William Blount Rodman was an American lawyer and politician from North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

. He was a justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court

North Carolina Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of North Carolina is the state's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists of six associate justices and one chief justice, although the number of justices...

 from 1868 to 1878.

Life

He was the son of William Wanton Rodman (d. ca. 1825, brother of John Rodman

John Rodman

John Rodman was an American lawyer and politician from New York and Florida.-Life:...

) and Polly Anne (Blount) Rodman.

Rodman graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

 in 1836 and studied law under Judge William Gaston

William Gaston

William J. Gaston was a jurist and United States Representative from North Carolina. Gaston was born in New Bern, North Carolina, the son of Dr. Alexander Gaston and Margaret Gaston. He entered Georgetown College in Washington, D.C., at the age of thirteen, becoming its first student...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1838. He delivered an address to the Wake Forest literary societies in 1846. He helped revise the state's legal code in 1854, along with B.F. Moore.

In 1858, he married Camilla Croom, and they had eight children.

He served as a Democratic elector for John C. Breckinridge

John C. Breckinridge

John Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States , to date the youngest vice president in U.S...

 in 1860

United States presidential election, 1860

The United States presidential election of 1860 was a quadrennial election, held on November 6, 1860, for the office of President of the United States and the immediate impetus for the outbreak of the American Civil War. The nation had been divided throughout the 1850s on questions surrounding the...

 and as a Confederate elector for Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...

 in 1861. During the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, he commanded Confederate troops and served as a military judge for the Army of Northern Virginia

Army of Northern Virginia

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...

. After the war he resumed the practice of law in Washington, North Carolina

Washington, North Carolina

Washington is a city in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 9,744 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beaufort County. The closest major city is Greenville, approximately 20 miles to the west....

 and, though politically Independent, he supported the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

. After taking a leading role at the state constitutional convention

North Carolina Constitution

The Constitution of the State of North Carolina governs the structure and function of the state government of North Carolina, United States; it is the highest legal document for the state and subjugates North Carolina law...

, Rodman was appointed to the Supreme Court.

His grandson, William B. Rodman, III

William B. Rodman, Jr.

William Blount Rodman, Jr. , also known as William B. Rodman, III , was a North Carolina lawyer and politician. He served as a state Senator , a state representative , North Carolina Attorney General and as a justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court .He was the grandson of William B...

, usually called William B. Rodman, Jr., was also a state Supreme Court justice.