Zadok Magruder (1729–1811) was an American politician and military officer who served as an elected official in the

government of Maryland The government of Maryland is conducted according to the Maryland Constitution. The United States is a federation; consequently, the government of Maryland, like the other 49 state governments, has exclusive authority over matters that lie entire ...

and as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military 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 colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the

state militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. He also helped establish Montgomery County.

Family and pre-war life

Magruder's great-grandfather, Alexander Magruder, had come to

Prince George's County, Maryland ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobroo ...

in 1652 after having been deported from

Perthshire, Scotland Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north ...

where he was an

indentured servant Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an " indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment ...

pursuing the Scottish Rebellion. He was the son of John and Susanna Magruder, and the grandson of Samuel and Sarah Magruder. Most of the Magruders in America were

farmers A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mi ...

merchants A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as industry ...

and

mechanics Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to objects r ...

."https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/magruderhs/about". He was born in 1729 in

. As a young man, he moved to

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...

where he inherited 600 acres near what became Norbeck Road in 1745. He built a house called "The Ridge" in 1750 in Redland, a community which had a population of about fifty at the time. In 1754, he married Rachel Pottinger Bowie.

The American Revolution

Magruder and his brother Nathan were members of the General Committee to Annapolis in 1774 (as local representatives). The General Committee to Annapolis functioned as the state or colony level of government for Maryland. Both Magruders became members of a committee charged with carrying out the decision of the American

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. ...

on the topic of the British

Tea Act The Tea Act 1773 (13 Geo 3 c 44) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. The principal objective was to reduce the massive amount of tea held by the financially troubled British East India Company in its London warehouses and to help th ...

. Magruder became a member of the Maryland Committee of Correspondence. When in command of the "Home Defense Battalion of Lower Frederick County", which was part of the Maryland militia, he attained the rank of

Montgomery County establishment

The Magruder brothers were appointed as

commissioners A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

to organize and establish the government of

when it became a separate county from Frederick County in 1776.

Post-war life and death

He and his wife had eleven children: eight girls and three boys. They lived in an area known as Mount Pleasant, where they built a house, also named "Mount Pleasant", in about 1807. The 1790 United States census showed him owning 26 enslaved African Americans. One son, Zadok, later became a doctor. After he died in 1811, the Mount Pleasant house was inherited by his son Robert Pottinger Magruder.

Legacy

A high school named after Colonel Zadok Magruder was built in Derwood (Montgomery County), Maryland, near the site of "The Ridge" house.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magruder, Zadok 1729 births 1811 deaths American people of Scotch-Irish descent Farmers from Maryland American slave owners Continental Army soldiers Colonial politicians from Maryland Politicians from Prince George's County, Maryland People from Montgomery County, Maryland