Byfield

Byfield was originally settled in the early 1680's by Daniel Jones, Caesar Rodney's maternal great grandfather, and after Jones' death it became the family seat for three generations of the Rodney family. Caesar Rodney, signer of the Declaration of Independence, Brigadier General of the state's militia from 1775 to 1778, and President (Governor) of Delaware from 1778 to 1781, spent his formative years there and acquired ownership of the property after his mother's death in 1763. When he entered public life in 1764, Rodney moved to Dover, but although tenant farmers occupied the property, he retained Byfield until his death in 1784 and was buried in a family cemetery on the property.

Delaware · United States