The Rodway Surname Project

My link to the Rodway family (sometimes spelt Roadway) has only very recently been discovered. For years I wrongly believed to be descended from another family; it was not until I checked my sources and looked at the original records that I discovered the error of my ways, and having never checked the validity of what I believed was my ancestors’ marriage certificate, I had followed the wrong lead.

My great-great-great-grandmother was born Ann Rodway in 1810 in Colwall, Herefordshire. Her paternal line, however, can be traced back several generations to the village of Bromsberrow, located in the county of Gloucestershire but within very close proximity to Colwall itself. The link to Bromsberrow is confirmed in the will made in July 1796 by George Rodway, a resident of St. John Wapping, Middlesex but a former resident of Ledbury. In the will he leaves a few parcels of land in Bromsberrow to his nephew Thomas Rodway and to his niece, Sarah Sandford.

If you have a link to the family, or have any additions to make to the below, please contact me.

Family tree [under construction – all references to living people have been ommitted]

William Rodway married Elizabeth Redin in Bromsberrow, Gloucestershire in 1704. Parish records reveal they had at least seven children through whom their descendance is perpetuated:

1. William Rodway (Bromsberrow 1705 – Bromsberrow 1720), a labourer by profession.
2. John Rodway (Bromsberrow 1707 – ?), married Deborah Collerick (or Coldrick) in 1743 (or 1745) in Bromsberrow. They had seven children.
   1. John Rodway (Birtsmorton, Gloucestershire 1747 – ?). He may be the same John Rodway who married Ellen Wagstaff in Castlemorton in 1773 and died aged 60 in Castlemorton in 1808. They had a son:
      1. Thomas Rodway (Castlemorton 1773 – Castlemorton 1853), married Letitia Young in 1802 in Worcester, and had six daughters:
         1. Harriet Rodway
         2. Sarah Rodway
         3. Mariann Rodway
         4. Hester Rodway
         5. Harriet Rodway
         6. Honor Rodway
   2. Mary Rodway (Birtsmorton 1752 – ?).
   3. William Rodway (Colwall, Herefordshire 1755 – ?).
   4. Thomas Rodway (Colwall 1757 – ?).
   5. George Rodway (Colwall 1760 – ?).
   6. Ann Rodway (Colwall 1762 – ?).
   7. James Rodway (Colwall 1762 – Colwall 1843), married Elizabeth White (Colwall 1766 – Colwall 1837) in Colwall in 1789. The couple lived at The Wyche, Upper Colwall, and had nine children:
      1. Ann Rodway (Colwall 1790 – Colwall 1790), died young.
      2. James Rodway (Colwall 1791 – Colwall 1840), a carpenter. He married Margaret Pullen in Colwall in 1823. They had seven children:
         1. John Rodway (Malvern, Worcestershire 1824 – Colwall 1843)
         2. Thomas Rodway, (Malvern 1827 – Newport, Monmouthshire 1888). He married Anna Lawrence in 1860 in Colwall and had three daughters:
            1. Mary Ann Rodway (Colwall 1861 – Colwall 1861).
            2. Anne Rodway (Colwall 1862 – Newent 1941)
            3. Mary Margaret Rodway (Colwall 1864 – ?), married George Daniel Wallis, and had issue.
         3. Margaret Rodway, (Colwall 1829 – Malvern 1893). She married John Lowe in 1858 in Colwall and had one son.
         4. James Rodway, (Colwall 1832 – Hanley Castle, Worcestershire 1914), a plasterer. He married Jane Matthews and had three sons:
            1. Thomas Henry Rodway (Malvern 1881 – Malvern 1956), married Elizabeth Hicks and had ten children.
               1. Thomas James Rodway (Malvern Wells 1900 – Malvern Wells 1900)
               2. Lilian Gertrude Rodway (Malvern Wells 1901 – ?)
               3. George Henry Rodway (Malvern Wells 1903 – Malvern 1989), married his third cousin Irene Agnes Martin, and had a son.
         5. Henry Rodway (Colwall 1835 – Colwall 1903), a bricklayer and mason. He married Emma Loxley in 1866 in Colwall and had five children, including:
            1. Emily Margaret Rodway (Colwall 1871 – Colwall 1972), she married her second cousin Henry William Allen and had one son. For his family history, see The Allen Project.
         6. Elizabeth Rodway (Colwall 1837 – Colwall 1847).
         7. Hannah Rodway (Colwall 1839 – ?).
      3. John Rodway (Colwall 1793 – ?), married Mary Green in 1813 in Welland, and had five children:
         1. Ann Rodway (Welland 1814 – 1823 Little Malvern), died young.
         2. James Rodway
         3. William Rodway (Castlemorton 1820 – ?), married Harriet Hooper in 1843 in Castlemorton, and after her death in 1849, he married Mary Ann Clee. He had one son by his first wife and five, possibly seven by his second wife:
            1. Joseph William Rodway (Malvern 1845 – ?), a greengrocer. He married Catherine Ruthe in 1866 in Stepney, Middlesex and had seven children.
            2. William Rodway (Stepney, Middlesex 1856 -?).
            3. John Rodway (Stepney, Middlesex 1857 – ?), married Ann Bishop in 1880 in Bow, Middlesex, and had eight children.
            4. Mary Ann Rodway (Poplar, Middlesex 1859 -?).
            5. Edward Rodway (Poplar, Middlesex 1861 – Poplar, Middlesex 1861), died young.
            6. Janetta Rodway (Mile End Old Town, Middlesex 1863 – ?).
            7. Selina Rodway (Poplar, Middlesex, c. 1867 – ?).
            8. Emily Rodway (Poplar, Middlesex, c. 1870 – ?).
         4. Thomas Rodway (Little Malvern 1824 – Castlemorton 1853), died unmarried.
         5. Maria Rodway (Little Malvern 1824 – ?), still alive in 1841.
      4. William Rodway (Colwall 1795 – Welland 1861), a husbandman and labourer. He first married Ann Boulter in 1826 in Worcester, and after her death in 1850, married secondly Mary Anne de Maillet (née Hawkins) in 1854 in Hanley Castle, and had seven children by his first wife:
         1. Thomas Rodway (Great Malvern 1826  – Welland 1887), a general labourer, he married Mary Ann Trehern in 1855 in Welland, and had two daughters:
            1. Mary Ann Rodway (Welland, Worcestershire 1858 – ?), married Allen Birchley. They had six children.
            2. Rosina Rodway  (Welland 1861 – ?).
         2. Elizabeth Rodway (Great Malvern 1828 – ?), married John Hill in 1852 in Welland and had issue.
         3. Mary Rodway (Welland 1830 – Welland 1843), died young.
         4. Susanna Rodway (Welland 1834 – ?), a nurse maid, died after 1861.
         5. Ann Rodway (Welland 1836 – Welland 1836), died young.
         6. William Rodway (Great Malvern 1838 – Malvern Wells 1883), married Sarah Booker, and had eight children.
         7. James Rodway (Welland 1844 – Welland 1844), died young.
      5. Elizabeth Rodway (Colwall 1797 – ?), may have predeceased her father as she is not mentioned in his will in 1843.
      6. Charlotte Rodway (Colwall 1801 – Great Malvern 1874). She married Richard Wilkins in 1819 in Worcester and had sixchildren:
         1. Mary Wilkins (Great Malvern 1821 – ?); she married Richard Whitney and had issue.
         2. Anne Wilkins (Great Malvern 1825 – ?); she married Henry Tomkins and had twelve children.
         3. John Wilkins (Great Malvern 1827 – ?); he married Ann Watmore. They had no children, but adopted a boy called Frederick.
         4. Christiana Wilkins (Malvern Wells 1834 – Hereford 1907), also known as Hannah, married Nathaniel Martin in 1853 in Hanley Castle and had eight children.
         5. George Wilkins (Great Malvern 1839 – ?); he married Emma Bosworth and had three children.
         6. William Wilkins (Great Malvern 1841 -?); he married Mary Watmore and had at least four children.
      7. Hannah Rodway (Colwall 1803 – ?), may have predeceased her father as she is not mentioned in his will in 1843.
      8. Thomas Rodway (Colwall 1807 – Colwall 1823). He lived at The Wyche.
      9. Ann Rodway (Colwall 1810 – Colwall 1867), married Edward Allen in Claines in 1835 and had four children. For their family history, see The Allen Project.
3. Mary Rodway (Bromsberrow 1710 – ?); she married John Phillips.
4. Thomas Rodway (Bromsberrow 1712 – ?); he married Mary Davies.
5. Anthony Rodway (Bromsberrow 1715 – ?); he fathered at least one son:
   1. John Rodway (? – Bromsberrow 1740), died in infancy.
6. Sarah Rodway (Bromsberrow 1718 – Bromsberrow 1807). She had an illegitimate daughter before marrying Henry Sandford, and had one son by him:
   1. Mary Rodway, (Bromsberrow 1748 – ?); she married Joseph Harbor. They had five children.
   2. Joseph Sandford (Bromsberrow 1762 – ?); he married Jane Bannister, and had one son.
      1. William Sandford (Eastnor, Worcestershire 1791 – Newent, Gloucestershire 1869).
7. George Rodway, (Bromsberrow 1720 – St. John Wapping, Middlesex 1796). His burial record says: “Mr. George Rodway was brought from London and buried here [in Bromsberrow]. He was a native of this parish and had lately purchased a freehold estate here having acquired a fortune in the capital“.

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A mystery, finally solved?