Rodman family.

John Rodman (d. 1686) was the first member of the Rodman family to emigrate to the new world, arriving in Barbadoes in the latter half of the 17th century. He had two sons, Thomas (b. 1640) and John (1653-1731), both born in England and raised in Barbadoes. The family became members of the Society of Friends after meeting George Fox in Barbadoes in 1671. Thomas moved to Newport, R.I. in 1675, while John arrived there in the 1680s. Thomas was a Quaker physician. When John settled in Newport, he purchased 700 acres of land on Block Island.

Thomas' descendents stayed in the Newport area and became prosperous merchants. Later generations, including Samuel Rodman (1753-1835) and Samuel, Jr. (1792-1876) were merchants and bankers in New Bedford, Ma.

John married Mary Scammon (1667-1747), before moving to Newport. On July 26, 1698, he was made a citizen of Flushing, Long Island, where he was a proprietor of tracts of land in New York City along the East River, which became known as Rodman's Slip.

John's eldest son, John (1679-1756) was born in Barbadoes and moved with his family to Newport and Flushing. When he came of age, he moved to Philadelphia, followed by Boston in 1707. He returned to Flushing in 1712. More than a decade later, John moved to Burlington, N.J., where he practiced medicine. He was a member of the board of Alderman for the city of Burlington. He and Thomas Richardson were proprietors in common of tracts of land in Warwick Twp., Bucks County, Pa.

Two of John's children, William (1720-1794) and Gilbert, grew up on their father's plantation in Bucks County with his brother Gilbert. William married Mary Reeve in 1744, he made large additions to the family home and named it Rodmanda. Later, the name was changed to Flushing and the property remained in family hands until 1861. William served as a Justice of the Peace from 1752 to 1757 and represented Bucks Co. in the Provincial Assembly from 1763 to 1776.

William's son, William (1757-1824), followed his father's path in political life. He served as a quarter master during the Revolutionary War. In 1784 he went to Philadelphia, where he married Esther West in 1785. William returned to Bristol, serving as Justice of the Peace from 1791 to 1800. From 1804 to 1808, he was a member of the Pennsylvania Senate. William was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1811 and stayed for one term. After retiring from politics, William devoted his time to agricultural pursuits. William and his wife had nine children.

From the description of Papers, 1660-1839. (Winterthur Library). WorldCat record id: 122568439