Eleanor Darnall Carroll (1703–1796) was a prominent heiress in colonial Maryland. She married Daniel Carroll, a wealthy planter, and together they became the parents of two notable figures in American history: Daniel Carroll, a Founding Father of the United States, and John Carroll, the first Archbishop of Baltimore and the founder of Georgetown University.

Early life

Eleanor Darnall was born into a wealthy planter family in about 1703, most likely at The Woodyard, the Darnall family home in

Prince George’s County Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it ...

, Maryland. She was the daughter of Anne Digges (daughter of

William Digges Colonel William Digges (24 July 1697) was a prominent planter, soldier and politician in the Colony of Virginia and Province of Maryland. The eldest son of Edward Digges (1620-1674/5), who sat on the Virginia Governor's Council for two decades but ...

) and Henry Darnall II. The latter was a planter whose father

Henry Darnall Colonel Henry Darnall (1645 – 17 June 1711) was an Irish-born planter, militia officer and politician who served as the chancellor of Maryland from 1683 to 1689. He was also appointed as the proprietary agent for Charles Calvert, 3rd Bar ...

had held a number of governmental offices in the colonial administration of Maryland. As a child she was painted by the German painter

Justus Engelhardt Kühn Justus Engelhardt Kühn (unknown-c1717) a German man, was a portrait painter active in colonial Maryland in the early part of the eighteenth century. He was the earliest professional artist to work in the Middle Atlantic colonies. A number of his ...

."Mrs. Daniel Carroll (Eleanor Darnall) (1704-1796), (painting)", Smithsonian Institution
/ref> Eleanor was among the few women in colonial America to receive a formal education; she had been sent to a convent school in Flanders to finish her education.Guilday, Peter. ''The Life and Times of John Carroll'', Encyclopedia Press, 1922 - Baltimore (Md.)
/ref> She inherited from her paternal grandfather,

, 27,000 acres in Prince George's County, where the family made their home in Upper Marlboro.

Family

Eleanor Darnall married Daniel Carroll, a wealthy merchant and planter. The couple had seven children: * Henry Carroll, drowned in boyhood *

Daniel Carroll Daniel Carroll Jr. (July 22, 1730May 7, 1796) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, a Maryland politician, and a plantation owner. He supported the American Revolution, served in the Confederation Congress, was a delegate to ...

(1730 – 1796), who would become one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * Ann Carroll Brent (1733-1804), mother of

Robert Brent Robert Brent (1764 – September 7, 1819) was the first mayor of City of Washington, federal capital of the United States of America. Brent was born into a prominent Catholic family, members of which emigrated to the Maryland colony in the ...

, first mayor of the city of Washington. * John Carroll (1735-1815), Archbishop of Baltimore and founder of

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

* Eleanor Carroll Brent (c. 1737-1810), married William Brent of Virginia * Mary (1742-1815) * Elizabeth (1745-1821)

Legacy

In around 1741 Eleanor Carroll and her husband sold some land to a merchant named James Wardrop. In 1742 Wardrop built the house known as

Darnall's Chance Darnall's Chance, also known as Buck House, Buck-Wardrop House, or James Wardrop House, is a historic home located at 14800 Governor Oden Bowie Drive, in Upper Marlboro, Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It is named after Colon ...

, which today houses the Darnall's Chance House Museum, an historic house museum which opened to the public in 1988. Georgetown University's

Darnall Hall Darnall Hall was a large hall that was constructed in 1723 in Darnall, Sheffield, England. The house was constructed by Samuel Staniforth (1698-1748) as a residence for himself and his wife Alethea Macro, daughter of Thomas Macro of Bury St Edmun ...

is named in her honor.

Notes

References

*Roarke, Elizabeth,''Artists of Colonial America'

Retrieved 16 August 2018 *Pomerenk, Kathleen Orr, ''Faith In Art: Justus Engelhardt Kuhn’s Portrait Of Eleanor Darnall'', Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., April 15, 2009. Georgetown University Library, Digital Georgetown https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/553373 *Geiger, Sister M. Virgina, Daniel Carroll II, One Man and His Descendants, 1730-1798, College of Notre Dame of Maryland, 1979. *Huffman, Ronald, Princes of Ireland, Planters of Maryland, A Carroll Saga, 1500-1782, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press, 2000.

External links

Biography of Eleanor Darnall
Retrieved 16 August 2018
Gravestone of Eleanor Darnall Carroll
Retrieved 22 August 2018 {{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Eleanor Darnall People from colonial Maryland 18th-century American women 1703 births 1796 deaths