Charles Carroll (22 March 1723 – 23 March 1783) was an American statesman from

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

. He was the builder of the Baltimore Colonial home Mount Clare (1760), and a delegate to the Second

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

in 1776 and 1777.

Early life

A descendant of the last Gaelic Lords of

Éile Éile (; sga, Éle, ), commonly anglicised as Ely, was a medieval petty kingdom in the southern part of the modern county of Offaly and parts of North Tipperary in Ireland. The historic barony of Eliogarty was once a significant portion of the ki ...

in Ireland, Charles Carroll was born in

of a distinguished Roman Catholic

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

and was a distant cousin of

Charles Carroll of Carrollton Charles Carroll (September 19, 1737 – November 14, 1832), known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton or Charles Carroll III, was an Irish-American politician, planter, and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He was the only Catholic si ...

, (1737–1832), and

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

(the First and Second), (1730–1796). His father, also Charles Carroll, took him to Europe in 1733 for his education. Young Charles spent six years at the English House school in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, Portugal. He then went to England to complete his education at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. After graduating Cambridge in 1746, Charles returned to Annapolis. He took up residence there. He busied himself learning to manage the family's farm and mills at Carrollton. In 1751 Charles decided on a more specific career. He journeyed to London, took up residence at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

, and studied law. He was admitted to the bar at the

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...

there before returning to Maryland early in 1755. Since there were now three other relatives named Charles active in public affairs in the area, he began to call himself ''Charles Carroll,

Barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

''. However, he never practiced law in the US. Three months later his father died, leaving Charles, at 32, one of the wealthiest men in Maryland. He was elected to his father's seat for

Anne Arundel County Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, whi ...

in the Maryland Assembly, legislature in Annapolis for the

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

. In 1760 he completed construction of his summer home and estate at "Georgia Plantation", southwest of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

along the Georgetown Road, also known as the Columbia Road (later Washington Boulevard, (

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...

) in modern Carroll Park and north of the

Gwynns Falls Gwynns Falls is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011. stream located in Baltimore County and Baltimore City, Maryland. Its headwaters are located in Reisterstow ...

stream which flows into the Middle Branch ("Ridgeley's Cove") and Ferry Branch of the Patapsco River. He named the home " Mount Clare" after his grandmother. In June 1763 Charles married, to Margaret Tilghman (1742–1817), daughter of

Matthew Tilghman Matthew Tilghman (February 17, 1718 – May 4, 1790) was an American planter, and Revolutionary leader from Maryland. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776, where he signed the 1774 Continental Association. Early ...

of Talbot County. Although the couple had no children who reached maturity, they remained together until his death. She became the mistress of Mount Clare, and earned a reputation for her greenhouse and pinery, where she grew oranges, lemons, and pineapple.

Revolutionary years

Carroll continued in the Assembly until it was

prorogued A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two elections ...

at the beginning of the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, and then met with other leaders in the Annapolis Convention and had important roles in all their sessions. He joined the

Committee of Correspondence The committees of correspondence were, prior to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, a collection of American political organizations that sought to coordinate opposition to British Parliament and, later, support for American independe ...

in 1774, and the ''Committee of Safety'' in 1775. He presided over several sessions of the Convention, which was the early revolutionary government in Maryland. Charles was one of the committee of the convention that drafted the '' "Declaration and Charter of Rights and form of government for the state of Maryland"'' which served as Maryland's first new constitution after it was adopted on 3 November 1776. When the convention voted to expel the 23rd proprietary governor and last royal governor,

Sir Robert Eden, 1st Baronet, of Maryland Sir Robert Eden, 1st Baronet, of Maryland, 23rd Proprietary Governor of Maryland (14 September 1741 – 2 September 1784) was a British official and the last colonial Governor of Maryland. Although a popular governor and an able administrator, E ...

, he delivered the message as the chairman of the Convention. Then, in an action typical of his style, he entertained the governor and his wife as house guests at Mount Clare Mansion until they sailed for England. Later in November 1776, the Convention sent Carroll as a delegate to the

to replace his cousin,

. He served in that Congress until 15 February 1777. He declined the position of Chief Justice in the new revolutionary confederation government. But when he returned, he was elected to the first state Senate in 1777. Later he was re-elected and served in that office until his death, on 23 March 1783, at Mount Clare Mansion. His funeral was held at Old St. Paul's Anglican Church (now Episcopal since 1789) in Baltimore at North Charles and East Saratoga Streets. He was buried there (small cemetery surrounding original church, later moved to block between West Baltimore and Lombard Streets-bounded by new Martin Luther King Boulevard) but later his body was moved to St. Anne's Churchyard (Anglican/Episcopal) off Church Circle in Annapolis.

Mount Clare and other

Mount Clare, Bayard & South Monroe Streets, Carroll Park (Baltimore, Independent City, Maryland)

In the early 1760s, Carroll took the lead and encouraged a group of his business associates to build a fund for a young saddler,

Charles Willson Peale Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American Painting, painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolu ...

, so that he could go to Europe and study painting. After Charles' death, his wife Margaret stayed at Mount Clare until her death there on 14 March 1817. Mansion and grounds had many uses and owners during the later 19th Century. Their home today is a museum, (both for its architecture, furniture and decorations plus history of the plantation and family) operated since 1917 by the National Society of the Colonial Dames in the State of Maryland, on behalf of the owner which is the City of Baltimore and its Department of Recreation and Parks. The core of the home is the refurbished main block. The wings, which had been lost over the years, were rebuilt in 1908. A great deal of the family furniture and possessions are preserved there. The home is a fine example of Georgian architecture, and stands on a rise in the center of Carroll Park in southwest Baltimore City, surrounded by the neighborhoods of " Pigtown", also known by its more recent "gentrified" name of Washington Village. Mount Clare Museum House is open to the public year-round.

References

External links

*
The Mount Clare Museum's web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Charles (barrister) 1723 births 1783 deaths Continental Congressmen from Maryland 18th-century American politicians Politicians from Annapolis, Maryland

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

American people of Irish descent Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Maryland state senators People educated at Eton College Tilghman family English barristers

Early life

Revolutionary years

Mount Clare and other

See also

References

Further reading

External links