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Here, you will find and discuss books on our surname. Those with adds and links can be ordered immediately by credit card from AMAZON.COM.

THE Uncrowned Kings of England--the Black History of the Dudleys and the Tudor Throne by Derek Wilson

I am so glad this book came out-- it backed up a lot of what I had been saying--and arguing--about since this site went up---Robert Dudley had no surviving sons. More than that, however, is a LOT of things I didn't know, and some that makes me proud to be a Dudley. Our families first history in years, READ this book right now to see how the Dudley's had an impact on world history! Some of it is not pretty, but very necessary to understand. Buy this book TODAY!

Interested in this book? Buy the Book Today!

THE NEW DUDLEY GENEALOGIES: THE DESCENDANTS OF WILLIAM OF GUILFORD by Rev Gary P. Dudley

The newest, and most up to date treatment of the Guilford branch of the family. 122 pages, paper, full name index. 1999, Heritage Books. GET IT! Order from me (see below for address) or (click)

from HERITAGE BOOKS

OR you can call 1-800-876-6103. and mention the title.

THE NEW DUDLEY GENEALOGIES: THE DESCENDANTS OF FRANCIS OF CONCORD by Rev Gary P. Dudley

The newest, and most up to date treatment of the Concord branch of the family. 140 pages, paper, full name index. 2000, Heritage Books. GET IT! Order from me (see below for address) or from (click)

from HERITAGE BOOKS

OR you can call 1-800-876-6103 and mention the title.

NEW!

The Legend of Dudleytown--solving Legends through Genealogical and Historical Research by Gary P. Dudley. Here it is folks, the product of 7 years research. This is Book REVIEW by Heritage Books:

"This is a MUST READ for genealogists, history buffs and anyone that likes a good story. Use this volume as a helpful guide, or sit back, turn down the lights, and enjoy one of the most infamous ghost stories of New England history!

"Genealogical gleanings and different variations of Dudleytown’s fascinating legends have been combined into a volume that reads like a book of ghost stories interwoven with the step-by-step process for researching and solving such mysteries. Strange occurrences, ghosts, curses Are they real, or just legends? Anyone can solve the mysteries of historical legends if they want to—with a little work.

"Journey with the author as he separates fact from fiction like a true detective, with methods that can be applied to your own family research. History, town records, obituaries, church records, death notices, personal interviews with descendants of Dudleytown and Cornwall residents, and other sources were used to find out what REALLY happened in Dudleytown.

The author concludes with a look at Dudleytown today: who owns it; what has become of it; and what effects legends and ghost stories have had on the community. A map of Dudleytown, photographs, a facsimile of Mary Cheney Greeley’s obituary (1870), three appendices—Dudleytown Time Line”, “William and Robert Dudley”, and “Doing Historical Research 101”, a bibliography, and an index of full names and subjects enhance this work. 2001, 126 pp., illus., map, append., bibl., full name + subject index, paper, $16.50, #D1778"

Should you wish an autographed copy, see below the book cover for particulars. There is no extra price for this.


from HERITAGE BOOKS

THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH 1 by Alison Weir.

The long life and powerful personality of England's beloved Virgin Queen have eternal appeal, and popular historian Alison Weir depicts both with panache. She's especially good at evoking the physical texture of Tudor England: the elaborate royal gowns (actually an intricate assembly of separate fabric panels buttoned together over linen shifts), the luxurious but unhygienic palaces (Elizabeth got the only "close stool"; most members of her retinue relieved themselves in the courtyards), the huge meals heavily seasoned to disguise the taste of spoiled meat. Against this earthy backdrop, Elizabeth's intelligence and formidable political skills stand in vivid relief. She may have been autocratic, devious, even deceptive, but these traits were required to perform a 45-year tightrope walk between the two great powers of Europe, France and Spain. Both countries were eager to bring small, weak England under their sway and to safely marry off its inconveniently independent queen. Weir emphasizes Elizabeth's precarious position as a ruling woman in a man's world, suggesting plausibly that the single life was personally appealing as well as politically expedient for someone who had seen many ambitious ladies--including her own mother--ruined and even executed for just the appearance of sexual indiscretions. The author's evaluations of such key figures in Elizabeth's reign as the Earl of Leicester (arguably the only man she ever loved) and William Cecil (her most trusted adviser) are equally cogent and respectful of psychological complexity. Weir does a fine job of retelling this always-popular story for a new generation.

Bottom line...the book is GREAT! I bought it!

Interested in this book? Buy the Book Today!

THE CUSTOM OF THE SEA by Neil Hanson

What would you do to survive if you were adrift at sea, and slowly starving to death?
In 1884, Captain Tom Dudley and his three-man crew were faced with just such a situation. Dudley and his men were aboard the Mignonette, a small yacht. In a storm, the Mignonette sank, leaving the men in a small dinghy in the middle of the Atlantic. After nearly two weeks, Dudley announced they would have to resort to "the custom of the sea": drawing lots to decide who would be sacrificed and eaten to save the others. Remember the account in the STORIES section!

HERE IS THE FULL ACCOUNT in a well written book!

Interested in this book? Buy the Book Today!

MEET THE DUDLEYS IN COLONIAL TIMES by John J. Loeper

This is a brand new book in a series entitled Early American Family that appears to be intended for young readers. It is illustrated with drawings, photos, and maps, and is bound somewhat as one of those "Golden Books" with a plastic like hard binding. I have a xerox of it, and ordered it through Barnes & Noble, but was entirely unready for the price--$25.00! It is only 64 pages lone--and considering the binding, length, etc., I had B & N call the publisher (Benchmark Books out of New York) and confirm the price--and it was correct! The explanation was that it was a "special" book with their "premium" binding (!!!). Even Barnes and Noble couldn't believe it! However, cost aside, here is my review:

This book is about the "Pseudo" Guilford line of John Dudley (see The branches page for an explanation). As such, it does have a little genealogy in it., but the intent of the book was to introduce children to what life was like in Colonial times. As a history teacher, I do believe the book completely succeeds at this, and would definitely recommend it to elementary school children (if it wasn't for the price!) I explains what church was like, marriages, and the overall town life. It is really quite good at it, and I admire the author. For GUILFORD branch Dudley's, it does have a historical document reproduced, but the genealogy is of the "pseudo" line, and it cites Ellen Barrett Dudley as the photo researcher. It also cites the Dorothy Whiffield Historical Society in Guilford for thanks.

I would love to recommend this book for its historical accuracy, if nothing else. But its size, and binding are NOT worth the price. If you can find one in a library, check it out--it is a good read

AUTHOR: John J. Loeper. PUBLISHER: Benchmark Books, Marshall Cavendish, New York. 99 White Plains road, Tarrytown, New York 10591-9001 COPYRIGHT: 1999. SERIES: Title II in the series Early American Family.


THE HISTORY OF THE DUDLEY FAMILY by Dean Dudley

We could not even begin to study the Dudley surname without mentioning Dean Dudley's monumental "The History of the Dudley Family." Written over an eight year period and published in 1894, this famous work is still available from Higginson Books (a link to the publisher will be forthcoming here). It originally covered about 10 volumes, and is available in two VERY large (over 1,000 pages) books for $150.00 (unless you get a copy of the "Genealogical Helper" and notice the add selling it for $99.00 plus S & H).

This book is a "must have" for every Dudley--it contains histories, ancestor charts, pictures, etc. etc. While primarily concerned with the Massachusetts line, it is VERY worthwhile! Get it if you can! (I will be excerpting some things for the story page occasionally, with pictures if I can get my scanner working again!)

WARNING:  this book is VERY hard to follow. It was written is serial form--one volume per year--and because of this things like corrections in Number One may not be listed until number 8 (in Volume 2) ! Also Pedigrees (family trees) are not "in-line". What I mean by that is: a families offspring may not be completely listed. You will find the beginning of a family in volume one at the beginning, a continuation 100 pages later, and two more "add-ons" in the next volume. THEN there is a supplement that you must buy separately! It's very confusing.   BUT---still worth the money.

Know of any other good Dudley Book?? Email me with a short review of it, and I will post it here!!!

 
    "Say, Gary, how about those Carts in the Mall that will give you a history of the Dudley name for $x.xx?"
or   "How about those Dudley book adds I get in the mail?"

    Email comes through all the time about those questions. And don't think I wasn't tempted at first by them--I was! So here's the lowdown:

    Forget the Mall carts. The best they can do is give you a generic basic story of the Massachusetts line. Unfortunately, only about 1/3 of the 27,000 of us U.S. Dudley's can claim that line. They will tell you about Dudley Castle, and mention Gov. Thomas, and some MAY even mention the Haunted Dudleytown, but for God's sake don't base any research on it! The Coats of Arms they will sell you is one out of about 50 arms the Dudley's bore, and the chances that YOU are related to them are slim to none. So what are they good for?? Well, if you are taken in by them store it away as a lesson! If you should buy one of those (currently $45.00) Coats of Arms, you could always hang it on a wall as a reminder NOT to get ripped off at the Mall next time. One Dudley I know simply says "oh, it's a Coat of Arms one of my ancestors had" which is somewhat accurate.

    Now, those books--"YOU are listed inside", "a History of YOUR family", or (I like this one the best) "made just for YOU." One other: "the price is only good until........ "(I bought one one month after that date!). Well, I hate to say this, but I have bought two of those things and both actually HELPED me!!!
    What they are: the one titled "The Dudley's since the Civil War" is a listing of the Social Security Death index of all DUDLEY's till 1992, and the listings of all U.S. Dudleys in phonebooks--complete with the phone numbers! (yes, you really COULD be listed in that book!).
    The other book goes by various titles, the latest being "The World Book of Dudley". It is a generic (though well written) genealogy book that contains basic, though interesting, information on things like: how we got surnames; how Coats of Arms came to be (complete with one of the most common of ours!); and lots of statistic (on us!) It also has a phone book listing, but this includes addresses and phone numbers from all over the world.
    The worth of these books depends on you. "...Since the C.W." was very valuable, due mainly to the SSAN death Index. It gave birth and death dates for a few people I didn't have. There is very good "getting started" info at the front. For $34, I didn't complain.  The other book "The World book of.. "was a decent "interesting" book, full of info that may not be available to you. It was $34 plus S&H, and I didn't feel ripped off by that either. (prices were of 1998). One last thing that you need to know--the adds imply (and the pictures make it appear) that the books are hardcover---they aren't, they're paperback.
Both are put out by the SAME company--Halberts, who, by the way, will also sell you that cheap, bad stuff they sell at the Malls. Email me and I will give you their 1-800 number---yes, they take all the cards! Which one is better? Again, that depends on YOU. IF you are new, then "World Book of Dudley's" is the one you want....the info, though generic, is quite good.

MORE TO COME!

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