When Benjamin Godfrey was born on 9 May 1782, in Orrington, Penobscot, Maine, United States, his father, Richard Godfrey, was 47 and his mother, Lydia Doane, was 40. He married Patty Gould on 30 December 1802, in Orrington, Penobscot, Maine, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 6 daughters.
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The Revolutionary War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris which gave the new nation boundries on which they could expand and trade with other countries without any problems.
In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson authorized the creation of a light station on Whitehead Island. The light house went into service by 1807. It is the third-oldest light house in Maine. Whitehead Light still exists as the private property of Pine Island Camp, a non-profit organization.
Historical Boundaries: 1816: Penobscot, Massachusetts, United States 1820: Penobscot, Maine, United States
English (of Norman origin): from the Norman personal name Godefrei, Godefroi(s), composed of the ancient Germanic elements god, got ‘god’ + frid(u), fred ‘peace’. See also Jeffrey .
Irish: shortened and Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Gothraidh or Ó Gothraidh, ‘descendant of Gothfrith’, an Old Norse personal name often Anglicized as Godfrey. Compare McGorry , McCaffrey .
History: An Irish family of the name Godfrey originated in Romney, Kent. The first of them to settle in Ireland was Colonel John Godfrey, who was rewarded with lands in Kerry for his services in the 1641 rebellion. Godefroy, Lord of Normanville, from Normandy, was married in Trois-Rivières, QC, in 1636. He was captured by the Iroquois in 1652. His brother, Lord of Linctot, from Rouen, was also married in 1636 in Trois-Rivières, and lived from 1629 to 1632 among the Hurons. Another Godefroy, from Paris, was a trader and interpreter from 1623.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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