Caesar Rodney - Rodney Family and Early Years

Rodney Family and Early Years

See also: Rodney family of Delaware

Caesar Rodney was born in 1728 on his family's farm, "Byfield", on St. Jones Neck in East Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware. He was the son of Caesar and Elizabeth Crawford Rodney and grandson of William Rodney, who came to America in the 1680s and had been Speaker of the Colonial Assembly of the Delaware Counties in 1704. His mother was the daughter of the Rev. Thomas Crawford, Anglican rector of Christ Church at Dover. Among the Rodney family ancestors were the prominent Adelmare family in Treviso, Italy.

Byfield was an 800-acre (320 ha) prosperous farm, worked by slaves. With the addition of other adjacent properties, the Rodneys were, by the standards of the day, wealthy members of the local gentry. Sufficient income was earned from the sale of wheat and barley to the Philadelphia and West Indies market to provide enough cash and71.57.224.12 (talk) 21:18, 26 November 2012 (UTC) leisure to allow members of the family to participate in the social and political life of Kent County.

At the age of 16 and upon the death of his father in 1745, Caesar's guardianship was entrusted to Nicholas Ridgely by the Delaware Orphan's Court.

Read more about this topic:  Caesar Rodney

Famous quotes containing the words family, early and/or years:

    “When a family is free of abuse and oppression, it can be the place where we share our deepest secrets and stand the most exposed, a place where we learn to feel distinct without being “better,” and sacrifice for others without losing ourselves.”
    —Letty Cottin Pogrebin (20th century)

    “We have been told over and over about the importance of bonding to our children. Rarely do we hear about the skill of letting go, or, as one parent said, “that we raise our children to leave us.” Early childhood, as our kids gain skills and eagerly want some distance from us, is a time to build a kind of adult-child balance which permits both of us room.”
    —Joan Sheingold Ditzion (20th century)

    “Where has it all gone? I remember that twenty years ago there were geese and cranes and ducks and grouse here, clouds of them!... And there are far fewer animals. Wolf and fox are rare, brother, not to mention bears or mink. There used even to be moose!”
    —Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)