Biographies of Sussex County, Delaware Thomas Rodney Thomas Rodney, Territorial judge, was born in Sussex County, Delaware, June 4, 1744. He was a brother of Caesar Rodney of Delaware, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, member of the Continental Congress and general of Delaware militia. They were descended from William Rodney, native of England, who was a member of Penn’s council. Rodney was a lawyer and politician from early manhood. He served as a justice of the peace in 1770; was a member of the assembly to elect delegates to the first Continental Congress in 1774, member of the council of safety in 1775 and colonel of militia during the War of the Revolution. In 1778, he was chief justice of the Kent county court, in 1779 register of bills, in 1781-83 and 1785-87 member of the Congress of the Confederation. In 1787 he was speaker of the Delaware assembly. July 12, 1803, he and Robert Williams were appointed land commissioners for the territory west of the Pearl River, and at the same time he was appointed Territorial judge to succeed Seth Lewis. This office he held until his death at his plantation home in Jefferson county, January 2, 1811. When Rodney was about to make a visit to Richmond in August 1807, having concluded the land commission work, he was given a banquet at the home of Abram de France, at which, after he had retired, the toast was offered: “Col. Thomas Rodney, a hero of ’76.” His name is commemorated by the town of Rodney, and Rodney landing on the Mississippi river. Notable events in his career were his investigation of the Kemper raiders, the hearing of Aaron Burr, and his conflict of authority with Governor Williams, his former associate on the commission. Judge Rodney’s son, Caesar Augustus Rodney, born in Delaware in 1772, was attorney-general of the United States under Jefferson. He prosecuted the impeachment of Judge Chase and the indictment of Aaron Burr, visited the South American republic for Madison, was representative and senator in congress and died while minister to Buenos Aires. [Source: Courts, Judges, and Lawyers of Mississippi, 1798 - 1935, Rowland Dunbar, B.S., LL.B., LL.D., 1935, pg.19-20, Submitted by Debora Reese] ©2007 K. Torp Genealogy Trails