John Rodney Gent (bef. 1633 - bef. 1694)

Born before 1633 in Catcott, Somerset, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Frances (Mall) Rodney — married about 1667 in Barbados [uncertain]

Died before 12 Dec 1694 at about age 61 in Pennsylvania [uncertain]

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Biography

Captain John Rodney, son and heir of William Rodney and his wife Alice Caesar, was born in or before 1633,^[1][2] as he was named in the will of his grandmother that year.^[3] There are no surviving Catcott, Somerset, parish registers prior to 1691 and his baptism has not been found elsewhere.^[3]

Career and Travels

In 1659, John joined the Royal Horse Guards, were he served for 7 years.^[1][3] In 1666, John quit the guards and received a commission as a lieutenant under Major Edmund Andros^[4] (future Governor of New York, New England, and Virginia).^[3] John took part in a failed attack on the French on the island of St. Kitts. After the attack, the force withdrew to the neighboring island of Nevis.^[3] He served as a lieutenant for 15 months, and then received a commission in 1668 as a captain in command of a company of foot.^[3][4] It was during this time he probably married Frances, the daughter of plantation owner Stephen Mall. On 11 June 1668, he and his wife returned to England, but he held his captaincy in Barbadoes until the company was disbanded in July 1671. In 1669 he was named executor of his father's will.^[3]

John Rodney was commissioned as an ensign in his re-established regiment and is shown in a list of officers dated 30 March 1672.^[5] This was the last record of his military service.^[3]

John was back in England in 1676 as he proved his father's will that year, but had returned to the West Indies by 1680.^[3] He was a member of the Council of St. Kitts in 1680, 1684 and 1689,^[1] but by 1691 he had remarried and moved to the island of Antigua, where he and his wife Anne buried a son.^[3]

John and Anne lived in the West Indies and eventually immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania after 1691.^[1][3]

Marriages and Children

John first married in about 1667/8 Frances Mall, widow of William Richardson and daughter of Stephen Mall of Nevis.^[1][3] In 1672-1673 John was involved in a lawsuit regarding lands that Frances inherited from her father^[3] that were sold to cover the debts of Frances' first husband.^[6]

They had two children:

• Caesar,^[1] who was under the age of 21 in 1694.^[7] He married Lydia More in Antigua in 1701 and had several children.^[3]
• Penelope, married George Roach^[1] before 1694, when she was named in her father's will as "Penelopy Roach";^[7] she was living in Antigua in March 1703 when her daughter was baptized.^[3]

The date and place of Frances's death is unknown.^[3]

John married second to Anne _____^[7] before 1690,^[1][3] probably in the West Indies. They had one child:

• John,^[1] who was buried in Antigua in about 1691.^[3]

Death

Captain John Rodney left a will dated 15 September 1694 and proved 12 December 1694.^[1] "John Rodney of Philadelphia, Gent." named his wife Anne as the sole executrix of his will and left bequests to his son Caesar (under age 21), daughter Penelope Roach and nephew William Rodney of Jones County.^[3][7] An inventory of his estate was taken 28 February 1694/5, totalling £33 15 11.^[3][7]

John's widow, Anne, who was or became a Quaker, is thought to be the "Hannah Rodney" that married William Thompson at Salem, New Jersey Monthly Meeting^[1] on 30 July 1699.^[3] She had at least six children with her second husband.^[3]

Research Notes

Possible Baptism Record

Another John Rodney, son of William, was baptised on 5 February 1631 in Pilton, Somerset, England.^[8][9] More research is needed to determine whether this is the same John Rodney of this profile.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10} Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols. ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author 2011), volume III, page 113 MALET 16.i., Capt. John Rodney.
2. ↑ Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), volume IV, pages 621-622, SEYMOUR 22.i., Capt. John Rodney.
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21} Charles M. Hansen, "The Paternal Ancestry of Caesar Rodney of Del., Signer of the Declaration of Independence" in The American Genealogist, vol 64 (1989) pages 97-111. Online at AmericanAncestors.org[$].
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} W Noel Sainsbury, ed. "America and West Indies: September 1671," in Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies. Volume 7, 1669-1674. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1889. Pages 255-262. Accessed 8 Dec 2020 at British History Online.
5. ↑ W. Noel Sainsbury, ed. "America and West Indies: March 1672," in Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies. Volume 7, 1669-1674. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1889. Pages 335-344. Accessed 9 Dec 2020 at British History Online.
6. ↑ W Noel Sainsbury, ed. "America and West Indies: June 1673," in Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies. Volume 7, 1669-1674. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1889. pages 499-504. Accessed 8 Dec 2020 at British History Online.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4} Ancestry.com. New Jersey, U.S., Abstract of Wills, 1670-1817 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. New Jersey, Published Archives Series, First Series; John L. Murphy Publishing Company; New Jersey State Archives. Ancestry sharing.
8. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, (FamilySearch: 18 September 2020), John Rodney, 1631.
9. ↑ Ancestry.com. Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1531-1812 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Somerset Heritage Service; Taunton, Somerset, England; Somerset Parish Records, 1538-1914; Reference Number: D\P\PILT/2/1/. Ancestry image, Ancestry sharing link.

• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2011. See also WikiTree's source page for Magna Carta Ancestry.
• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2013. See also WikiTree's source page for Royal Ancestry.

Acknowledgements

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Magna Carta Project

This profile was developed by Ellen Altenburg and was reviewed and approved for the Magna Carta Project on 15 Dec 2020 by Thiessen-117.

John Rodney Gent is listed in Magna Carta Ancestry in a badged trail from Gateway Ancestor William Rodney to Magna Carta Surety Baron William Malet (vol. III, pages 96-114 MALET) that have been developed by the Magna Carta Project. John Rodney Gent is also in badged trails from William Rodney to surety barons Robert de Vere and Saher de Quincy. The trails are outlined in the Magna Carta Trails section of his nephew William Rodney's profile.

See Base Camp for more information about Magna Carta Project trails. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".