry Dodge, who was elected US Senator from the State of Iowa in December, 1848. This was the first (and possibly only) time a father and son served concurrently as US Senators. His daughter, Christina, was married to James Clarke who was the last governor of Iowa Territory before it became a state in 1846.

Henry died in 1867 in Iowa. There is a TON of information about him on the web. Just search for “Henry Dodge”.

OK, so now for the “extra credit” portion – HOW are we related? I warned you that he was a DISTANT relative… And, our common ancestry is on the Dodge side, not on the Pendleton side.

Let’s start with Grandpa Roy (0). His father was Beeley Blanchford Pendleton (-1) whose father was John Pendleton (-2) whose father was Gideon Pendleton (-3) whose father was Thomas Pendleton (-4) who was married to Dorcas Dodge.

Dorcas Dodge was the great-great-grandmother of Grandpa Roy. Her father was Nathaniel Dodge (-5) whose father was Tristam Dodge (-6) whose father was Tristam Dodge (-7) who was the 5th great-grandfather of Grandpa Roy.

Now we need to move “UP” (or “down”) the tree. Another son of Tristam Dodge (-7) was Israel Dodge (-6) whose son was John Dodge (-5) whose son was John Dodge (-4) whose son was Israel Dodge (-3) who was the father of Henry Dodge (-2).

So, Grandpa Roy and Henry Dodge were 4th cousins twice removed. You can’t get much more distant than that. But, there was a common ancestor! This is how I have amassed over 28,000 people in “the tree” and I’m not even close to listing everyone. The search continues!