The Strode Family

Arms of Sir Warin de la Strode

Rachel Strode who married Henry Bedinger(4) was the daughter of Captain James Strode a wealthy landowner of Berkeley County.  James Strode was the grandson of Edward Strode (b. ca. 1665) who with his family fled their native England to Holland or France.  Edward was a staunch Protestant and had refused to take the oath to the  English Throne of Queen Mary and King William. In about 1699 Edward Strode, and presumably also his wife, died aboard ship on the voyage to America, leaving Edward and his six siblings orphans.  The four boys ranged in age from 7 to 12; the three girls were younger.  Edward Strode’s estate was granted to George Strode, next of kin, and the orphans were bound out near the Strodes in Chester County, Pennsylvania until they were of legal age.  In the mid-1730s the orphan Edward Strode, having reached legal age, made his way to Berkeley County, Virginia with his sister and her husband Morgan Bryan.  A granddaughter of Morgan Bryan, Rebecca Bryan, (daughter of Joseph Bryan) married Daniel Boone.  Rachel Strode’s uncle, John Strode was among the Shepherdstown, Virginia men who journeyed to Kentucky in 1779 and defended Boonesborough from hostile Indians.  John Strode remained in Kentucky and established Strode’s Station in Clark county near Boonesborough. 

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The ancestry of Captain James Strode is traced back to Sir Warin de la Strode (Guarin du l’Strode), a knight who accompanied William the Conqueror in 1066 in the conquest of  England.  Warin was born around 1045 in Brittany.  Warin is said to have been either the son, grandson, or nephew of Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany based on having the same coat of arms, and is also believed to be the nephew or near-kinsman of Brian; Brian was the son of Eudes, the second son of Geoffrey.  He is often given the name in Latin of "Warinus arbalistarius" for his status as a crossbowman; as such he was a participant in the Battle of Hastings. He was later knighted by King William.  After the conquest of England, Warin became Lord of Strode, in Dorsetshire.  Warin is mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book as a "ministri" (servant of the King), and has his estate taxed at "two hides less half virgate" (210 acres). His holdings were at Chelworth, today in the parish of Cricklade, in northern Wiltshire. His land in the Domesday Book is stated as "Celewrde number 566", the number 566 signifying it was an estate though of relatively small size.[i]
 
[i]  Warinus de la Strode from Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia.