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 The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the Pa ...

from 1714 to 1715. He was the second son of Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore and Jane Lowe, and became his father's heir upon the death of his elder brother Cecil in 1681. The 3rd Lord Baltimore was a devout

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, and had lost his title to the Province of Maryland shortly after the events of the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

in 1688, when the Protestant monarchs William III and Mary II acceded to the British throne. Benedict Calvert made strenuous attempts to have his family's title to Maryland restored by renouncing

ism and joining the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. 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.

Early life and exile

Benedict Calvert served as Governor of Maryland on behalf of his father from 1684 to 1688. Since he was just five 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. Like his father, Benedict's Catholicism caused him political difficulties. While still a boy he served as a cavalry officer in the regiment of James Cecil, 4th Earl of Salisbury; Salisbury was appointed a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to the Catholic King James II in 1688 and he duly converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and served the king as

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of a regiment of

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

. Unfortunately, Salisbury's timing could not have been worse. The King was soon overthrown by the

of October to December 1688, and both Salisbury and Calvert were outlawed by the new Protestant regime. Worse was to come. The events following the Glorious Revolution also cost the Roman Catholic Calverts their rule in Maryland, which in 1688 became a Royal Colony, following a Puritan revolt known as the Protestant Revolution. Benedict Calvert's name was entered at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1690, but again his religion proved an impediment to his career. and he went into exile in St Germain, France, where he remained for 10 years.

Return to England

In 1698 Calvert was able to secure a license to return to England, and on 2 January 1699 he married the twenty-year-old Lady Charlotte Lee, daughter of the 1st Earl of Lichfield and Lady Charlotte FitzRoy, the illegitimate daughter of King Charles II. The couple had seven children, all of whom were raised in the Catholic faith, but the union was not a happy one, and the couple separated in 1705. 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.

Religion and the Restoration of Maryland to Calvert control

Benedict Calvert correctly calculated that the chief impediment to the restoration of his family's title to Maryland was the question of religion.Hoffman, Ronald, p.79, ''Princes of Ireland, Planters of Maryland: A Carroll Saga, 1500–1782''
Retrieved 9 August 2010 Towards the end of 1713 he began to make overtures to Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, informing Oxford of his:

inclinations...to embrace the Protestant religion, which I have become hitherto deterred from by the apprehensions that my father would withdraw my sustinance.

Accordingly, he converted to

Anglicanism Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

in 1713, gambling that this move would win back his family's lost fortune in the New World. Such a drastic move came at a cost, however. Benedict's devoutly Catholic father Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, furious at his son's apostasy, withdrew his son's annual allowance of £450 and ended his support for his grandchildren's education and maintenance. Fortunately Benedict 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. For Calvert, the political benefits associated with his new religion came quickly. He was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

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.Hayton, David, p.443, ''The House of Commons 1690–1715, Volume 2''
Retrieved October 2010 On 1 August 1714 Queen Anne died, leaving the Calverts with a new king and a new court to persuade of the merits of their family's claim to Maryland.

Petition to George I

On 2 February 1715 Calvert reaffirmed his devotion to the Anglican faith and proclaimed his loyalty to the new Protestant king George I.Hoffman, Ronald, p.80, ''Princes of Ireland, Planters of Maryland: A Carroll Saga, 1500–1782''
Retrieved 9 August 2010 Two weeks later the old Lord Baltimore died, aged 78, and Benedict 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. Shortly afterwards, on 15 May 1715, the King restored the title to Maryland to Benedict's son, the fifteen-year-old 5th Baron Baltimore.

Family

Calvert married on 2 January 1699 Lady Charlotte Lee, daughter of the Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield, and his wife, Lady Charlotte Fitzroy, an illegitimate daughter of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

by Barbara Villiers, 1st Duchess of Cleveland. He and his wife had seven children, including: * Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, 18th Proprietor Governor 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 ...

(29 September 1699 – 24 April 1751), married on 20 July 1730 Mary Janssen (died Chaillot,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 25 March 1770), daughter of Sir Theodore Janssen, 1st Baronet, and wife Williamza or Williamsa Henley. * Edward Henry Calvert (

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

, 31 August 1701 - Annapolis, Calvert House, 1730), held office of Commissary General and President of the Council of Maryland. Married in 1726 Margaret Lee (born 1705), but had no children. * 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 Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

on 1 June 1732 on his passage home to England. * Cecil Calvert (6 November 1702 - 1765) * Charlotte Calvert (born 6 November 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.) * Jane Calvert (

, 19 July 1703 - July 1778), married 4 May 1720 John Hyde (1695–1746), with whom she had many children. * Barbara Calvert (1704–1704) * Anne Calvert Their descendants included the children of Robert E. Lee through Benedict Swingate Calvert, an illegitimate son of the 5th Baron Calvert. Benedict's daughter, Eleanor married John Parke Custis, a 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 ...

. Swingate's mother may have been Melusina von der Schulenburg, Countess of Walsingham, an illegitimate daughter of

George I of Great Britain George I (George Louis; ; 28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 1 August 1714 and ruler of the Electorate of Hanover within the Holy Roman Empire from 23 January 1698 until his death in 1727. ...

, by his mistress, Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal.

Legacy

Benedict Calvert had arranged for his son Charles to be raised a Protestant, and in 1721 the young Charles came of age and assumed control of the colony of Maryland, which remained under the control of the Calvert family until 1776. However, Charles Calvert, like his father, had to embrace the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

faith 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 took an

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 ...

and the overthrow of the Calvert proprietary government to restore religious tolerance to Maryland. Benedict's portrait, along with those of the other Barons Baltimore, still hangs today in the Enoch Pratt Free Library in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, the city that bears his family name.Calvert family history at www.prattlibrary.org
. Retrieved October 2010

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 9 August 2010
Yentsch, Anne E, ''A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves: a Study in Historical Archaeology'', Cambridge University Press (1994)
Retrieved Jan 2010

Notes

External links

Calvert Family Tree
Retrieved 10 July 2013

Retrieved 30 January 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Baltimore, Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron 1679 births 1715 deaths 17th-century American politicians 18th-century American people Barons Baltimore Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1713–1715 Colonial governors of Maryland Converts to Anglicanism from Roman Catholicism