Capt. Alexander Godfrey
The Rover
Captain Alexander Godfrey, our 2nd cousin 6x removed, was born in 1756 in Chatham, Massachusetts. At the time of his birth his father, Josiah, was 28 and his mother, Eunice, was 25. Josiah Godfrey was cousin to Enoch Godfrey our 5th great grandfather. Godfrey and family moved to Nova Scotia sometime in 1759-60 and appeared in the 1763 Canadian census. Alexander is a descendant of Stephen Hopkins via his granddaughter, Deborah Hopkins. In 1768 he married Phoebe West, b 1768, d 1849 on January 4, 1791, in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Canada. They had two children, Josiah b aft. 1791, d: unknown, and Ruth, b 1791, d 1798.
Our ancestors come from different family lines in Brooklyn, Queens County, Nova Scotia. Many Godrey's are listed as settlers. Many of these Godfrey ancestors were in the shipping industry and many were ship captains. Alexander was no different. The ship he captained was called the Rover, a 14 gun brig of which has been stated the most famous of the Canadian privateers (pirate) British privateer during the War of the Second Coalition against France and Spain. A privateer was a private person or private warship authorized by a country's government by "letters of marque: to attach foreign shipping. Privateers were an accepted part of naval warfare from the 16th to the 19th centuries, authorised by all significant naval powers.
It was said that Captain Godfrey was a man considerably beyond the ordinary size, of an exceedingly quiet demeanor and retiring disposition. The Rover had a crew of 45 men and its port of registry was Halifax, Nova Scotia but build in Brooklyn. Captained by Godfrey, the Rover had an in an illustrious career as a privateer ship who’s best catch occurred in the West Indies. The small brig sailed from 1800 to 1804 mostly under the captainship of Alexander Godfrey. All alone, she attacked a convoy of seven ships and captured three of them. Against overwhelming odds, her gunners engaged three Spanish warships off the Venezuelan coast and won the day.
On the 10th of September, 1800, off the coast of Venezuela, the Rover captured the Santa Rita, a schooner with ten 6-pounder guns and two 12- pounder carronades, and had a crew of 125 men. The Rover did not lose a single man of her 45 men. Godfrey reported that he had captured 71 men, including the wounded and the Santa Rita lost 54 crew members in the battle. The British journal, the Naval Chronicle, and offered a commission in the Royal Navy, which he declined.
At the close of the war he disarmed his privateer and entered into the West India trade. While on a trip to the West Indies, in 1803, he died of yellow fever, and was buried near Kingston in the Island of Jamaica.
Alexander and family would have been impacted by the Seven Year War (French and Indian War) from 1756 to 1763. Three years into the war, Capt Josiah Godfrey, Alex's father, along with many other family members, moved to Nova Scotia and on April 7, 1767 received land grants.
What you may have seen Alexander wear while Captain of the Rover. This is listed as the uniform of Canadian Pirates/Privateers.
What you may have seen Alexander wear while Captain of the Rover. This is listed as the uniform of Canadian Pirates/Privateers.
****A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. The commission, also known as a letter of marque, empowers the person to carry on all forms of hostility permissible at sea by the usages of war, including attacking foreign vessels during wartime and taking them as prizes. Historically, captured ships were subject to condemnation and sale under prize law, with the proceeds divided between the privateer sponsors, shipowners, captains and crew.
****The Rover was built in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia (then known as Herring Cove) over the winter of 1799-1800. Rover was owned by a group of merchants from Liverpool, Nova Scotia led by Simeon Perkins and Snow Parker. Rover's captain was Alexander Godfrey, and she sailed under a letter of marque. Her crew were mainly fishermen.
After 1804, she was sold to Halifax owners who employed her as a merchant vessel. She later capsized and sank in the West Indies.[3]
Four generation pedigree chart
+-->Moses Godfrey (1667, Massachusetts - 1743, Massachusetts)
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+-->Samuel Godfrey (1703, Massachusetts - 1765, Nova Scotia)
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| +-->Deborah Cooke (1678, Massachusetts - 1745, Massachusetts)
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+-->Josiah Godfrey (1728, Massachusetts - 1790, Nova Scotia)
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| | +-->Richard Knowles ( - )
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| +-->Thankful Knowles (1705, Massachusetts - 1773, Nova Scotia)
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| +-->Martha Cobb ( - )
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Alexander Godfrey (1756, Massachusetts - 1803, Jamaica)
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| +-->Moses Godfrey (1667, Massachusetts - 1743, Massachusetts)
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| +-->Moses Godfrey (1705, Massachusetts - 1773, Nova Scotia)
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| | +-->Deborah Cooke (1678, Massachusetts - 1745, Massachusetts)
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+-->Eunice Godfrey (1731, Massachusetts - 1790, Nova Scotia)
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| +-->John Collins (1674, Massachusetts - 1765, Massachusetts)
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+-->Martha Collins (1707, Massachusetts - 1756, Nova Scotia)
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+-->Hannah Doane (1669, Massachusetts - 1765, Massachusetts)