Contents [hide]

Rodes History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Ireland United States New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Rodes History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany
Ireland

The surname Rodes is of several possible origins. Firstly, it is derived from "Rod(d)" the name of a village in Herefordshire; in this case, the original bearer of the name would have been someone who hailed from this region. 1 Alternatively, the name may be derived from the Old English "roda," meaning "clearing in a forest"; in this instance, it is likely that the progenitor of the name lived in such an area. Finally, the name may be derived from the Anglo-Saxon personal name "Rod," which is itself derived from the German "Hrod," meaning "fame." 2

Early Origins of the Rodes family

The surname Rodes was first found in Devon where the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed Nicholas de la Rodde as holding lands there at that time. Over one hundred years later, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Johannes Rodde. 3

Moving to the extreme south and west of England, we found an early listing of the family in the parish of Northill, Cornwall. "The manor of Treveniel was the property of Sir George Carew, prior to the sixteenth century, of whom it was then purchased by the Spoures; and being included in the bequest of Mrs. Grylls to Francis Rodd, Esq. it has descended with her other property, to Francis Hearle Rodd, Esq. its present possessor. By a custom which had prevailed from time immemorial, the lord of this manor claimed of the mayor of Launceston the humiliating service of holding his stirrup, whenever he mounted his horse on the occasion of the duke of Cornwall's coming into the town. Another manor called Tolcarne, or Talkarne, was also included in the bequest of Mrs. Grylls to Mr. Rodd. This has likewise descended with the other estates, and is the property of F. H. Rodd, Esq. " 4

Early History of the Rodes family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rodes research. Another 93 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1481, 1530, 1562, 1588, 1599, 1624, 1634, 1639, 1641, 1645, 1656, 1658, 1659, 1660, 1666, 1743 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Rodes History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rodes Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Rodd, Rod, Rode, Rodde, Rodda and others.

Early Notables of the Rodes family

Distinguished members of the family include

Francis Rodes (c. 1530-1588), was an English judge and son of John Rodes of Staveley Woodthorpe, Derbyshire. "The family traced its descent from Gerard de Rodes, a prominent Baron in the reign of Henr...

Migration of the Rodes family to Ireland

Some of the Rodes family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rodes migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Rodes Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Roger Rodes, who arrived in Virginia in 1624 5
Mary Rodes, who landed in Virginia in 1653 5
Francis Rodes, who landed in Maryland in 1679 5
Charles Rodes, who arrived in Virginia in 1695 5

Rodes Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

W H Rodes, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 5
John George Rodes, who arrived in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1860 5

Rodes migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Rodes Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Rodes, aged 25, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Conflict" in 1874

Rodes migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 6

Rodes Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mr. Thomas Rodes, aged 20 who arrived in St. Kitts (St Christopher) aboard the ship "Amity" in 1635 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Rodes (post 1700) +

W. M. Rodes, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 1944 7
Mrs. Clifton Rodes, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Kentucky, 1936 7
Brigadier-General Peter Powell Rodes (1890-1966), American Commandant of War Department Personnel Center Fort Dix (1945-1946) 8
Mr. Nicholas Rodes, British sheriff, held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1504 to 1505
Clifton Rodes Breckinridge (1846-1932), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from Arkansas, 1883-89, 1890-95; U.S. Minister to Russia, 1894-97; Delegate to Arkansas State Constitutional Convention, 1917 9

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2014, March 26) Peter Rodes. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Rodes/Peter_Powell/USA.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 5) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html