Lot 41
Rodney, Caesar (1728-84) Signer of the Declaration of Independence from Delaware. Autograph Document Signed as trustee, one page, 3 x 9¾ in., Dover, April 15, 1776. A receipt of payment of £40 principal and £30.1.3 in interest "in full discharge of the within Mortgage." Laid to slightly larger card stock. Fine. Rodney is scarce. The last Rodney ADS listed by ABPC was in 1999.
When it came time to vote for independence, each colony only got one vote, so the delegates had to come to a consensus. Delaware had three delegates: Rodney, Thomas McKean, and George Read. McKean was for independence but Read was not. McKean sent a rider on a desperate mission to find Rodney, who was in south Delaware at that time. Rodney, upon hearing the state of affairs, jumped on his horse and rode through a miserable, rainy night to Philadelphia, arriving just in time to tip Delaware's vote to the "yea" column.
Estimated Value $1,500 - 2,500.
Purchased from Walter R. Benjamin Autographs in 1984.
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| Realized $2,832 |
