[1] Dawley was born at Sparsholt, Hampshire, the son of Henry Dawley and Anne née Worsley.
[2] In 1670 he married Mary Collins of Newport, Isle of Wight: they had one son and three daughters.
He was a JP from 1679 to 1689; Commissioner of Inquiry for the New Forest from 1691; and Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire from 1689.
In 1697 he was Colonel of a Regiment of Hampshire Militia Foot.
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