David Low Dodge was born in
Brooklyn, Connecticut, on June 14, 1774. His parents were David Dodge and Mary (Stuart) Earl. She was said to have been the daughter of a Scottish nobleman, perhaps connected with the House of Stuart, pretenders to the British throne, although this has never been confirmed. She had previously been married to William Earl who died of yellow fever fighting for the British during an attack on
Havana in 1762. During the War of Independence, Mary's two children from this first marriage, William and Jesse Earl, were both killed on active service. Dodge later wrote that "these events almost destroyed my mother's nervous system." From the age of seven to fourteen, except two months of district school in winter, Dodge was working on a farm in
Hampton, Connecticut. He was a teacher at the age of nineteen, first in community schools then in private ones. He later began selling dry goods in
Hartford, Connecticut. He also managed the first
cotton factory built in
Connecticut, near the town of
Norwich. In the early 19th century he relocated to New York City. On June 7, 1798, he married Sarah Cleveland (1780–1862), the daughter of Rev. Aaron Cleveland (1744–1815) and Abiah Hyde (c1750–1788). They had seven children including
William E. Dodge and
Elizabeth Clementine Stedman. He was also the great-grandfather of
Grace Hoadley Dodge. Sarah Cleveland was great-aunt of
Grover Cleveland 22nd and 24th President of the United States. He died on April 23, 1852, in
New York City. ==Peace activism==