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:

    “What we often take to be family values—the work ethic, honesty, clean living, marital fidelity, and individual responsibility—are in fact social, religious, or cultural values. To be sure, these values are transmitted by parents to their children and are familial in that sense. They do not, however, originate within the family. It is the value of close relationships with other family members, and the importance of these bonds relative to other needs.”
    —David Elkind (20th century)

    “...he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the sea.”
    —Bible: New Testament, Mark 6:48.

    “What is it then between us?
    What is the count of the scores or hundreds of years between us?

    Whatever it is, it avails not—distance avails not, and
    place avails not,”
    —Walt Whitman (1819–1892)