Elizabeth Calvert (1730 or 1731–1788 or 1798) was the daughter of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Captain Charles Calvert and wife Rebecca Gerard, and a wealthy heiress in colonial Maryland. Her parents died when she was young, leaving her their substantial fortune. In 1748, aged 17, she married her cousin

Benedict Swingate Calvert Benedict Swingate Calvert (January 27, 1722 – January 9, 1788) was a planter, politician and a Loyalist (American Revolution), Loyalist in Maryland during the American Revolution. He was the son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, the ...

, a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

politician and planter and the illegitimate son of

Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, (29 September 1699 – 24 April 1751) was a British politician and colonial administrator who served as the proprietary governor of the Province of Maryland. He inherited the title to Maryland aged just f ...

. Benedict's connections to the ruling

Calvert family Baron Baltimore, of Baltimore, County Longford, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1625 and ended in 1771, upon the death of its sixth-generation male heir, aged 40. Holders of the title were usually known as Lord Baltimo ...

allowed him to benefit from considerable proprietarial patronage, until the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

saw the overthrow of British rule and the end of Calvert power in Maryland. Benedict and Elizabeth had to pay triple taxes after the war's end but, unlike many loyalists, their lands and fortune remained unconfiscated. Elizabeth was the grandmother of

Charles Benedict Calvert Charles Benedict Calvert (August 23, 1808 – May 12, 1864) was an American politician who was a U.S. Representative from the sixth district of Maryland, serving one term from 1861 to 1863. He was an early backer of the inventors of the t ...

(1808–1864), a

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

who founded what is now the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

, chartered in 1856. Elizabeth's portrait, painted by John Wollaston, still hangs on display, along with those of many of her Calvert relatives, in the

Baltimore Museum of Art The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in Baltimore, Maryland, is an art museum that was founded in 1914. The BMA's collection of 95,000 objects encompasses more than 1,000 works by Henri Matisse anchored by the Cone Collection of modern art, ...

Early life

Elizabeth's father Captain Calvert (1680–1734) was governor of Maryland at a time when the Calvert family had recently regained control of their proprietary colony. He was appointed Governor by his cousin

, who in 1721 would travel to

to take personal charge of the colony. Captain Calvert's parentage is not entirely clear since neither of his parents has been positively identified but it has long been assumed that his father was

Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore (August 27, 1637 – February 21, 1715) was an English colonial administrator. He inherited the province of Maryland in 1675 upon the death of his father, Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. He had been his ...

, 2nd Proprietor Governor of Maryland (1637–1715). His mother's identity is unknown but, judging by the Calvert family papers, she appears to have been the Countess Henrietta, also known as "Mother Calvert", who died circa 1728.Yentsch, p.55 Elizabeth's mother, Rebecca Gerard (1708-1734/35), was a landed heiress from Maryland.Yentsch, p.64 Rebecca was just sixteen when the couple were married on November 21, 1722 by the rector of Queen Anne's parish, a marriage which "enlivened the whole winter season with entertainments for the new first lady", wrote Aubrey Land. She was an only child and on her marriage her property, a plantation near Queen Anne's Town 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 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it the second-most populous ...

, passed to Captain Calvert.Yentsch, p.65 Elizabeth had a brother, Charles (1723–1723/4), who died in infancy,Yentsch, p.66 and a sister, Anne (1724–), who died unmarried. Elizabeth's godfather was Captain Calvert's cousin, Benedict Leonard Calvert, governor of Maryland from 1727 to 1731, and second son of

Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore Benedict Leonard Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore (21 March 1679 – 16 April 1715) was a British colonial administrator and politician who represented Harwich in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1714 to 1715. He was the second son of ...

. Benedict Calvert died of consumption in 1732, while sailing to his home in England.Yentsch, p.93 In his will, which he drew up before leaving Maryland, he left Elizabeth, then just one year old, a slave boy named Osmyn.Yentsch, p.61 Captain Calvert was replaced as governor in 1725.Yentsch, p.40 He suffered from early senility and died on February 2, 1734.Yentsch, p.69 He had arrived in Maryland a relatively poor man, but died one of the wealthiest men in the Province. On his death his estate was appraised at 4,401 pounds sterling. His wife died soon afterwards, leaving their daughter Elizabeth an orphan but a wealthy heiress.

Marriage and family

Elizabeth Calvert married her cousin

(c. 1730-1788), on April 21, 1748, in St Ann's Church,

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

. The couple were married by the Reverend John Gordon. Benedict Swingate Calvert was the illegitimate son of

, the third Proprietor Governor of

, and a wealthy planter. They had thirteen children, though only four survived to mature adulthood. Elizabeth's husband Benedict Calvert inherited a plantation known as Mount Airy,Yentsch, p.261 near Upper Marlboro in

, where he grew tobacco.Maryland: Federal Writer's Project, p.465, ''A Guide to the Old Line State'', Scholarly Pr (1973).
Retrieved Jan 20 2010 Mount Airy was most likely a gift from his father, Lord Baltimore, who had ensured that Calvert would be provided with lands and revenues. Mount Airy had originally been a hunting lodge for his great-grandfather

.Yentsch, p.262 By the 1770s Benedict Swingate Calvert controlled a large and profitable estate of around , with upwards of 150 slaves. He was also an enthusiastic horse breeder, training thoroughbreds and running them in competitions in Maryland and Virginia.Yentsch, p.264 According to the writer Abbe Robin, who traveled through Maryland during the Revolutionary War, families such as the Calverts enjoyed considerable wealth and prosperity. Robin described Maryland houses as being:

large and spacious habitations, widely separated, composed of a number of buildings and surrounded by plantations extending farther than the eye can reach, cultivated...by unhappy black men whom European avarice brings hither...Their furniture is of the most costly wood, and rarest marbles, enriched by skilful and artistic work. Their elegant and light carriages are drawn by finely bred horses, and driven by richly apparelled slaves.Yentsch, p.265

In 1774, Elizabeth's daughter

Eleanor Calvert Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart (born Eleanor Calvert; 1758 – September 28, 1811) was a member of the wealthy American Calvert family of Maryland. She was the wife of politician John Parke Custis who was the son of Daniel Parke Custis and Martha ...

(1758–1811), married

John Parke Custis John Parke Custis (November 27, 1754 – November 5, 1781) was an American planter class, planter and politician. Custis was a son of Martha Washington, Martha Dandridge Custis (later Washington) and Daniel Parke Custis, and later, the stepson o ...

, son of Martha Washington and the stepson of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

. Washington himself did not approve of the match owing to the couple's youth, but eventually gave his consent. Benedict and Elizabeth Calvert had thirteen children: * Rebecca Calvert (born December 25, 1749) *

(1753-1811), twin sister of Elizabeth. Married

(1754–1781), son of Daniel Parke Custis and

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 2, 1731 Old Style, O.S. – May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, who was the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, she served as the ...

and the stepson of

on February 3, 1774. Washington himself did not approve of the match owing to the couple's youth.Letters of George Washington
Retrieved July 31, 2010 Eleanor and John were the parents of

George Washington Parke Custis George Washington Parke Custis (April 30, 1781 – October 10, 1857) was an American antiquarian, author, playwright, and slave owner. He was a veteran of the War of 1812. His father John Parke Custis served in the American Revolution wi ...

and

Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis (March 31, 1779 – July 15, 1852) was a granddaughter of Martha Washington and a step-granddaughter of George Washington. Early life Nelly was born on March 31, 1779, at Mount Airy, her maternal grandfather's estate ...

. She later remarried in 1783 David Stuart. * Elizabeth Calvert (1753–1814), twin sister of Eleanor. Married the physician Charles Steuart (1750–1798/1822), third son of Calvert's former guardian George H. Steuart on June 15, 1780. * Charles Calvert (1756–1773), who was sent to be educated in England at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and died there aged 17 and unmarried. * Philip Calvert, died young * Leonard Calvert, died young * Cecilius Calvert, died young * John Calvert (died aft. 1788) * William Calvert (died aft. 1788) * Robert Calvert, died young * Ariana Calvert (died aft. 1788) * Edward Henry Calvert (November 7, 1766 - July 12, 1846), who inherited Calvert's plantation at Mount AiryLetters from Lord Baltimore to Benedict Swingate Calvert
Retrieved August 10, 2010 and married on March 1, 1796 Elizabeth Biscoe (1780–1857) *

George Calvert George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (; 1580 – 15 April 1632) was an English politician. He achieved domestic political success as a member of parliament and later Secretary of State (England), Secretary of State under James VI and I, King Ja ...

(Mount Airy, February 2, 1768 – January 28, 1838), who married on June 11, 1799 Rosalie Eugenia Stier (1778–1821), the daughter of a wealthy Belgian aristocrat, Baron Henri Joseph Stier (1743–1821) and his wife Marie Louise Peeters.

American Revolution

As members of the Maryland political establishment, the Calverts were

s, and Elizabeth soon found herself on the losing side of the Revolutionary War, the consequences of which would effectively end her husband's political career. The Annapolis Convention of 1774 to 1776 would see the old Maryland elite overthrown, and the Calverts and their allies would all lose their political power. On May 13, 1777 Elizabeth's husband was forced to resign his position as Judge of the Land Office,Yentsch, p.269 and, as the conflict grew, Benedict became fearful of his family's safety, writing in late 1777 that his family "has been made so uneasy by these frequent outrages" that he wished to "remove my family and property where I can get protection".Yentsch, p.272 Despite the danger, Elizabeth did not leave Maryland. On occasion she and her husband supplied the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

with food and provisions.

After the war

After the war's end, the Calverts had to pay triple taxes as did other Loyalists, but they were never forced to sign the loyalty oath and their lands and property remained unconfiscated.Yentsch, p.270 Curiously, Elizabeth and her husband's Loyalism does not appear to have affected their family's cordial relations with the leader of the Revolution,

. In 1783, after the war was over, Washington stayed with the Calverts at their Mount Airy plantation, shortly after resigning his commission in

on December 23. Because the Calverts were known Loyalists, the visit drew much criticism from Washington's political enemies.Duyckinck, Evert Augustus, p.372, ''Cyclopaedia of American Literature, Embracing Personal and Critical Notices of Authors, and Selections from Their Writings, Volume 2, Nabu Press (2010)''
Retrieved Feb 1 2010 Elizabeth died in 1788, at the age of 57.

Legacy

The Calverts' house at 58

State Circle State Circle is a circular road surrounding Capital Hill in the centre of Canberra, Australia's capital city. It is the outermost of the three concentric roads on the hill, with Capital Circle and Parliament Drive located within State Circle. ...

, Annapolis, was the subject of an archeological dig in the 1980s and early 1990s. The results of the dig, along with much other research, were published in 1994 by Anne Elizabeth Yentsch in her book ''A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves'', published by Cambridge University Press. The excavation of the Calvert House was financed by Historic Annapolis Inc, the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

, and other institutions.Yentsch, p.xxiii She is buried beside her husband in Page's Chapel, St. Thomas' Church

Croom, Maryland Croom is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Southern Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census it had a population of 2,720. Croom largely consist ...

Notes

References

Peden, Henry C, p.55, ''Colonial Maryland Soldiers and Sailors, 1634-1734''
Retrieved August 3, 2010
Yentsch, Anne E, ''A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves: a Study in Historical Archaeology'', Cambridge University Press (1994)
Retrieved Jan 30 2010