Caesar Rodney

Known for

During 1776

Background

Born: 1728 on his family's plantation, Byfield, in Kent County, Delaware
The Rodneys were, by the standards of the day, prosperous members of the local gentry
Education: The Latin School
Never married and left no children
- Professed his love and affection for several Delaware ladies at various times, but was never a successful suitor
Slaveowning
- Byfield was an 849-acre farm worked by enslaved labor; there were about 200 slaves there
- In 1766, as the Speaker of the Assembly of Delaware, he introduced a bill to prohibit the importation of slaves into Delaware
- Rodney's will manumitted three of advanced age upon his death, and held the others to a manumission schedule he devised

Personal beliefs

Politics: Patriot/Whig
- Served in the Assembly of Delaware where, on June 15, 1776, "with Rodney in the chair and Thomas McKean leading the debate on the floor," the Assembly of Delaware voted to sever all ties with the British Parliament and King
- Was in Dover when he received word from Thomas McKean that he and George Read were deadlocked on the vote for independence; rode 70 miles through a thunderstorm to Philadelphia in order to break his delegation's deadlock, arriving "in his boots and spurs" on July 2
Religion: Episcopalian

Health

Had asthma all his life
In his late 30s, started suffering from facial cancer that caused a severe deformity; wore a silk veil to prevent upsetting anyone who saw him
John Adams: "Saturday . . . this forenoon Mr. Caesar Rodney of the lower counties on Delaware River, was introduced to us. Caesar Rodney is the oddest-looking man in the world; he is tall, thin, and slender as a reed, pale; his face is not bigger than a large apple, yet there is sense and fire, spirit, wit and humor in his countenance."