Harvey Roddy lived and died in Rhea County Tennessee in the 1800’s and is my ultimate brick wall. While he did business with other Roddy’s in the East Tennessee area, how and if he was connected to them is not known at this time. This article is dedicated to Harvey and to the gathering of information about the Roddy family that may help his descendants solve the mystery that has surrounded him for a long time.
Who were the parents of Harvey Roddy?
Sometimes a brick wall ancestor can be so hard to knock down that those of us who feel we are destined to never find out the answers we seek forget at times that individual was a person … and is in fact a cherished person who lived and walked on the ground that we now live and walk on. Harvey Roddy is one such person. He is my great-great-great grandfather who lived and died long before I was born. I know there are other cousins, who have found their way back to Harvey and now, like me, are looking for answers they feel they may never find. This page is for them and for me – no guarantees that we will find the answers we seek – but together maybe we can learn more about the man – who he was, and as such learn about those he has left to uncover the mystery of the man.
So who was Harvey and what do we know about the man?
His Birth
The actual birth date of Harvey Roddy is not known. In the 1850 census of Rhea County, Tennessee, Harvey’s age is listed as 33. Of course, we have no way of knowing if Harvey gave that information or if some other relative or neighbor gave that piece of information to the census taker. And even if it was Harvey, we have no way to know if he was truthful or not. All we know that the 1850 census record has his age as 33. That leads us to the 1860 census. How old would Harvey be there? The 1860 Census of Rhea County has Harvey’s age as 43, consistent with the 1850 census. While not proof positive that he was born in 1817, the consistency does give, well a consistent starting point for Harvey’s life on earth. The consistency continues with the 1870 and 1880 census records with Harvey being 52 and 63 respectively in those census records.
Meet the Parents
As much as I would like to introduce you to Harvey’s parents, I am amost convinced that he had none. Thus my brick wall! Based on census research and using 1817 as his birth date, the only two Roddy households that he could have been a member of in 1830 were those of Jane and Jno Roddy in Rhea County. That does not eliminate the possibility that he could have been in a non Roddy home.
Potential Siblings
- Edward Roddy
- Elizabeth “Betsy” Roddy
His Marriages
Harvey Roddy was married twice. He married first Martha Jane Boulton on the 19th of July 1838 in Rhea County, Tennessee. After her death, he married Elizabeth J. Byerley on the 14th of June 1860.
His Children by Martha:
- Richard C. Roddy was born circa 1840. Based on census records he was still alive in 1880 and had not married. I have not been able to find him in the 1900 census.
- John Tate Roddy was born 19 September 1842. He Married Martha E. Ingram on 19 Feb 1873 in Hamilton County, Tennessee. John Tate died in October 1911 and is buried in Spence Cemetery in Dayton alongside his wife. His grave is not marked but his wife’s is marked with a tombstone.
- Rachael Jane Roddy was born 28 July 1844. On 11 November 1869 she married John H. Travis in Rhea County, Tennessee. Rachel and John lived the last part of their lives in Hamilton County, Tennessee. It was there that Racheal Roddy Travis died on 10 October 1901. She is buried in Sivley Cemetery in Hamilton County, Tennessee.
- Edward Roddy was born circa 1846. There is a record of an Edward Roddy who enlisted at age 18 in the Civil War on 6 Feb 1864. This does fit his age but I have not explored this to determine if this is really Edward. Information shows that this Edward mustered into the 8th Reg Cavalry Company M on 31 March 1864 and died on 12 April 1864.
- Peter Gibbs Roddy was born 12 November 1848. He married Mary Frances Henry on 9 July 1879 in Rhea County, Tennessee. There were 11 known children from this marriage (James Franklin, Betty, Harvey, Albert, Rose, Solomon, Lonnie, John, Theo, Grady and Sarah Hazel). Peter died on March 15, 1934 and two days later was laid to rest in Spence Cemetery near Dayton.
- Harriet A. Roddy was born circa 1851. She married Samuel Parker on Jan 16, 1876 in Rhea County, Tennessee. Based on census records it appears that at least 5 children resulted from her marriage to Samuel (July, William, Ida, Fred and Alma).
- James David Roddy was born circa 1853 and died on 30 March 1899. He was married 4 times, first to Nelly Johnson on 12 November 1873, second to Anna Graves on 20 September 1875, third to Sarah Peterson on 18 July 1880 and fourth to Elizabeth Martin on 8 Feb. 1883.
- Ellen M. Roddy married Samuel Travis on 3 November 1874.
His Daughter by Elizabeth J. (Jane) Byerley:
- Sarah Elizabeth (Lizzie) Roddy was born circa 1867 in Rhea County, Tennessee. She married James Harrison Cox on 26 October 1894 in Rhea County. There are four known children from this marriage, Harvey Barton Cox, Vader Gillespie Cox, Beatrice Catherine Cox and Leonard Thomas Cox. Lizzie Roddy Cox died on 10 April 1919 in Daisy, Tennessee.
His Death
Harvey Roddy died in 1898. He is believed to be buried in Salem Baptist Church Cemetery. I have not been able to locate his actual grave site.
