A History of the Hudson Family: Part V
The Count of Monte Cristo , Mad Men , and The Great Gatsby . Three seminal works of fiction, each drawing on the shared themes of self-erasure, self-reinvention, and a “second act.” Owing perhaps to our predilection for turning real life’s ambiguities into coherent narratives, it’s tempting to apply these touchstone narratives to explain the list of remarkable similarities between James S. Hudson and Samuel Dana Hayes. One man disappears from the historical record around 1880, at which point another man the same age seemingly appears out of nowhere. But before casting Samuel as the 19 th century Don Draper, the facts should first undergo a less romantic examination. This chapter of the Hudson Family history examines the evidence that Samuel Dana Hayes and James Samson Hudson were in fact the same person. If so, the implications for this family history are considerable. The Hudson agnatic line, previously only traceable to late 19 th century with only vague and unsubstantia...
