Given the adventurous exploits of Quaker minister Robert Hodgson, who arrived in North America on the remarkable voyage of the Woodhouse, many of my Hodgson relations over the centuries have hoped to find a genealogical connection. While many respectable researchers have stated they could find no relationship between the two lines, some other genealogists have plunged ahead and published their own versions, which, unfortunately, are not supported by historical evidence.
The more I have investigated the intrepid Woodhouse minister, especially in light of genealogical source material now available online, the more remote the possibility of a connection appears. In short, the Robert Hodgson who settled in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and his son Robert, who relocated by degrees to Chester County, Pennsylvania, have no known direct relationship to the George Hodgson who relocated from Chester County by way of today’s Adams County, Pennsylvania, before moving again to what is now Guilford County, North Carolina.
The story of Robert Hodgson is one, all the same, that deserves to be known widely. I hope you find his exploits to be both fascinating and exciting.
Orphan George 