Dodge was born about 1820 in Utica, New York. Little is known of his early life, including the names of his parents. According to family tradition his middle name was Maine. By 1850 he had married Elizabeth Euphema Kingsley, of Herkimer County, New York, and had moved to Oswego, where he lived in the household of John Dodge, a younger relative, and farmed. In 1856 a creditor sued Sanford Dodge, John Dodge, and a third man in the Oswego County Supreme Court, but the Dodges had already fled the state to escape their debts. The court levied a judgment of more than $540 against both men in absentia. By 1860 Dodge, with his wife and their son, resided in Magnolia, Rock County, Wisconsin, where he farmed.
Little is known about his life during the Civil War, though family lore holds that he trained troops in upstate New York. At some point he began preaching the Gospel, and on February 6, 1864, in Rome, New York, the Methodist Episcopal Church granted him a license to preach. He moved to Virginia alone, likely late in 1866 or early in 1867. His family likely remained in New York and in 1870 was living in Herkimer County.
In 1868 Dodge traveled to Chicago as a member of the Virginia delegation to the Republican National Convention. In October of that year he took over a local freedpeople's school in Mecklenburg's county seat of Boydton, which was run under the auspices of the Pennsylvania branch of the American Freedman's Union Commission, and operated it until at least the following February. He and Watson were elected by wide margins to represent Mecklenburg in the House of Delegates for the 1869–1871 assembly. Dodge served on the Committees on Propositions and Grievances and on Labor and Poor. In March 1870 a Richmond court qualified him to conduct marriage ceremonies. After an illness of several weeks, Dodge died of typhoid fever in Richmond on July 25, 1870. He may have been buried in that city's Oakwood Cemetery.
Time Line
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ca. 1820 - Sanford M. Dodge is born in Utica, New York.
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1850 - By this year, Sanford M. Dodge and Elizabeth Euphema Kingsley, of Herkimer County, New York, are married.
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1856 - A creditor sues Sanford M. Dodge, John Dodge, and a third man in New York, but they have already fled the state.
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1860 - By this year, Sanford M. Dodge, his wife, and son farm in Magnolia, Rock County, Wisconsin.
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February 6, 1864 - The Methodist Episcopal Church, in Rome, New York, grants a preaching license to Sanford M. Dodge.
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1866 or 1867 - Sanford M. Dodge moves to Virginia alone. His family likely stays in New York.
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October 22, 1867 - Sanford M. Dodge and John Watson, a former slave, win election to represent Mecklenburg County in the state constitutional convention.
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April 17, 1868 - Sanford M. Dodge votes with the majority to approve the new state constitution.
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May 20–21, 1868 - Sanford M. Dodge serves as a Virginia delegate to the Republican National Convention, in Chicago.
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October 1868 - Sanford M. Dodge takes over a freedpeople's school in Boydton, Mecklenburg County.
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February 1869 - Sanford M. Dodge and John Watson are elected to represent Mecklenburg County in the House of Delegates.
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March 1870 - A Richmond court qualifies Sanford M. Dodge to conduct marriage ceremonies.
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July 25, 1870 - Sanford M. Dodge dies of typhoid fever in Richmond.
References
Further Reading
External Links
Cite This Entry
- APA Citation:
Dulaney, D., & the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Sanford M. Dodge (ca. 1820–1870). (2016, October 25). In Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Dodge_Sanford_M_ca_1820-d_1870.
- MLA Citation:
Dulaney, Dale and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "Sanford M. Dodge (ca. 1820–1870)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, 25 Oct. 2016. Web. READ_DATE.
First published: June 8, 2015 | Last modified: October 25, 2016
Contributed by Dale Dulaney and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography.