John Scudder (1645-1732) and Joanna Betts (1650-1711)
Parents of Richard Betts Scudder (1671-1754)
John and Joanna are our 8th great-grandparents. John Scudder was born in Salem about 1645 son of John and Mary (King) Scudder. Joanna Betts was born at Newton, Long Island about 1650 daughter of Richard and Joanna (Chamberlain) Betts. John Scudder’s family made the trip from Salem to Long Island in the 1650’s. John and Joanna married at Newtown on 20 April 1669. John and Joanna were parents of two known children, although there were probably other children. The children in the family made the move from New York to New Jersey.
Our ancestor, Richard Betts Scudder, is the progenitor of the Scudder line in the Trenton, New Jersey area. He and his wife Hannah Reeder with their oldest children came to Trenton by 1709, in May 1709 purchasing a plantation of some 500 acres on the Delaware River at the falls now known as Scudder Falls. This area of the river is about two miles below where Washington crossed the Delaware on Christmas 1776. Richard Scudder was active in the community and served as a Captain in the militia. Richard Betts Scudder married Hannah Reeder at Newtown about 1691. Hannah Reeder was born at Newtown about 1671 daughter of John and Joanna (Burroughs) Reeder. Richard Betts Scudder and Hannah Reeder were parents of eleven children and were the grandparents of Deborah Scudder who married John Hart.
References
Cooley, Eli Field, William Scudder Cooley, and Hannah Louisa Cooley. 1883. Genealogy of Early Settlers in Trenton and Ewing, "Old Hunterdon County," New Jersey. Trenton, NJ: W.S. Sharp Printing.
Lee, Francis Bazley. 1910. Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey. New York, NY: Lewis Historical Publishing Company.