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Transcribed from a copy of the original obtained from the NJ State Archives: Probate File 354J.
This copy has Richard Scudder’s mark, witness and executor signatures, the Judge’s signature, and indications of seals. There is another hand copied version labeled Probate Recorded Vol 7 p. 443. Transcribed by Clive Connor on March 11, 2023. Original capitalization and spellings were used with corrections in brackets as needed for clarification.

Richard4 Scudder was born 1670/71 in Maspeth Kills, one of several villages in the town of Newtown, Long Island, the son of John3 Scudder and Joanna2 Betts (Richard1). In 1691, he married Hannah Reeder, daughter of John Reeder and Joanna Burroughs of Newtown. Rev. Eli F. Cooley nicknamed him Richard “Betts” Scudder in Genealogy of Early Settlers of Trenton and Ewing, “Old Hunterdon County,” New Jersey.

John3 Scudder II was born at Salem, Massachusetts in 1645. His parents were John2 Scudder (Thomas1 (T) and Mary2 King (William1), both of whom were teenagers when they arrived at Boston Harbor with their parents and siblings.

John3 Scudder II was in the first generation of both sides of his family to be born in America. John3 Scudder’s father, John2 Scudder I was a teenager when he immigrated with his father, Thomas1 Scudder (T), the immigrant ancestor of the Scudder (T) Line in America, and his wife Elizabeth ___? whose maiden name is not known. (Thomas (T)’s wife’s name is not Lowers or Somers as corrected by Scudder Association publications for over fifty years). John3 Scudder,

The Rev. Henry1 Scudder was a highly renowned Puritan voice in his era, known for his widely read how-to-book about the rewards of living a Christian life every day and for his impeccable Christian character. Therefore, it is not surprising that he was among the first group called by Parliament to be in the Westminster Assembly of Divines who were tasked with reconciling differences between the religious factions during the English Civil Wars.

The Puritan movement in England, and its related Puritan migration to Massachusetts Bay Colony, were the impetus that brought Richard4 Scudder’s great-grandparents to Boston Harbor. Richard4’s parents, John3 Scudder and Joanna2 (Betts) Scudder, were the first generation in their families born in America.

THEIR HERITAGE EXTENDS FROM ENGLAND TO MASSACHUSETTS TO NEW NETHERLAND–NEW YORK TO NEW JERSEY
John3 Scudder’s parents and Joanna2 Bett’s mother were teenagers when they immigrated to Massachusetts with their families and 20,000 Puritans who had left the tumult of their homeland. Their family’s story deserves preserving within its historical, family, social and religious contexts.

The 250-year story of the Scudder family, from 1526 to 1776, can represent many colonial American families and progressively document the common peoples’ responses to sovereign oppression against rights of conscience, that, in due time, contributed to the rise of American Independence.

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.