Gedney family

The Gedney family is a historical family lineage rather than a conventional commercial brand or operating organization. Its documented American history begins with John Gedney, who was originally from Norwich in England and arrived in New England in 1636 aboard the Mary Anne, sailing from Yarmouth. The family became associated with Salem, Massachusetts, where it was counted among the early settler families. The best-known member of the early American line was Bartholomew Gedney, a Massachusetts magistrate who served as one of the judges involved in the Salem witch trials. His role connects the family to one of the most studied and controversial episodes in colonial American history. Another member of the family, Eleazar or Eleazor Gedney, built the Gedney House in Salem around 1665. The house remains an important surviving example of early colonial architecture and is a tangible reminder of the family's place in Salem's seventeenth-century history. During the eighteenth century, branches of the family moved south and west from Massachusetts into Westchester County, New York, including settlements at Mamaroneck and White Plains. Some relatives became connected by marriage to the Fairfax family and to Warner Washington, a cousin of George Washington. These relationships placed portions of the wider family network within the social and political circles surrounding colonial Virginia and the early United States. The American War of Independence had significant consequences for several Gedney-related families. Land associated with Joshua Gedney in Dutchess County, along the Hudson River, was seized and sold during the upheaval. The property later passed through the hands of the Vanderbilts and Franklin D. Roosevelt and is now associated with Vanderbilt-Roosevelt Historic Park. In another postwar migration, Joshua Gedney's brother Joseph and related family members reportedly adopted the spelling Gidney and left New York for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in 1783. Because the Gedney family is a genealogy and historical subject, there is no evidence in the supplied material of a unified company, consumer offering, corporate headquarters, commercial ownership structure, or active brand strategy. Its significance lies instead in colonial settlement, architecture, family networks, wartime displacement, and the preservation of associated historic places.

The Gedney family's American history is traced to John Gedney, originally of Norwich, England. In 1636 he crossed the Atlantic from Yarmouth aboard the Mary Anne and became associated with the early English settlement of Salem, Massachusetts. The family was therefore present during the formative period of colonial Salem, when the settlement developed from a small Puritan community into a significant port and regional center. John Gedney's descendants included Bartholomew Gedney, a magistrate who participated in the proceedings of the Salem witch trials. His involvement has made the family name part of the historical record surrounding the trials, although the family's broader history extends well beyond that episode. Bartholomew's brother Eleazar, also recorded as Eleazor, constructed the Gedney House in Salem around 1665. The surviving building provides architectural evidence of the family's wealth and standing in the town during the seventeenth century and remains associated with Salem's historic built environment. By the eighteenth century, members of the family had moved from Massachusetts to New York. Branches settled in Westchester County, including Mamaroneck and White Plains. Through marriage, the family became connected to the Fairfax family. Bartholomew Gedney of Massachusetts was described as a great-great-grandfather of Thomas Fairfax, the ninth Lord Fairfax of Cameron. The family also had a connection to Warner Washington, a cousin of George Washington, through Warner Washington's marriage to Hannah Fairfax, the sister of the eighth Lord Fairfax. The Revolutionary period brought substantial disruption. Thomas Fairfax, the sixth Lord Fairfax of Cameron, was compelled to forfeit extensive land in what is now Fairfax, Virginia. The surrounding Fairfax and Washington connections illustrate the way colonial landholding, surveying, kinship, and wartime politics overlapped. Separately, land held by Joshua Gedney in Dutchess County along the Hudson River was seized and auctioned during the conflict and its aftermath. The property later became connected with the Vanderbilt and Roosevelt estates and is now part of Vanderbilt-Roosevelt Historic Park. In 1783, Joshua Gedney's brother Joseph and associated relatives left New York for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The family branch is reported to have adopted the surname spelling Gidney, reflecting a divergence in the family's later naming and migration history. These movements place the Gedney lineage within the wider Loyalist-era migration from the former American colonies to Atlantic Canada. The historical record supplied for this entry does not establish a single continuous institution or business operating under the name Gedney family. The subject is best treated as a genealogical and historical lineage whose importance derives from its early New England settlement, connection to Salem's witch-trial era, surviving architecture, intermarriage with prominent colonial families, and dispersal during and after the American Revolution.

• 1783

  A branch migrates to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

  [1]Gedney familyen.wikipedia.org

  Joshua Gedney's brother Joseph and related family members left New York for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, reportedly using the surname spelling Gidney.

• 1665

  Construction of Gedney House

  [1]Gedney familyen.wikipedia.org

  Eleazar, also recorded as Eleazor Gedney, built the Gedney House in Salem. The surviving house is associated with the family's colonial presence and Salem's early architectural history.

• 1636

  John Gedney arrives in New England

  [1]Gedney familyen.wikipedia.org

  John Gedney, originally from Norwich, England, sailed from Yarmouth aboard the Mary Anne and became associated with the early settlement of Salem, Massachusetts.

• Bartholomew Gedney participates in Salem witch-trial proceedings

  [1]Gedney familyen.wikipedia.org

  Bartholomew Gedney served as a magistrate and was among the judges connected with the Salem witch trials.

• Family branches settle in Westchester County

  [1]Gedney familyen.wikipedia.org

  During the eighteenth century, members of the family moved to New York and settled in places including Mamaroneck and White Plains.

A historical family lineage and genealogy subject, not an identifiable commercial brand.

1. 1Gedney familyen.wikipedia.org