John Boddie

Biography

John Boddie was born in England and died in London, buried on 22 May 1591. He married Thomasine Mildmay who was born in Suffolk, England and died in England in 1613. John's father, William, was a Captain in the Navy during the time of Henry VIII. John was a Captain and Admiral in the navy during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. He served from 1552 to 1591. He used the alias "John Thomas" in his naval records. In 1569 his ship, the Brave, was sunk by pirates, and he petitioned the Queen to restore him to command of a ship. In 1586, John Boddie alias Thomas commanded a ship in the Battle of the Armada. For his services, he received a Grant of Arms from the Queen in 1589.

In-depth information about the Boddie family can be found in books such as Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County, Virginia, Historical Southern Families Vol.. IV and VI (all three of these books are by John Bennett Boddie and can be found in Shreve Memorial Library in Shreveport LA, Lincoln Parish Library in Ruston LA, and the LA Tech library in Ruston), History of Bienville Parish LA Vol. I and II, The Boddie Family History 1542 - 1980 (a booklet that was distributed at the 1980 Boddie Family Reunion in Ruston LA), and Alston-Williams-Boddie-Hilliard Society: Society and Family Book (shelved at the DAR library in Baton Rouge, available through interlibrary loan to DAR members).

John Boddie appears amongst the list of officers of ships during the period of Queen Elizabeth. In the early days of the Navy, Elizabeth was certain that the, then fledgling, Navy represented a means of protecting England and her interests, particularly in support of the Protestant states of Europe. In her years of power she began an aggressive contruction programme to build Ships of the Line that could defeat the most powerful Navy afloat, that of Spain. Many of her early ships were "privateers", captained by men such as Sir Walter Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh. It is not sure to which role John Boddie started his life with the Navy.

He appears, in Navy records, as John Thomas, and it is not clear why this name was adopted; certainly his wife's name is Thomasina, but there appears to be no connection with a Naval career. This change of name confuses his Naval record. John would serve in the Navy for 39 years from 1552 to his Death in 1591.[2]

In 1569 he appears to have been Captain of the "Brave" apparently sunk by "privateers", likely Spanish. In 1580 he was Captain of a ship, not named, on escort to four ships providing supplies to Limerick in Ireland, assisting Pelham in the Siege of Limerick. His actions here provide a mention in notices to Bournley of the State of Affairs in Ireland.

In 1585 he appears as Captain of the "Achates", an 18 gun ship of the line, in preparation to repel the Spanish Armada. He appears in the List of Officers Fit for Duty and appears as "impressing" 100 Marines for service at Portsmouth in April 1588. He is noticed in all engagements of the fleet between 20 July 1588, off Eddystone Rocks, to 29 July 1588, including the Battle of Gravelines.

O 16 July 1589 he is noted as receiving a grant of arms from Queen Elizabeth where he is mentioned as Admiral. The arms are stated to be argent, on a fess azure, three pelicans or, and shown on this page.

He is noted as being on staff at Portsmouth in 1591 where he died in service on 17 May 1591. He was buried at Church of St. Olave, London, on 22 May 1591. His will, and that of his wife, is noted in the source.

Parents:

William Boddie b. 1525 in Essex, England d. 1557 in Essex, England. Captain, Royal Navy. Joan (Unknown) Boddie b. 1526 England m. befor 1550 in England.[3] Spouse:

Thomasine (Mildmay) Boddie (b. 1568, Cretingham Suffolk England United Kingdom d. 12 Mar 1613, Chelmesford Essex England ) Married In England.

Children:

1. Anthony Boddie b. 1578
2. Thomas Boddie ( b. 1580, Portsmouth Hamshire England United Kingdom d. 28 Apr 1627, Portsmouth Hampshire England) m. Mary Mildmay[4]
3. Christian Boddie b. 1582
4. Katherine Boddie b. 1584[5] Burial Buried - 22 May 1591 St Olave Hart Street Churchyard, London, City of London, Greater London, England.[6]

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https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47444298/john-boddie

Son of Capt. William Boddie

Husband of Thomasine (Mildmay) Boddie

John and Thomasine (Milday) Boddie's children were:

• 1. Anthony Boddie (m. Alice MNU)
• 2. Katherine Boddie
• 3. Christian Boddie (m. Thomas Parker)
• 4. Thomas Boddie (m. Mary Mildmay, dtr. of Thomas and Olive Nuttall Mildmay)
• 5. Elizabeth Boddie (m. Anthony Matthews)

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Family of John Boddie

Source: Historical Southern Families, Vol. 1, page 96

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References

References

1. VIsitation of Essex (1634) Page 155: Boddye. < Archive.Org >
2. The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants to the American Colonies or the United States: who were themselves notable or left descendants notable in American history, with a 2008 Addendum, Coda, and Final Additions. Baltimore, MD: Gen Pub Co, 2008. NYPL APK 08-4216. Author, Gary Boyd Roberts
3. http://02ec0a3.netsolhost.com/getperson.php?personID=I27699&tree=nc... ↑ Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County, Virginia: A History of the County of Isle of Wight, Virginia, During the Seventeenth Century, Including Abstracts of the County Records; John Bennett Boddie; Chapter 18, page 319
4. http://t-reid.org/FamilyHistory/shannon/pafg15.htm#35722 # http://02ec0a3.netsolhost.com/getperson.php?personID=I27699&tree=nc... # http://www.mytrees.com/ancestry/Other/Born-1578/Bo/Boddie-family/An...
5. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=47444298
6. Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County, Virginia: A History of the County of Isle of Wight, Virginia, During the Seventeenth Century, Including Abstracts of the County Records; John Bennett Boddie; Chapter 18.
7. http://t-reid.org/FamilyHistory/shannon/pafg14.htm#35720 [S1946] Pope Web Site, Herbert Pope, John Thomas Boddie (Reliability: 3), 5 May 2013.