James Rodda (1748-1810)

Janes Rodda was baptised on 12th June 1748 in Crowan, Cornwall, England. His parents were Matthew and Mary Rodda (nee Davey). His siblings were Christian, John and Ann.

Child out of Wedlock
At age 21, James had a child out of wedlock with a girl by the name of Jane Phillips. Jane is believed to be the daughter of John and James Phillips of St Erth, and was only 16 years old when she had this child. The child was called Matthias Williams Rodda and was born at Falmouth on the 10th December 1769. It appears the couple may had the child in Falmouth to discreetly hide the birth from their communities, as James was from Crowan and Jane from St Erth.

Marriage
Whether the couple hid the birth from their family or community or not, they married 16 days later, in James' hometown of Crowan, on the 26th December 1769.

The couple initially settled in Crowan, but were in Gwinear for the baptism for their third and remaining children.

Birth of Grandchild
On the 10th January 1796, James and Jane baptised a child by the name of Matthew Rodda in the parish church at Gwinear. Because this child was born some 7 years after the birth of their youngest son, John Phillips, it is suspected that this child is not their child, but their grandchild. In the same way that James and Jane tried to hide the birth of their first child due to being born out of wedlock, it is beleived thay may have baptised this child for one of their own children to give it some legitimisy. Further investigation is required to determine this though.

Death of Wife
Wife Jane was buried in Crowan on the 15th March 1800, aged 47. Her cause of death is currently unknown.

Death
James died at the age of 62, and was buried in Gwinear on the 22nd April 1810. His cause of death is currently unknown.

Children

 * colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |Children of James and Jane Rodda
 * colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |Children of James and Jane Rodda