Thomas Rodney

Thomas Rodney (born June 4, 1744 in Kent County , Delaware Colony , † January 2, 1811 in Natchez , Mississippi Territory ) was an American lawyer and politician . In 1781 and 1782, as well as in 1786, he was delegate for Delaware in the Continental Congress .

Career

Thomas Rodney was the father of Caesar A. Rodney (1772-1824), who was a lawyer, diplomat and US Senator . He was also a brother of Caesar Rodney (1728–1784), a governor of Delaware. He was also a cousin of Congressman George B. Rodney (1803-1883). Already during the colonial period he held various local offices. In 1770 he was justice of the peace in his homeland. He was to exercise this office again in 1784. In the 1770s he joined the revolutionary movement and became a member of several revolutionary bodies. In 1775 he was a member of the security committee of his homeland. During the Revolutionary War he was a colonel in the Delaware State Militia. In 1778 he was named Chief Justice as Chief Justice in Kent County. In 1779 he also worked as a notary or executor ( Register of Wills ).

In 1781 and 1782, and in 1786, Rodney represented Delaware in the Continental Congress. In 1787 he was elected to the Delaware House of Representatives, and then became its president. In the late 1790s he joined the Democratic Republican Party founded by Thomas Jefferson . Between December 1802 and August 1803, Thomas Rodney was a judge on the Delaware Supreme Court . He then became a federal judge in the Mississippi Territory. He held this office until his death on January 2, 1811 in Natchez.

Web links

• Thomas Rodney in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Thomas Rodney in the database of Find a Grave (English)