The first record we have of Nicholas Hodsdon is in the town of Hingham, Massachusetts which granted him a house lot in 1636 and later, at least two meadows.

Nicholas married (1) about 1639, Esther Wines, a cousin of Faintnot Wines of Charlestown, MA who left legacies to Esther's five living children in 1664. Esther died at Hingham 29 November 1647, and Nicholas married (2) between 25 May 1648 and 2 October 1650, Elizabeth Needham, widow of John Needham who had died aboard the ship of Captain Varvell while on its way to Virginia.

Nicholas and his family remained in Hingham until about 1650, when he purchased, with others, large tracts of land at Cambridge Hill, now Newton, near the line which divides Brookline and Newton. While living in Hingham, he was received as freeman on 9 March 1636/7. Before 1656, he had moved and was living in Kittery, Maine and thereafter he received several grants of land from that town. Nicholas first appears on record at Kittery, ME in 1655 for being absent from meeting. In 1659 he and others, among which were our ancestors Anthony Emery and Richard Nason, were ordered to Boston for entertaining Quakers. Nicholas pleaded not guilty but it was ordered that he be admonished by the Governor.

Nicholas deeded his homestead at Kittery to his son, Benoni, in 1678 for support of himself and wife, except 7 acres whereon his son-in-law, John Morrell, was then living. In 1679, he deeded 40 acres of land to his son, Timothy.

We do not know the place and date of death of Nicholas or of Elizabeth. They were probably buried in the graveyard which was laid out on a portion of the homestead to which reference is made in the deed given 17 May 1828 "Reserving and excepting from this conveyance one eighth of an acre on the homestead first above mentioned which has been heretofore used as a place of burial by our ancestors."

Nicholas and his first wife Esther (Wines) Hodsdon had six children, all born at Hingham, MA:

• Esther, bpt. 20 Sept. 1640; m. 25 Dec. 1663, Edward Weymouth.
• Mehitable, bpt. Nov. 1641; m. 3 Nov. 1665, Peter Welcome of Salem, Mass.
• Jeremiah, bpt. 5 Sept. 1643; d. before 1719; m. Ann Thwait, daughter of Alexander and Anne Thwait.
• Israel, bpt. 19 July 1646; m. probably Ann Thompson, daughter of Miles and Ann Thompson.
• Elizabeth, bpt. 19 July 1646; probably died young.
• Benoni, bpt. 5 Dec. 1647, after the death of his mother; m. Abigail Curtis.

Nicholas and his second wife Elizabeth Needham Hodsdon had six children, places and dates of births not found:

• Sarah, m. John Morrell.
• Timothy, d. in 1719; m. Hannah -----.
• John, last mentioned in 1734; m. Rebecca -----.
• Joseph, d. before 1691; m. Tabitha Raynes, daughter of Francis and Eleanor Raynes of York, Maine.
• Lucy, d. 25 Dec. 1725; m. George Vickers of Hingham, MA.
• Hannah, m. 25 June 1695, Nicholas Smith.

Esther Hodsdon was baptized in Hingham, MA 20 September 1640, daughter of Nicholas and Esther (Wines) Hodsdon. She married 25 December 1663, Edward Weymouth.

The Weymouth line has not yet been placed on this site.

Benoni Hodsdon was baptized at Hingham, MA 5 December 1647, son of Nicholas and Esther (Wines) Hodsdon; died 1718. He married Abigail Curtis, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Curtis of Scituate, MA and York, ME.

Benoni and Abigail lived at Quamphegon, near Salmon Falls, ME, where their house was burned by the Indians 16 Oct. 1675 and several inhabitants were slain. Benoni was given the homestead at Birchen Point, Kittery, ME, by his father on 22 Oct. 1678. He was a prominent man, selectman in 1692 and 1694, an influential member of the church and one of the committee to locate the meeting house in 1701 and a representative in 1718. Benoni sold his homestead 2 March 1773 to his son, Thomas, he to pay his borthers and sisters a certain sum as their share of their father's estate. The administration on his estate was granted to his widow on 15 May 1718.

Benoni and his wife Abigail (Curtis) Hodsdon had eight children, places and dates of births not found:

• Joseph, m. Margaret Goodwin.
• Samuel, m. Prudence Scammon.
• Thomas, m. Mary Lord.
• Hannah, m. Richard Shackley.
• Abigail, m. Nicholas Gowen.
• John, m. Elizabeth Wingate.
• Esther, m. Thomas horn of Dover, NH.
• Elizabeth, m. James Ferguson.

Thomas and his wife, Mary (Lord) Hodsdon, had four children, all born at Kittery, ME:

• Anna, bpt. 26 July 1713; m. Zachariah Emery.
• John, bpt. 26 July 1713; administration of his estate given to his son, Stephen, on 12 April 1769.
• Thomas, bpt. 20 March 1715; m. Mary -----.
• Mary, bpt. 28 Jan. 1717; m. William Keyes.

The information in the above table as far as the marriage of this particular Anna Hodsdon to this particular Zachariah Emery appears logical but is not proven by a marriage certificate that lists the parentage of the Anna Hodsdon that Zachariah Emery married. The Anna Hodsdon listed above was baptized along with her next younger borther on 26 July 1713. Reasoning suggests that she was one or two or more years old at the time. We have not been able to find another Ann or Anna Hodsdon the right age to have married and had a child when Zachariah and his wife Anna (Hodsdon) Emery had their first child. The records show that the widowed mother of the Anna Hodsdon listed in the above paragraph married Zachariah Emery's older brother, Daniel, 16 June 1720, when Anna was 8 or 9 years old. She and Zachariah knew each other for several years and it seems reasonable that Zachariah married this particular Anna Hodsdon rather than a different Anna Hodsdon, but, of course, it is not proven.

Please see the entry on Zachariah Emery for details of this family.