Colonel James Roddye (c.1742 – c.1822) was a Revolutionary War officer and my 5th-great-grandfather, being the mother of Mary Leuty by his second wife Lydia Russell (1750–1825). His home in Hamblen County, Tennessee (then part of Jefferson County) is known as Hayslope, and is situated in Russellville, a town founded by and named after his wife’s father.ref
He was a signatory to the Tennessee State Constitution, as a representative of Jefferson County, dated 1796-02-06.ref
His middle name is often said to be Patrick, but I have not seen proof of this, nor indeed any indication of a middle name or initial.
Surname and origins
Details of James’s early life are sparse, with the earliest clear record being from 1778.ref
His roots appear to be in Ireland, and he may have been born there or perhaps in England before immigrating to America. However, there is newer evidence that he was born in Pennsylvania to a James Joseph Roddye Jr., the son of James Joseph Roddy Sr. and Mary, and that the family came from County Donegal, Ireland.ref I have not yet investigated these more recent claims.
The surname is more commonly spelled Roddy, but James insisted on the final e in his lifetime. His descendants have mostly dropped the e.
See below for DNA evidence.
Service
James served in the North Carolina line during the American Revolution. He was distinguished for his service at the Battle of Kings Mountain, for which he was awarded land. After the War, as a colonel, he helped repel American Indian attacks on Tennessee.
He served in a number of other positions, including in the 2nd Tennessee General Assembly (1797–1799)ref and as a justice of the peace. He was involved in the state of Franklin before its territory was absorbed by North Carolina (later it was made part of Tennessee). He was also a delegate in multiple constitutional conventions, and a signatory to the state constitution of Tennessee.
Marriages and children
Twelve children are noted in James’s will, presumed to be all those living at that time, 1821 (although Rachel is mentioned though she had already died, so that part of the will may have been old and not updated). Information about them is sometimes conflicting.
James’s first wife was Catherine Chase, who his marriage to is traditionally dated to 1766-03-01. Some have her middle name as Jane. It is usually claimed that they married in England before immigrating, but they may have instead married in Pennsylvania. It is not clear which children are from which wife, but these are probably Catherine’s:
- Elizabeth (1767–1822), married James M. Lea.
- Rachel (1770 or 1777–1812), married Abner Majors.
- Jesse (1775–1861), married Mary Mahaffey.
Catherine died in 1779, and James remarried to Lydia, daughter of George Russell and Elizabeth Bean, perhaps in 1780. They had perhaps nine children:
- William.
- James (1784-05-29 – 1829)ref, married Anna Bates.
- Lydia, married James Wright.
- Isaac (*c.1787), married Mary Martin, alive in 1860.ref
- Sidnah (*1789), married first Patrick Hale, second Ephraim Moore; still alive in 1870.ref
- John (1790?–1841), married Elizabeth Lane; he may have first married Elizabeth Houston in 1804, but he would be rather young if the 1790 date is accurate.
- Ann/Anne/Anna, married John Lea.
- Mary (1796-01-08 – 1879-12-09), my 4th-great-grandmother.
- Thomas (c.1800–1887), married Lydia Nenny.
Lydia in her 1824 will mentions her children Sidnah (as Sidney), Anne (as Anny), Mary, and Isaac (as Isack). The maternity of William in particular is less certain.
DNA
We have some DNA evidence pertaining to James and the Roddye family.
Roddy project
There is a Roddy DNA project for testees with the surname, which has identified seven genetic groupings of men named Roddy.ref
Likely relevant to James is the cluster called “Tennessee Roddys”. However, this group has only three testees as of this writing (2022-03-21). One appears to descend from the child John above; the other two have no documented connection to this family. This isn’t much, but if the first is correct, it implies James and his Roddye family are in haplogroup R1b-BY42760, and that the other two Roddys are related somehow.
Link to me
The evidence connecting these families to me is mixed, or rather incomplete.
I have several autosomal matches to descendants of James and Lydia Roddye. These include descendants of their children James, Ann, and John. Together, these corroborate my descent from James and/or Lydia.
I have a match to a male with the surname Roddy. I have gotten no information about his line of descent, but triangulating with another match suggests his descent from James and Lydia. However, his Y haplogroup is tested as R1b-M222, which is inconsistent with the Tennessee Roddy group above. So, either this group is not in fact linked to my Roddy family, or there is some issue with my match’s descent. For example, it could be that in one of his generations the surname was inherited from a mother.
I have another match to a male testee on 23andMe named Roddy, but his haplogroup is hidden by privacy settings, and my attempt to contact him was unavailing.
Augustus
I also have autosomal matches who trace back to an Augustus Roddy who lived in Mississippi. I have not been able to find any more information about Augustus, but from the name and this DNA evidence, it may be that he is related to James. However, it is also possible that this is a red herring and there is no connection.
Death
James’s will was dated 1821-12-22 and was proved 1823-03, so he died sometime in-between, probably late 1822 or early 1823. His grave marker has his death date as 1822, although this may have been an estimate. I have seen claims of more exact dates for his death, but without evidence.
His widow Lydia’s will was dated 1824-12-24 and proved 1825-08.
See
- Find a Grave memorial, with a longer biography.
- Roddy DNA Project at FamilyTreeDNA.
- James’s will, dated 1821-12-22.
- Will of Lydia (née Russell) Roddye, dated 1824-12-24.