Despite having much to be proud of, Caesar Rodney exhibited the most admirable of traits in service to his home state, Delaware, and the new nation he assisted in birthing—humility. His forbearing and patient qualities endeared him to his friends and his overall character of person is tainted not by even one recorded instance of imagined or true impropriety. 

The self-educated Anglican was only one of two bachelors to sign the Declaration of Independence and the only native Delawarean. Mr. Rodney came from impressive stock dating back to the reign of King Henry VIII. One of his ancestors, Jane Seymour, was the king’s third wife. At 27 years of age, he first held the position of sheriff in Kent County. Many subsequent positions did he fill: delegate to the Stamp Act Congress, Delaware assemblyman, associate justice of the state’s supreme court, and many more. 

Around the time of the Stamp Act, Caesar Rodney suffered from a cancerous growth on his face. It began forming on his nose, but quickly spread to other portions of one side of his face. A skilled doctor was able to remove it from his face and bring significant relief. Because of the success of the surgery, he did not have to travel to England to seek treatment. 

As a Continental Congressional delegate, Mr. Rodney filled his most important position. On July 1, 1776, he was absent from the Congress attending to other matters back home. His colleagues, Thomas McKean and George Read, were deadlocked in their support and opposition, respectively, of the measure regarding independence from Great Britain. Mr. McKean sent word to Mr. Rodney requesting he come, at once, to Philadelphia to break the tie in the Delaware delegation. For 18 hours, he rode all through a night filled with torrential rains and muddied roads. He arrived quite fatigued and significantly ill. And yet, he fulfilled his delegatory obligation and cast his vote for independence breaking the tie. His vote permitted the resolution to pass unanimously with one abstention, New York. On August 2, all three delegates from Delaware signed the Declaration of Independence. Caesar Rodney also signed the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolutionary War.

In 1777, Caesar Rodney was elected president of Delaware. He served in the position for four years. After leading his state, he was elected to Congress. He was never able to serve for the cancer he suffered from years earlier ravaged his face with an aggressiveness not experienced in prior years. The removal of cancer, some 20 years earlier, had not stopped the malignancy. It respread and eventually was present on all areas of his face. This prompted him to wear a green silk screen to obscure the most unpleasant appearance.  The cancer took his life at his home in Dover on June 26, 1784. 

Caesar Rodney lived to be 65 years of age.