The Scudder Association members trace their ancestry back to the progenitors:

* Thomas Scudder who arrived in Salem, Massachusetts by 1637
* John Scudder, cousin of Thomas, who arrived in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1635.
* Elizabeth Scudder, cousin of Thomas Scudder, who arrived prior to November 28, 1644, the date of her marriage to Samuel Lathrop in Barnstable, Massachusetts

The Scudders have a rich and unusually honorable history. Colonel Nathaniel Scudder was the only delegate to the Continental Congress to die in battle in the American Revolution. Dr. John Scudder was one of the first American missionaries to India. He and his descendants served for over a thousand years as medical missionaries in India. Dr. John & Harriet Scudder's children who survived to adulthood all returned to India as missionaries. Their gravestone is at Scudder Memorial Hospital in Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, India. The most famous of Mrs. Harriet Scudder's descendants was Dr. Ida Scudder, the founder of the Vellore Christian Medical Center in Vellore, India. Her brother, Dr. John Scudder III, was the advisor to Dr. Charles R. Drew, the great African-American surgeon and developer of the blood bank. Theodore (Ted) Townsend Scudder was a founder of the investment firm now known for the Scudder family of funds. He was a past president of The Scudder Association. Vida Dutton Scudder was an outspoken socialist and a deeply spiritual Christian, a founder of the settlement house movement, and a gifted, innovative teacher at Wellesley. Janet Scudder, born in the late 1800s, lived and worked in Paris and New York City. Known for her sculptures of children, her Frog Fountain resides at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Descendants of Elizabeth Scudder include Ulysses S. Grant, Benedict Arnold, Marjorie Merriwether Post, her daughter Dina Merrill (the actress), Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Thomas E. Dewey, John Foster Dulles and Frederick Law Olmsted, codesigner of New York's Central Park.

If you have questions regarding Scudder Genealogy, the Genealogy Committee, or to post questions click here.