Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore
| Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore | |
| Governor of Maryland | |
| In office 1684–1688 |
|
| Preceded by | Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore |
| Succeeded by | William Joseph |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1679 England |
| Died | 1715 England |
| Spouse(s) | Charlotte Lee, Lady Baltimore |
| Relations | Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore (father) Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore(grandfather) Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore (son) |
| Occupation | politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic, converted to Anglicanism |
Benedict Leonard Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore, 10th Proprietary Governor of Maryland (21 March 1679 – 16 April 1715) was an English nobleman and politician. He was the second son of Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore (1637–1715) by Jane Lowe. He became his father's heir upon the death of his elder brother, Cecil in 1681. Calvert's father had lost title to the Province of Maryland due to the Glorious Revolution in 1688. Benedict Calvert attempted to have his family's title to Maryland restored by renouncing Roman Catholicism and joining the Church of England. In February 1715 Benedict became the 4th Baron Baltimore upon the death of his father, and he immediately petitioned King George I for the restoration of Maryland to his control. However, before the King could rule on the petition, Baltimore died aged 36, outliving his father by just two months. Shortly afterwards the King restored the title to Maryland to Calvert's young son Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore.
Contents |
[edit] Early life and the loss of Maryland
Benedict Leonard Calvert served as Governor of Maryland on behalf of his father from 1684 to 1688. Since he was just 5 years old at the time, this appointment was a purely honorary one, with the real work of governorship being carried out by his deputy, Henry Darnall.[1] However, the events following the Glorious Revolution in England 1688 would cost the Roman Catholic Calvert's their rule in Maryland, which in 1688 became a Royal Colony.
Like his father, Benedict Leonard Calvert's Catholicism would cause him political difficulties. As a young man he served as a cavalry officer in the regiment of Lord Salisbury, but was outlawed by the new Protestant regime.[1] His name was entered at Gray's Inn in 1690, but again his religion proved an impediment to his career.[1]
Calvert was elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Harwich from 1714 to 1715, though he was not listed in any division lists, and was not an active member.[1]
[edit] Religion and the Restoration of Maryland to Calvert control
Benedict Leonard Calvert calculated that the chief impediment to the restoration of his family's title to Maryland was the question of religion.[2] Accordingly, he converted to Anglicanism in 1713, deciding to "embrace the protestant religion", and gambling that this move would win back his family's lost fortune in the New World.[2] Such a bold move would come at a cost. Benedict Leonard's devoutly Catholic father Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, furious at his son's apostacy, withdrew his son's annual allowance of £450 and ended his support for his grandchildren's education and maintenance.[2] Fortunately Benedict Leonard was able to persuade the Crown to grant him an allowance of £300 a year, and Queen Anne even acceded to his nomination of John Hart as governor of the province, on condition that Hart would share with Calvert £500 per annum out of his profits from the office.[2] Queen Anne died on 1 August 1714, leaving the Calverts with a new king and a new court to persuade of the merits of their family's claim to Maryland.
[edit] Petition to George I
On February 2, 1715 Calvert reaffirmed his devotion to the Anglican faith and proclaimed his loyalty to the new king George I.[3] Two weeks later the old Lord Baltimore died, aged 78, and Benedict Leonard succeeded him to become the 4th Baron Baltimore, immediately petitioning King George I for the restoration of Maryland to his control. However, before the King could rule on the petition, Baltimore himself died, outliving his father by just two months.[3] Shortly afterwards, on May 15, 1715, the King restored the title to Maryland to Benedict Leonard's son, the fifteen year old 5th Baron Baltimore.[3]
[edit] Family
On 2 January 1699 Benedict Leonard Calvert married the twenty year old Lady Charlotte Lee, daughter of the 1st Earl of Lichfield and Lady Charlotte FitzRoy. Charlotte Fitzroy was the illegitimate daughter of King Charles II.[4]
The union was not a happy one, and the couple separated in 1705.[1] In 1711 Calvert petitioned for a divorce from his wife on the grounds of her "open adultery", but the petition was unsuccessful and the divorce was not granted.[1]
The couple had seven children, including:
- Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, 18th Proprietor Governor of Maryland (29 September 1699 – 24 April 1751), married Mary Janssen, daughter of Sir Theodore Janssen, 1st Baronet Janssen and Williamsa Henley.[4]
- Hon. Benedict Leonard Calvert (1700–1732), Governor of the Maryland colony from 1727 through 1731, appointed by his brother, Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore. His health was poor and he died of tuberculosis on 1 June 1732 on his passage home to England.[4]
- Hon. Edward Henry Calvert (b. ca. 1700), held office of Commissary General and President of the Council of Maryland. Married but had no children.[4]
- Hon. Charlotte Calvert (born 1702, died December 1744), married Thomas Brerewood, by whom she had a son, Francis Brerewood. (Her father-in-law Thomas Brerewood owned My Lady's Manor, in Maryland.([4]
- Hon. Jane Calvert (died July 1778), married John Hyde (1695–1746), by whom she had issue: Philip Hyde; John Hyde; Henry Hyde; Captain Frederick Hyde; Samuel Hyde; Mary Calvert Hyde, wife of George Mitchell and mother of George Calvert Mitchell, 1st Earl of Royalton; Catherine Hyde, wife of Rev. Thomas Willis; Jane Hyde, wife of Walter Joyce; and Charlotte Hyde, wife of David Grahame.[4][5]
- Hon. Cecil Calvert (born 1702, died 1765)[4]
- Hon. Anne Calvert[6]
[edit] Trivia
His great-granddaughter Eleanor Calvert Custis was the grandmother of Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee the wife of Robert Edward Lee of the Lee family of Virginia. The 1st Earl of Litchfield was a descendant of Sir Henry Lee of Ditchley.
[edit] Legacy
Benedict Leonard Calvert had arranged for his son Charles to be raised a Protestant,[1] and in 1721 the young Charles came of age and assumed control of the colony of Maryland, which would remain under the control of the Calvert family until 1776. However, Charles Calvert would, like his father, have to embrace the Anglican faith in order to retain authority over his family's province. The Calvert family's dream of a haven in the Americas for Roman Catholics was at an end, and it would take an American Revolution and the overthrow of the Calvert proprietary government to restore religious tolerance to Maryland.
Benedict Leonard Calvert's portrait, along with those of the other Barons Baltimore, still hangs today in the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, the city that bears his family name.[7]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Andrews, Matthew Page, History of Maryland, Doubleday, New York (1929).
- Hayton, David, p.443, The House of Commons 1690-1715, Volume 2 Retrieved October 2010
- Hoffman, Ronald, Princes of Ireland, Planters of Maryland: A Carroll Saga, 1500-1782 Retrieved August 9, 2010
- Yentsch, Anne E, A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves: a Study in Historical Archaeology, Cambridge University Press (1994) Retrieved Jan 2010
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Hayton, David, p.443, The House of Commons 1690-1715, Volume 2 Retrieved October 2010
- ^ a b c d Hoffman, Ronald, p.79, Princes of Ireland, Planters of Maryland: A Carroll Saga, 1500-1782 Retrieved August 9, 2010
- ^ a b c Hoffman, Ronald, p.80, Princes of Ireland, Planters of Maryland: A Carroll Saga, 1500-1782 Retrieved August 9, 2010
- ^ a b c d e f g http://thepeerage.com Retrieved August 9, 2010
- ^ National Genealogical Society quarterly, volumes 45-47, p. 40.
- ^ Russel & Russel (2005) The Ark and the Dove adventurers, p. 6. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co, Inc.
- ^ Calvert family history at www.prattlibrary.org Retrieved October 2010
[edit] External links
- Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore, at www.thepeerage.com Retrieved Jan 23 2010
- Benedict Calvert at www.sonofthesouth.net Retrieved January 30, 2010
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Carew Harvey Mildmay Thomas Heath |
Member of Parliament for Harwich with Carew Harvey Mildmay 1714–1715 |
Succeeded by Sir Philip Parker-a-Morley-Long, Bt Thomas Heath |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| Preceded by Charles Calvert |
Baron Baltimore 1715 |
Succeeded by Charles Calvert |
