Margery Boyden, Scudder Association Foundation Historian

“My bodie to be buried solemely according to the custom of the church of England, within the parish churchyard of Darenthe, as near as may be unto my father’s grave.

This is the first in a series of articles to appear in the next few issues of Scudder Family Historical & Biographical Journal about the sons of Henry Scudder, yeoman, of Horton Kirby, Kent. This brief summary of conditions in their homeland gives context to the life choices each son would make.

It is well known to history that the Scudders and Winslows commenced their missions to Ceylon together. What is not well advertised is that Rev. Miron Winslow’s wife, Harriet Wadsworth (Lathrop) Winslow, of Norwich, Connecticut was a distant cousin to Dr. John Scudder.

To begin their amazing multigenerational saga of providing more than 40 Scudder missionaries to Ceylon and India, Dr. John Scudder and his wife Harriet (Waterbury) Scudder had to go through the formal goodbyes with their families in America.

Curiosity can sometimes lead to unexpected but pleasing discoveries. When Dr. John and Harriet (Waterbury) Scudder set sail for Calcutta and Ceylon, three other missionary couples were with them. We couldn’t help but ask, “Who were they and what life experiences brought them to dedicate themselves to missionary service for the rest of their lives?”

This issue of the Journal focuses on Notable Ancestors and Descendants of Richard4 “Betts” Scudder that Pertain to All Three American Scudder Lines so there is something here for all Scudder descendants to discover. This issue has Puritan history about Richard4’s ancestors and American Revolutionary War history that features three of Richard “Betts” Scudder’s grandchildren, including his grandson-in-law John4 Hart, signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Find the Answer in This True 130-Year-old Love Story from India On the Scudder Association’s Foundation’s 2019 bicentennial excursion to India, Samuel approached James Taylor with his prized possession, a Bible that is at least 125 years old. “Who was Mabel J. Scudder?” he asked. On the flyleaf was written, “Mr. Gopalsamy Mudalier from Mabel J. Scudder, Christmas 1893.”

The Scudders of India have a long family tradition of devoting their lives to the assistance of others. But what if you were not a Scudder? When a Scudder took a bride, planning to return to India, did their vow include,\” …to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse,

The 29th daye of September beinge the Feast of St. Micaell the archangell in the yeere of our Lorde God one thousand fyve hundreth fourscore and fowre[teen] and the Sixxe and thirtieth yeere of the Raigne of our Soveraigne Lady Elizabeth, by the grace of God Queene of England etc.

The strong ROOT of the American Scudder Family Tree was a yeoman in England named Henry Skudder, who died at Horton Kirby, Kent in 1594/5, but it took more than 100 years of research to prove it.