USA - The ancestry of most Hodgmans in the USA can be traced to Thomas Hodgman of Reading, Mass. His marriage to Mary Merrill is recorded in 1663. He has not been identified in England. He and his wife adopted Josiah Webber, born in 1668, who took the name Hodgman. Most US Hodgmans descend from Josiah and his wife Elizabeth and their only son Thomas Hodgman, born in Reading, Mass. 18 Feb 1692, and Thomas' wife Abigail Geary of Charlestown, Mass.
Dick has done some research into Hodgmans in the US Census.
Australia - Hodgmans emigrated in the 1850s and 1860s from England to Australia and in particular to Tasmania, part of Australia and an island off the southern coast. There was a Hodgman family reunion (402 KB) in Tasmania the weekend of 4th - 5th March 2000. You can visit Rose Hodgman's Web Site The Hodgman Family in Australia.
South Africa - Hodgmans are descended from Edward George Hodgman who emigrated from Ramsgate, County Kent, on the south coast of England in 1842 or 1852. He had four sons.
England - Hodgmans have been identified in Ramsgate, County Kent, on the south coast of England, in the 17th century and in the 19th century. Hodgmans in the USA, Australia, and South Africa are thought to all have come from England.
Hodgeman County, Kansas was established as Hodgman County by the act of March 6, 1873. It is named for Amos Hodgman (Calvin, Jonas, Timothy, Thomas, Josiah, Thomas), Captain, Company H, Seventh Kansas cavalry. Captain Hodgman served in the American Civil War and was wounded in Wyatt, Mississippi on October 10, 1863 and died October 16th. The legislature later added an 'e' to the name of the county. Jim Bratt has provided a summary on Amos Hodgman and his family. Dick traveled to Jetmore, the county seat of Hodgeman County, in 2006, and has posted photos. Amos Hodgman is Dick's third cousin, seven generations removed.
The Hodgeman County Centennial Committee published A History of Hodgeman County in 1961. There is a newspaper article on A B Jetmore, the namesake of the county seat of Hodgeman County. There is a section on Hodgeman County from William G. Cutler's History Of the State Of Kansas. GenWeb has references to Hodgeman County and to Jetmore, the County Seat.
Hodgeman County is 2212 km2 (864 square miles) in area and has an average elevation of 760 meters (2500 feet). It is in western Kansas, 200 km (120 mi.) west of Wichita and 40 km (25 mi.) north of Dodge City. The county seat is Jetmore. Population of Hodgeman County in 1910 was 2130, in 1985, 2300.
Hodgman is also spelled Hodgeman, and also misspelled that way by many people. Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the American Revolution, 1901, states that Hodgman in its records also appears under the form of Hodgeman, Hodman, Hogman, and Hogmon. Catherine Phillips, in The Descendants of Moses and Frances Bellows Hodgman, includes Hodgmoure, and Hogsman as other variations.
American Revolution - By the time of the Revolution, there had been five generations of Hodgmans in America. In Massachusetts, Abel, Abijah, Amos, Asa, Benjamin, David, Issac, John, Nathan, Thomas, and Timothy have recorded service in the cause of the Revolution. In New Hampshire, Abel, Job, John, Joseph, Joseph, Jr., Josiah (my ancestor), Nathan, Oliver, Thomas, and Zaccheus served. In Vermont, Jonathan and Lot Hodgman heeded the call of the Revolution.
Research - Several books have been privately published regarding Hodgman genealogy in the US. Some manuscripts are also available. Dick has done some research.
Bruce Hodgman, Hodgman family genealogist, and his wife Ann, of Vergennes, Vermont, came through Kansas City in April 2000.
If you have any comments, corrections, or additional information, please contact Dick through http://www.hodgman.org/contact/
Go to the Hodgman Family Home Page at http://www.hodgman.org/.
Last modified on 2012 February 01