Richard Hood was born around 1625 in Lynn Regis, Norfolk County, England, during a time of great upheaval and change in England. The early 17th century was marked by religious turmoil, economic hardship, and political instability, which drove many families to seek new opportunities across the Atlantic. Richard was the son of John Hood Jr. and Elizabeth, who were part of a growing wave of English settlers drawn to the promise of religious freedom and economic prosperity in the New World.