Rodney, Caesar
| Name |
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| born on | 7 October 1728 Jul.Cal. (18 Oct 1728 greg.) at 23:50 (= 11:50 PM ) | ||||
| Place | Dover Hundred, Delaware, 39n07, 75w45 | ||||
| Timezone | LMT m75w45 (is local mean time) | ||||
| Data source |
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| Astrology data |   26°02'   08°28 Asc. 08°25'
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natal chart (Placidus)
natal chart English style (Equal houses)
natal chart with Whole Sign houses
| Alternative birthtime | |||
| From Jane Scott's biography | |||
| Date | 7 October 1728 Jul.Cal. (18 Oct 1728 greg.) at 00:10 (= 12:10 AM ) | ||
| Place | Dover Hundred, DE (US), 39n07, 75w45 | ||
| Timezone | LMT m75w45 (is local mean time) | ||
| Astrology data | 25°03'  26°46 Asc. 11°37'
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Biography
American lawyer and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, east of Dover. He was an officer of the Delaware militia during the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, a Continental Congressman from Delaware, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and President of Delaware during most of the American Revolution.
Signer of the Declaration of Independence from Delaware. Born on a farm near Dover, Delaware, Caesar Rodney attended school briefly, but was taught at home by his mother. His father died when Caesar was 17, and as the oldest son, he took over the family farm, helping his mother to raise his six younger brothers and sisters. Thanks to his inheritance, he decided to devote a large portion of his life to public service. In 1755, he was chosen Sheriff for Kent County, Delaware. Over the next twenty years, he served as clerk of the Orphans' Court and served in the Delaware Congress. He was so highly respected that he was appointed to Delaware's Supreme Court, even though he had not studied law. Early on, Rodney supported the patriotic cause for independence. In 1774, he was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress, and again, for the Second Continental Congress. In 1776, he was suffering from cancer of the jaw, and returned to his home near Dover, Delaware. When the vote for independence neared, delegate Thomas McKean sent him a message to return immediately to the Continental Congress. Despite illness and a cold drizzling rain, he rode all night for 80 miles to Philadelphia, arriving just in time to vote. His vote for independence was absolutely critical, as the Delaware delegation was equally split between independence and remaining British, and Rodney's vote put Delaware squarely on the side of independence, two votes to one. After the Declaration of Independence, Rodney would recruit men to serve in the American Army, and even fought in the Army himself. From the spring of 1778 to late 1781, he served as Delaware's Governor. He died in June 1784, in his home in Dover, Delaware. Caesar Rodney never married. (biography quoted from findagrave.com)
Events
Source Notes
Sy Scholfield quotes from "A gentleman as well as a Whig: Caesar Rodney and the American Revolution" by Jane Scott (University of Delaware Press, 2000), p. 16: "Caesar Rodney, the first child of Caesar Rodney, Sr. and Elizabeth Crawford Rodney was born shortly after midnight, on October 7, 1728. It is thought that his young parents were living in a small house owned by Elizabeth's father, not far from the Rodney farm at Byfield. According to Caesar Rodney, Sr.'s diary, the young father immediately sent for a midwife 'and other women,' but 'before aney came ye Child wass Born and it wass a Son.' As 'there was no sole with her but myself--being I believe just about midnight.'" The time 0:10 is a guesswork interpretation of "shortly after midnight".
On 12 July 2015, Forum user Alain Stalder quotes from "Caesar Rodney Patriot" by William P. Frank (1975): "Caesar, our hero, was born shortly before midnight, October 7, 1728, amid unusual circumstances. His father kept a diary, which indicates that the father acted as midwife. The diary entry reads: 'October 7 Hung some tobacco. Came in, got dinner and killed some squirrels. ... About eleven o'clock at night, my wife awakened me for she was very bad. I got up and sent for ye midwife and women. But before any came, ye child was born and it was a SON. There was no soul with her but myself, being I believe just about midnight.' Caesar was born on his father's farm in East Dover Hundred, Kent County, near the Delaware River, an area that had always been known as St. Jones Neck." [1].
Stalder further comments: "The father could [not] have written the last part of his diary entry before midnight (because birth was then), thus the date "October 7" on the diary entry might theoretically not correspond to the date of birth."
Scholfield responds that while Caesar Rodney's father recorded the diary entry as 7 October that could theoretically have been written on the 8th referring to Caesar's birth around midnight of 7-8 October (as interpreted by Frank) or it could have been written literally on the 7th referring to Caesar's birth around midnight of 6-7 October (as interpreted by Scott, with "about eleven o'clock" referring to the night before, i.e. the 6th, and birth soon after midnight on the 7th). Because of the ambiguity, charts have been displayed for both approximate times.
It needs to be noted that this date is in Julian Calendar and a Monday, and corresponds to 18 October 1728 Gregorian calendar. Calendar problems are often overlooked in American history recordings, though the change from Julian to Gregorian calendar in the British Empire happened only in 1752.
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, which holds the original of the father's diary, has confirmed by email: "I have located the diary in question and, as recorded by Caesar Rodney, Sr., the date of his son’s birth is recorded per the Julian calendar as October 7, 1728. The date is recorded as a Monday .."
Categories
- Vocation : Law : Attorney
- Vocation : Politics : Public office (president of Delaware)
