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 19th 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 19th century with only vague and unsubstantiated references to earlier origins in England, is in fact the Hayes line, whose documented history in North America extends to the very beginning of American history in the early 1600s.
Below, the table summarizes key biographical facts from parts I – IV:
| Samuel Dana Hayes | James Samson Hudson |
|---|---|
| Born 21 October 1840 | Born 24/25 October 1840 |
| Boston, Massachusetts | Providence, Rhode Island |
| Father: Augustus Allen Hayes | Father: Augustus A. Hudson |
| Mother: Henrietta Dana | Mother: Henrietta Dana |
| Chemist/assayer | Mining engineer/assayer |
| Well-educated | No education records, but evidently highly literate and specialized |
| International travel | International travel |
| Trail disappears c. 1880, last known location Golden, Colorado, a mining town just outside of Denver | Trail emerges for the first time c. 1881 in Denver, Colorado |
| No stranger to public scandal | No stranger to public scandal (more on this later) |
Key to this theory is the fact that no records of James S. Hudson have been found prior to 1881: no birth record, census entry, newspaper articles, legal record, or property deed. However, when he does emerge there is a proliferation of documents that can almost definitively be linked to our James S. Hudson. Unfortunately, no photographs of Samuel Dana Hayes or James S. Hudson have yet been found either, meaning the connection between the two must be made through other means.
One of the earliest found clues of James’ existence already provides a compelling clue to the shared identity. Recall Augustus Jr.’s last will and testament, which gives his brother Samuel’s address as “care of F. E. Everett in Golden, Colorado”. This places Samuel in a small mining town just a few miles from where James first emerges.
James’ name can be found among dozens of property deeds and transactions throughout the 1880s and 1890s. One such document dated April 1885 shows the records of sales in which James S. Hudson purchased interests of the Moore Mining and Smelting Company near Clear Creek County, Colorado. In addition to James, a Julia D. Everett was named as execution creditor. A similar record from the summer of 1885 again names James as grantee in a transfer of property from the same company. Appearing alongside him are Willard E. Everett of Massachusetts and Francis E. Everett, whose name provides an obvious candidate for the “F. E. Everett” given as Samuel’s contact in Golden three years earlier.
Extract from Augustus Allen Hayes Jr.'s will, placing Samuel's last known whereabouts with F. E. Everett in Golden, Colorado.
Further documents of the same year showed James continued to acquire property from Moore Mining and Smelting Company that included mining claims and town lots in Clear Creek County, Colorado, and the Valley Smelting Works in Jefferson County, each time in collaboration with members of the Everett family, including Francis E. Everett. Examining the Everetts more closely, we learn they are members of the same family, originally hailing from Dedham, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb where the Hayes family also owned property.
The evidence seen thus far gives a decent understanding of the social and professional identities of Samuel and James. The former was not merely a random Bostonian who one day disappeared, and James was not merely a random Colorado settler who appeared. Their occupational and socio-economic profiles are highly compatible with one another. As an assayer, Samuel built his career analyzing ores and chemical compounds to assess their quality and composition. These were precisely the kinds of skills that underpinned the mining industry. James’ professional and socioeconomic profile likewise seems the natural continuation of Samuel’s: in a 1895 news article detailing a scandal James was involved in (to be introduced in a later chapter), he was described as “a wealthy capitalist and Denver club man” who made his money, in part, as “an extensive ore buyer and miner.” Moreover, the article even mentions that James had recently come into a substantial inheritance, with the timeline aligning intriguingly well with Samuel’s inheritance.
Turning now from their circumstances to their persons, as mentioned earlier no photos of either (or the) man have been found. However, thanks to their inclination for international travel, we have documentation of their passport applications, which in the time before widespread photography, relied on physical descriptions to identify the passport’s holder.
For Samuel, we have his application from 1859 when he was just 18 years old, whereas for James, his application was made 37 years later at the age of 55 or 56. We cannot therefore expect an identical match, but rather key similarities, as well as red flags that could immediately disprove the theory of a shared identity like dramatically different eye colors or physical statures.
Despite the age difference, the two men sound remarkably alike. Below are extracts from the original applications, as well as a table summarizing the descriptions:
The physical descriptions of Samuel, left, from his passport application in 1859, and James, right, from his application in 1895
The features match rather well, with nothing outright disqualifying the theory. The strongest matches are those which one would expect to remain relatively stable from adolescence to adulthood, like the blue eyes, fair complexion, high forehead, and oval face. The differences in hair color and height are also both completely compatible with normal growth and aging effects. The only potentially discordant difference is in the description of the nose, though this could have numerous causes, such as the subjective nature of describing a nose or facial maturation.
If a record were found definitively identifying Samuel Dana Hayes as the father of Harold Dana Hudson and Richard Delano Hudson, James’ sons, the case would be settled, and much of the preceding evidence rendered superfluous. Unfortunately, no such record has yet been found, though three interrelated documents come remarkably close.
The first is a surviving court order from May 1911 concerning Philip S. Parker, administrator of Samuel Dana Hayes’ estate. It records Parker’s petition to distribute Samuel’s personal property according to “a compromise in the form of an agreement in writing,” assented to by “all persons interested in the said estate.” Most intriguingly, the agreement had reportedly been signed by “the Guardian of the minors interested in the State of New York within the jurisdiction of the Court appointing her as such”.[1]
Philip S. Parker had been connected to Samuel Dana Hayes for over a decade. This notice in the Quincy Daily Ledger (Massachusetts) from 14 November 1900 identifies him as the receiver of Samuel’s estate.
A second document from May 1911 all but removes any doubt as to the identity of this guardian and her two minors. Another court document from Suffolk County Probate Records, it reads: “On the petition of C. May Hudson, guardian of Harold Dana Hudson and Richard Delano Hudson, both of New York, in the State of New York” was authorized to sell their interest in a number of Boston real estate properties belonging to the boys.
One year later, a third document finally establishes the direct connection between Samuel Dana Hayes and the Hudsons. The September 1912 “first and final account” of Philip S. Parker as administrator of the estate claims that the undersigned constituted the persons interested in the estate. The names that follow are Margaret G. Hayes, Samuel’s estranged wife; Hope Beatrice Chase, their adopted daughter, now married and with the name of Chase; C. May Hudson; and C. May Hudson as guardian of Harold Dana Hudson and Richard Delano Hudson.
The probate record from Norfolk County, Massachusetts, naming all interested parties of Samuel Dana Hayes’ estate, including the Hudsons who had never lived in Massachusetts.
At this point, the most reasonable explanation for the long list of similarities and timeline overlaps is no longer simply coincidence. We would have to imagine two men, born days apart and just 50 miles from one another, with parents bearing the same first and middle names; one disappearing at the same moment the other appeared; both possessing the same specialized skills and considerable financial means; Samuel being placed in the very Colorado community in which James emerges; and Samuel’s named Colorado contact subsequently appearing in property transactions alongside James (but never Samuel).
We would then also have to accept that, despite no known record of two men of such names ever meeting, they somehow became so closely connected that a decade after James’ death, his widow and children (who were born almost 20 years after Samuel went missing) would appear as the interested parties of Samuel Dana Hayes’ estate alongside his former wife and adopted child.
Instead, the evidence points to a far simpler conclusion: Samuel Dana Hayes didn’t disappear. He became James Samson Hudson.
[1] At the time of writing, the agreement referenced, said to be included in annex of the quote Court document, has not been located.
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