James Dodge, who cultivated a good farm in Pembroke, and owned considerable real estate in this and other towns, was born in Goffstown, N.H., November 14, 1829, son of John G. and Polly (Tallant) Dodge. His great-grandfather, Antipas Dodge, who lived to be one hundred and one years old, and died on Independence Day, was a native of Haverhill, Mass., and an early settler in Goffstown. The first wife of Antipas, Margaret Boise Dodge, was the mother of James Dodge, grandfather of the subject of this sketch. The names of his second wife and her children are unknown.
James Dodge, who was a lifelong resident of Goffstown, and spent his active period in tilling the soil, married for his first wife Peggy Gordon, and reared a family of six children, none of whom are living. One of them was the mother of the famous midget, Commodore Nutt. James Dodge lived to be eighty-five years old, and his wife died at sixty-nine. John G. Dodge, born in Goffstown, was brought up to farming. At an early age he displayed a liking for agricultural pursuits. Subsequently he became a successful farmer. He was a prominent man of Goffstown in his day, serving as a Justice of the Peace for many years. In politics he supported the Democratic party. His entire life was passed in his native town, and he lived to be seventy-nine years old. His wife, Polly, who was a native of Canterbury, became the mother of seven children, of whom there are living: Elizabeth Dodge and John G. Dodge (second). Elizabeth is the wife of William H. Hart, of Goffstown, and has four sons-Horace C., John D., Philip, and Edward. Her surviving brother, John G., who successively married Addie M. Travis and Lucy A. Colby, has no children. Mrs. Polly Dodge died at the age of sixty-nine years.
James Dodge attended schools in Goffstown, Hookset, and Andover, N.H. When he was twenty-nine years old he left home, and then went to Canterbury, N.H., where he resided for a time. In 1860 he bought a farm in Boseawen. Three years later he moved to Concord, N.H., where he lived for two years. In 1865 he purchased his farm in Pembroke. 1867, after which year he devoted his encrgy to general farming. In addition to his homestead farm of one hundred and fifty acres he owned about one hundred and twenty-five acres of woodland and pasture in this town, and about four hundred acres in Loudon, N.H.
On March 28, 1859, Mr. Dodge married Betsey Tallant, daughter of John L. and Sarah J. (Bean) Tallant, of Concord. His children are: John T., S. Jennie, and James E. S. Jennie is now the wife of Herbert J. Jones, of Alton, N.H. James E. wedded Mabel Ahmuty, and has three children-Gladys, James Herbert, and Leon T. In politics Mr. Dodge was a stanch Democrat. He had served as Selectman and upon the Board of Education. He was made a Justice of the Peace in 1877, and so continued until his death. He was one of the best known farmers of the locality, and had the respect of the entire community.