Daniel Dodd settles on land near Watsessing
Plain.
Daniel Dodd of Newark was the ancestor of the Dodds of
Bloomfield and Doddtown, East Orange. He came from Branford,
England, about 1668.
He was appointed in March, 1678, with Edward Ball, the run
the northern line of the town from the Passaic to the First
Mountain. The land looked fair to the young man, and he soon
thereafter (1679) surveyed a tract
upon Watsesson Plain, in the valley of the Second River.
The Elizabeth Town Bill in Chancery states the fact of his
having secured this land.
In January 18, 1697, this property and much more in various
localities was confirmed to him by the East Jersey proprietors.
He was chosen a deputy to the Provincial Assembly in 1692. His
children, Daniel, Stephen, John and Dorcas are said to have
established homes on various tracts of the Watsesson grant.
John Dodd's home, located on the corner of what is now Dodd
Street and Midland Avenue in the city’s First Ward, was the
beginning of the settlement of East Orange. The First Ward’s
nickname of Doddtown comes from the Dodds, who operated many of
the East Orange’s first businesses.
The following drawings show two of the Dodd Family houses
circa 1859.
Further Resources of Interest on this
subject:
The Dodd family tree includes a great
many John Dodds, Daniel Dodds, and Samuel Dodds. It is often
difficult keep in mind which is which. This may help: The Dodd Family
