Caroline Eden (''née'' Calvert; born ) was the daughter of
Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, and sister of
Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore. She married
Sir Robert Eden, the last colonial Governor of Maryland, and was the mother of
Sir Frederick Eden, 2nd Baronet.
Early life
She was a daughter of
Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, and wife Mary Janssen. She had an older brother,
Frederick Calvert (1731–1771) who succeeded his father to become the 6th and final
Baron Baltimore, and a sister, Louisa Calvert. The Barons Baltimore were lords proprietors of the
Maryland Colony of
British America
British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas from 16 ...
, granting them semi-feudal control of the province, including the right to collect taxes, establish courts and appoint the governor.
American Revolution
On 26 April 1763 Caroline married
Robert Eden. In 1769, Eden was appointed governor of Maryland; he would be the last colonial governor of the province.
Upon the death of her brother,
Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore, the colony of Maryland passed to Frederick's illegitimate son,
Henry Harford. Despite his illegitimacy, the people of Maryland initially supported Harford and welcomed him as their new Lord Proprietor, even naming
Harford County, Maryland
Harford County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is al ...
after him in 1773. However, Governor
Robert Eden disputed Harford's inheritance, and in 1774 tried to claim a part of the estate on behalf of his wife Caroline.
Before the English courts could rule on the case, the
American Revolution broke out. Caroline Eden would however lose her claim - Harford succeeded in winning his father's inheritance; the rents from the Calvert estates in Britain were awarded to Harford by Act of Parliament - the Estate Act of 1780. But in 1781 the new
State of Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...
confiscated all of Henry Harford's estates and used their income to help finance the cash-strapped revolutionary government and its militia. After the war Harford made strenuous efforts to win compensation but without success.
Legacy
In 1773
Caroline County, Maryland, was named in her honor. The county was formed from land belonging to
Dorchester County and
Queen Anne's County.
www.carolinemd.org
Retrieved September 2011
Notes
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing
1740s births
18th-century English women
18th-century English people
Calvert family
Caroline County, Maryland
Daughters of barons
Caroline
Caroline may refer to:
People
* Caroline (given name), a feminine given name
* J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player
* Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player
Places Antarctica
* ...
People from colonial Maryland
Wives of baronets
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