Charles Carroll II (1702–1782) known as Charles Carroll of Annapolis to distinguish him from his similarly named relatives, was a wealthy

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 ...

planter and lawyer. His father was

Charles Carroll the Settler Charles Carroll (1661–1720), sometimes called Charles Carroll the Settler to differentiate him from his son and grandson, was a wealthy lawyer and planter in colonial Maryland. Carroll, a Catholic, is best known because his efforts to hold off ...

, (I – the first), (1661–1720), an immigrant to Maryland who had arrived in the colony in 1689 with a commission as

Provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

Attorney General, and had accumulated a vast fortune, emerging as Maryland's wealthiest citizen. Charles Carroll of Annapolis inherited and extended his father's fortune but, as a Roman Catholic, was barred from participation in Maryland politics. It would fall to his son,

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 sign ...

, (III), (1737–1832), one of the signers (and the longest-lived) of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

, to see religious toleration restored to Maryland and many political and scientific/technological advances in the newly independent state.

Early life

Carroll was born in

Annapolis 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 ...

, Maryland, in 1702, the third child and second son of

and Mary Darnall, daughter of the wealthy Roman Catholic planter

Henry Darnall Colonel Henry Darnall (1645 – 17 June 1711) was a planter, military officer and politician in colonial Maryland. Darnall served as the Proprietary Agent in the colony for Lord Baltimore; he also briefly served as Deputy Governor of Mary ...

, a strong ally of the Carrolls and 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 ...

. His older brother Henry died shortly before their father, in 1719. Charles Carroll the Settler came to the colony in 1688 with a commission as Attorney General from the colony's

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

proprietor,

Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore (August 27, 1637 – February 21, 1715), inherited the colony of Maryland in 1675 upon the death of his father, Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, (1605–1675). He had been his father's Deputy Governor sin ...

, but after only a year lost that position as a result of the Province's so-called "Protestant Revolution", a rebellion of

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

settlers associated with the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

in England. The royal government that took over the Colony, after moving the founding capital from the Catholic stronghold of

St. Mary's City St. Mary's City (also known as Historic St. Mary's City) is a former colonial town that was Maryland's first European settlement and capital. It is now a large, state-run historic area, which includes a reconstruction of the original colonial se ...

on the shores of the Potomac and

Chesapeake Chesapeake often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian * The Chesapeake, a.k.a. Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated plac ...

in southern Maryland to the more central and renamed

near

Kent Island Kent Island is the largest island in the Chesapeake Bay and a historic place in Maryland. To the east, a narrow channel known as the Kent Narrows barely separates the island from the Delmarva Peninsula, and on the other side, the island is sepa ...

in 1694; banned Catholics from holding office, bearing arms, serving on juries, and eventually from voting. Barred therefore from a political career, Carroll the Settler turned his attention to business, amassing a fortune so large that he was eventually the wealthiest man in Maryland at the time of his death in 1720. Thus, while the younger Carroll was born into a religious minority with few rights, he had all the advantages that wealth could provide. Like many sons of wealthy Marylanders, Carroll was sent to England to study law, but he returned to Maryland on his father's death in 1722 in order to inherit the family estates.Official website of the Carroll House in Annapolis
Retrieved November 2010

Religion and family life

In around 1726 Carroll began courting Elizabeth Brooke, the daughter of Clement Brooke and Jane Sewall. They were not married, however, until 1757, when their son Charles was twenty years old. It's unclear why they waited so long; it may have had something to do with Maryland inheritance laws.Maier, Pauline. ''The Old Revolutionaries'' (1980), /> The

Carroll family O'Carroll ( ga, Ó Cearbhaill), also known as simply Carroll, Carrol or Carrell, is a Gaelic Irish clan which is the most prominent sept of the Ciannachta (also known as Clan Cian). Their genealogies claim that they are kindred with the Eógana ...

were enthusiastic horse breeders and raced thoroughbreds, competing with other well-to-do families at annual racing events, which also formed an important part of the social and political life of the colony. Charles Carroll of Annapolis's horse was beaten in 1743 by George Hume Steuart's "

Dungannon Dungannon () is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 14,340 at the 2011 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council had its headquarters in the ...

" in the

Annapolis Subscription Plate 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 ...

, the first recorded formal horse race in Maryland.History of Maryland Jockey Club
Retrieved Jan 21 2010 The plate itself (actually more of a bowl than a plate) now forms part of the collection of the

Baltimore Museum of Art The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 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 ...

, (established 1914) ostly modern art collections

Legacy

Like his father, Charles Carroll of Annapolis never gave up hope of overcoming Maryland's religious intolerance. His son

, (1737–1832), eventually secured his family's vision of personal, political and religious freedoms for all citizens when he became the only Roman Catholic (and last surviving signer) to sign the

in 1776, while becoming the richest man in America and having a profound effect on his nation, state and city. The Charles Carroll House, with its beautiful manicured gardens on historic Duke of Gloucester Street, was one of the Carroll family's substantial Eighteenth Century homes. Today it is one of

's landmark museum houses.

Notes

References

*
Hoffman, Ronald, ''Princes of Ireland, Planters of Maryland: A Carroll Saga, 1500–1782''
Retrieved August 9, 2010

External links

Official website of the Carroll House in Annapolis
Retrieved February 22, 2010
Article on Annapolis Subscription Plate at www.hometownannapolis.com
Retrieved February 22, 2010
History of Maryland Jockey Club
Retrieved February 22, 2010

Retrieved February 22, 2010

Retrieved February 22, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Charles People of colonial Maryland American planters 1702 births 1782 deaths People 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 ...