William Bladen (1672–1718) was an English-born Attorney-General in Maryland, in what is now the United States, and briefly Secretary of that Province. He was the father of

Thomas Bladen Thomas Bladen (23 February 1698 – 2 February 1780) was a colonial governor in North America and politician who sat in the British House of Commons between 1727 and 1741. He served as the 19th Proprietary Governor of Maryland from 1742 to 1747 ...

, Governor of Maryland and was the brother of Colonel

Martin Bladen Colonel Martin Bladen (1680–1746) was a British politician who sat in the Irish House of Commons from 1713 to 1727 and in the British House of Commons from 1715 to 1746. He was a Commissioner of the Board of Trade and Plantations, a Privy Counc ...

, Commissioner of the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

and Plantations. His nephew was Admiral

Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, KB, PC (21 February 1705 – 17 October 1781), of Scarthingwell Hall in the parish of Towton, near Tadcaster, Yorkshire, was a Royal Navy officer. As captain of the third-rate , he took part in the Battle of T ...

Family

William was baptised on 21 March 1672/3 at Steeton in Yorkshire. He was the eldest son of Nathaniel Bladen and Isabella Fairfax, daughter of Sir

William Fairfax (soldier) Sir William Fairfax (1609–1644), was an officer in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War. Biography Fairfax was the second son of Sir Philip Fairfax of Steeton and Frances Sheffield. Fairfax was knighted by Charles I at White ...

of Steeton. His father was an attorney who worked as a Steward to

Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, (20 February 1632 – 26 July 1712), was a prominent English politician. Under King Charles II (and known at the time as Lord Danby), he was the leading figure in the government for around five years i ...

the Earl of Danby, then later he was Steward to the Countess of Plymouth and the Duchess of Buckingham. Through his mother William was related to

Lord Fairfax of Cameron Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron Lord Fairfax of Cameron is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. Despite holding a Scottish peerage, the Lords Fairfax of Cameron are members of an ancient Yorkshire family, of which the Fairfax baron ...

Political appointments

After studying to be a lawyer at the Inner Temple, William left England in the Spring of 1692 and went to Maryland. He arrived there with the new Governor

Lionel Copley Sir Lionel Copley (1648 – September 12, 1693) was the 1st Royal Governor of Maryland from 1692 through his death in 1693. He was the first official royal governor appointed by the British crown after the colony was removed from the propriet ...

who was well known to the Bladen family. William's father was Steward and Copley was a protégé of Danby's, having been his Lt. Governor in Hull and had enjoyed Danby's protection and patronage for many years. Copley took William along to assist with his legal and business matters but the new Governor died within a year. Bladen, however, had already begun to secure appointments in the colony:- * 1692 – Admitted to the Provincial, Cecil County and Prince George County courts * 1693 – Appointed to a Committee to inspect provincial records * 1695 – Clerk of the Lower House (3 years) * 1695 – Clerk of St Mary's County (3 years) * 1696 – Clerk of Indictments – Prince George County (2 years) * 1697 – Deputy Collector of Annapolis (for 5 months only) * 1697 – Surveyor and Searcher of Annapolis (21 years) * 1697 – Clerk of the Upper House (19 years) * 1698 – Clerk of the High Court of Appeals (9 years) * 1698 – Clerk of the council (18 years) * 1698 – Register of Vice-Admiralty Court of Eastern Shore (>5 years) * 1698 – Register of Vice-Admiralty Court of Western Shore (>5 years) * 1698 – Clerk of Free Schools of Annapolis (15 years) * 1698 – Naval Officer of Annapolis (19 years) * 1699 – Clerk of the Prerogative Office (10 months only) * 1701 – Secretary of Maryland (from 16 April to 19 November) * 1703 – Deputy-Surveyor General of Customs (12 years) * 1703 – Appointed to the Court of Anne Arundel County * 1704 – Attorney-General of Maryland (14 years) * 1708 – Alderman of Annapolis (one of the six original Aldermen) (10 years) * 1708 – Commissary General or Judge of Probate (10 years). A shortage of Clerks in Maryland led to William holding down numerous appointments, often simultaneously. In April 1701, following the death of the previous incumbent Mr Thomas Lawrence Jnr, William petitioned the Council of Trade and Plantations in June to be considered as Secretary to the Colony and had the support of Governor Nathaniel Blakiston and also his father Nathaniel Bladen who lobbied in his support to the Board of Trade in London. He held the post for just a few months but then he was required to step aside when it became known that Sir Thomas Lawrence Senior desired the post. William took up his appointment as Attorney-General to Maryland in January 1704 and held the post until his death in 1718.

Marriage and children

William married Anne van Swearingen at St Inigoes, St Mary's County in Maryland in 1695. Anne was the daughter of Dutch immigrant Garrett van Swearingen and Mary Smith.Register of St. Anne's, Annapolis They had several children including: * Anne Bladen (1696–1775), who married Benjamin Tasker Sr. (1690–1768; later Governor of Maryland), *

(1698–1780), who married Barbara Janssen (sister to Mary, Lady Baltimore, wife of Charles Calvert Proprietary Governor of Maryland, both being daughters of Sir

Theodore Janssen Sir Theodore Janssen of Wimbledon, 1st Baronet (1650s, Angoulême, France – 22 September 1748, Wimbledon, London) was a French-born English financier and member of parliament who, after a long and successful career in commerce, was ruined and d ...

– a French immigrant), * Others: Christopher, Priscilla, Martin and William. Descendants of daughter Anne Tasker (Bladen) would marry into the Carter, Ogle, Dulaney and Lowndes families, many of whom would hold high political office in Maryland Descendants of son Thomas Bladen (via daughter Harriet) would marry into the Capel family – Earls of Essex.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bladen, William Members of the Inner Temple History of Maryland Maryland Attorneys General 1672 births 1718 deaths Governance of the British Empire English emigrants