John Coode (1648 - abt. 1709)

Born 1648 in Penryn, Cornwall, England

Ancestors

Husband of Susannah (Gerard) Coode — married 1674 in Saint Mary's County, Maryland

Husband of Elizabeth (Unknown) Coode — married about 1682 in Maryland

Descendants

Died about 1709 at about age 61 in Saint Mary's County, Maryland

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Biography

John Coode is Notable.

John Coode (Cood) was born in Penryn to parents John and Grace. ^[1] They were a wealthy Cornwall family.

He became an Anglican priest in 1668, after studying at Oxford University. Four years later, having been turned out of his living, he traveled to Maryland, where he married the wealthy widow Susannah (Gerard) Slye. He became active in Maryland Colony's politics, serving as a captain of the militia and on the Maryland Assembly. After the death of Susannah, he married a Elizabeth, whose maiden name is unknown. She outlived him, and married one William Hook.

He took part in four rebellions against the colonial government in Maryland, including leading Coode's Rebellion.^[2] He served as "commander-in-chief" (essentially the governor) of the colony until 1691^[3], working with his Puritan supporters to outlaw both the Catholic and Anglican churches.

Papenfuse describes him as "always unable to work co-operatively for any appreciable length of time under any government".

In later life he became an atheist. His comments about religion led to his conviction for blasphemy, for which he was sentenced to have a hole bored through his tongue with a red-hot iron. The sentence was set aside by Governor Blakiston on account of his role in the 1689 Protestant Revolution. Ironically, though he remained popular with voters, his status as a former priest was persistently used to debar him from sitting in the Assembly.

He passed away in February or March of 1709.

Sources

1. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NBQG-1XQ : 11 February 2018, John Cood, 03 Apr 1648); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 916,890.
2. ↑ Protestant Revolution (Maryland). Wikipedia.
3. ↑ "John Coode." Wikipedia

See also:

• Gale Research Publication. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.
• Jourdan, Elise Greenup. Early Families of Southern Maryland, Vol. 8. Heritage Books, 2008.
• Marshall, Mike. "John Coode." Early Colonial Settlers of Southern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck Counties
• Papenfuse, Edward C: Biog. Dict. Maryl. Legisl, p. 233, Coode, John, at Archives of Maryland Online.
• Oxford DNB.
• Richardson, Douglas. Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Baltimore, MD: 2004. Gerard 17 i, Washington 19 i. family search
• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Salt Lake City, UT: 2011. Vol. 2 p. 251. family search