The surname Doty is of Norman French origin. The name comes in many variations, i.e., Doty, Dowty, Doughty, Dohti, etc. Our Doty lineage starts with Edward Doty who was born in 159x, no later that 1599, and died 23 August 1655 at Plymouth, Ma. His parentage and ancestry is unknown though we have a pretty good indication that London, England was his place of birth. There was, at one time, an ancestry of Edward Doty by Gustave Anjou which reflected his parents and his paternal grandparents. This ancestry was proved to be a falsehood by Neil D. Thompson (TAG:V63:215). Edward Doty came aboard the ship “Mayflower” in Southhampton, Eg. which, after an aborted first start, set sail on 06 Sept. 1620 for New England. Edward Doty and Edward Lister came as servants of Stephen and Elizabeth Fisher Hopkins who were on the Mayflower with four of their children ,i.e., Giles and Constance, children of Stephen’s first wife, and Demaris and Oceanus, children of his current wife, Elizabeth. The Hopkins were from London and we know that Edward Doty had been a servant for about seven years. So we know that Edward was of London and probably was born there.

Edward Doty married first, prior to 06 Jan. 1635, an unknown wife. This premise is solely based upon the statement of Gov. William Bradford, the second governor of Plymouth Colony in “his account of 1651" wherein he notes that “Edward Doty came on the Mayflower as a servant of Stephen Hopkins and that, in 1650, Edward Doty had, by a second wife, seven children and both he and they are living. The second wife, the mother of his children, was Faith Clark; this implies a first wife of which there no records in existence. Edward Doty married, on 06 June 1635 at Plymouth Colony, Faith Clark who was born in 1616 at Ipswich, Suffolk, Eg. and died 21 Dec. 1675 at Marshfield, Ma. She was a daughter of Thurston and Faith (–) Clark. Faith Clark Doty married, as her second husband, on 14 March 1667 at Plymouth, John Phillips who was born in 1602 and died in 1692. John Phillips had two previous marriages.

The Mayflower arrived at Cape Cod the eleventh of November, 1620. This was the same date of the Mayflower Compact, an agreement for establishing government; “to this compact were signed the names of each male member of the company”, including our Edward Doty who on 06 Dec. 1620, with nine others, i.e., Capt. Standish, Mister Carver, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, John Tilley Edward Tilley, John Howland, Richard Warren, and Stephen Hopkins embarked from the. Mayflower on the “voyage of discovery”. The purpose of this effort was to find a suitable harbor anchorage and a place for disembarking from the ship to land. “The weather was very cold and hard and the sea rough” made this voyage of discovery a very arduous endeavor.

On18 June we find our Edward Doty being brought to court for “the second offense of the new colony”. This offense involved a duel, between Edward Lister and Edward Doty, both servants of Stephen Hopkins, by sword and dagger with both being wounded. They were adjudged by the whole company “to have their head and feet tied together and so to lie for twenty four hours without meat or drink”. However, after one hour, because of great pain, they along with their master, Srephen Hopkins, requested, with a promise for better carriage, consideration. They were released by the governor. This incident set the tone for the next twenty years in which Edward Doty was frequently in court for fighting, slandering, trepass, and debt. He was the defendant in three civil suits at the court of 02 Jan. 1633, all suits involving hogs; he won one and lost two. Edward was sued ,for slandering, by one of the just noted plaintiffs and fined 50 shillings. This court event was typical of many to come. Edward had an apprentice in 1633, originally for ten years but later reduced to five years. Edward Doty became a “freeman” in 1633. On 31 August 1638, Edward received the assignation of seven years of labor of William Snow. He was on the 1643 list of men designated to bear arms.

Edward participated in the Plymouth Colony grants of land in1623 and the division of cattle in1627. He continued to acquire land as time passed. While it hasn’t been noted, it is assumed that Edward’s servitude to Stephen Hopkins was near its finish by 1630. On 12 July 1637, Edward sold land and property to Richard Derby, a man that had many dealings with Edward though there has not been shown a kinship relation. On 16 Sept. 1641 he was granted forty acres of land at Lakeham. He bought land from John Pratt on 07 May 1647 and he sold land to Stephen Bryant and John Shaw On the list entitled “Names of Purchasers”, dated shortly after 26 Dec. 1651, Edward Doty is twenty first of fifty eight.

Edward Doty’s will was dated 20 May 1655 and proved 05 March 1656. His inventory was taken 21 Nov.1655 and amounted to L137 19s 6d of which L60 was real estate. Faith Clark Doty Phillips will was dated 12 Dec 1575 and proved 8 June 1676. All nine of the children of Edward and Faith Clark Doty were born in Plymouth, Ma. with records of marriage for eight of them.
References: PH7:227; PH178:1271-1272; PH208:573-577; PH219:1-23; FH72:7-29; FH113:503-506; FH113:503-506; TAG:V63:215.

Mary Doty, the ninth child and third daughter of Edward and Faith Clark Doty, was born in 1653 at Plymouth, Ma. and died 1690+ probably at Scituate, Ma. She married, in 1675+ at Scituate,Ma., Samuel Hatch who was born 22 Dec.1653 and died in June,1715, both at Scituate, Ma. He was the son of Walter and Elizabeth Holbrook Hatch.
References:PH7:352; PH208:573-577; PH219:2; FH72:29; FH113:506; FH220:45.