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You have been absolutely fantastic!

There were two Williams born in East Coker in the 1760s, one was the one I'd been working from (born in 1764 - Parents Solomon and Joan) and the other the one you mention (born 1760 - Parents William and Elizabeth). It seems that the latter is probably correct - which is a shame because I'll now miss out on a whole load of interesting ancestors amongst the Trasks, Helyars, and Carys. Ho Hum. Such is life.

It still seems strange that there are no baptism records for Solomon Dodge, when his marriage to Joan Trask is clear.

Anyway, it would appear that the father of William Dodge Senior was Richard Dodge (born 1699 at Crewkerne) who married Jane Aston in 1732. His father would then have been Jeremiah Dodge - and once again, there are no records of his baptism.

I'd also noticed Henry Barge Dodge's burial in 1829, and I assume he must have been another child of Yeoman William. Interestingly, William's son (also William, born in 1801) had a son called Henry Barge, who was born in 1839 and died aged 1 yr and 7 months in 1841. Obviously, there was still a desire to keep the Barge name going, though it didn't appear to bring much luck to the holder!

Once again, many thanks for your help.

A further comment.

The 1841 Census did, indeed, record that William wasn't born in county (i.e. Dorset), and this is correct. The record I have have is that he was baptised (and presumably born) 3 miles down the road in East Coker, Somerset.

I've now seen the Will of Richard Dodge and note that a William Dodge is mentioned as one of the sons of Andrew Dodge.

I doubt this is my William because I have a probable baptism record which suggests his father was Solomon.

My problem is proving who Solomon's parents were.

Hello everyone! I've reached a brick wall in my studies of the Dodge family of Somerset and Dorset.

I can trace my family firmly back to William Dodge (1764-1845), also known as the Yeoman of Halstock, and it would appear that his parents were Solomon Dodge (1742-1787) and Joan Trask. My problem arises after this.

Records on Ancestry suggest that Solomon's father was Jeremiah Dodge (1713-1788), and that he was married to Hannah Helyar. That would be great if it were the case because the Helyar family is well documented. However, I can find no evidence that Solomon was, indeed, the son of Jeremiah and Hannah. This, despite finding records for five other children of the couple, all in East Coker.

I find the absence of a record for Solomon troubling in the extreme and wonder if there's something I'm missing.

There are numerous records of Dodges who went to America, but this doesn't appear to be the case here as Jeremiah and Hannah had at least five children between 1738 and 1744, all in East Coker. In addition, the supposed birth year of Solomon is 1742, a year when Hannah gave birth to two other children, Rose and Hannah, obviously twins. I would have thought the idea of triplets, at least one of whom survived is unlikely in the extreme!

So, my question is, who was Solomon Dodge? Was he really the son of Jeremiah and Hannah or not?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.