Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Charles Calvert (1688 – February 2, 1734) was the 14th

Proprietary Governor A proprietary colony was a type of English colony mostly in North America and in the Caribbean in the 17th century. In the British Empire, all land belonged to the monarch, and it was his/her prerogative to divide. Therefore, all colonial proper ...

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 ...

in 1720, at a time when the Calvert family had recently regained control of their proprietary colony. He was appointed governor by his cousin

Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, (29 September 1699 – 24 April 1751) was a British nobleman and Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland. He inherited the title to Maryland aged just fifteen, on the death of his father and gran ...

, who in 1721 came into his inheritance. Calvert worked to reassert the Proprietary interest against the privileges of the colonists as set out in the Maryland Charter, and to ease tensions between the Lords Baltimore and their subjects. Religious tension, which had been a source of great division in the colony, was much reduced under his governorship. Captain Calvert was replaced as governor in 1727 by his cousin

Benedict Leonard Calvert Benedict Leonard Calvert (September 20, 1700 – June 1, 1732) was the 15th Proprietary Governor of Maryland from 1727 through 1731, appointed by his older brother, Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore (1699–1751). He was named after his fath ...

, though he continued to occupy other colonial offices.Yentsch, Anne E, p.40, ''A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves: a Study in Historical Archaeology'', Cambridge University Press (1994)
Retrieved August 3, 2010 He suffered from early senility and died in 1734.

Early life and ancestry

Calvert was born Charles Calvert Lazenby in England in 1688.Yentsch, Anne E, p.53, ''A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves: a Study in Historical Archaeology'', Cambridge University Press (1994)
Retrieved August 9, 2010 Neither of his parents has been positively identified but it may be that his father was

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 ...

, 2nd Proprietor Governor of Maryland (1637–1715), or another member of the Calvert family. His mother's identity in unknown but, judging by the Calvert family papers, she may have been the "Countess Henrietta", also known as "Mother Calvert", who died circa 1728.Yentsch, Anne E, p.55, ''A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves: a Study in Historical Archaeology'', Cambridge University Press (1994)
Retrieved Jan 2010 However, in Douglas Richardson's ''Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, 2nd Edition'' (pg 467), no illegitimate children are listed under Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore.Douglas Richardson. ''Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families'', 2nd Edition, 2011. pg 467
Google eBooks
/ref> There is no mention of Calvert (Lazenby).

Military career

Calvert served in England's wars against France and Spain, most likely reaching the rank of ensign by around 1709. In 1718 Calvert purchased further commissions in the army, becoming at aged 30 first a lieutenant and later a captain in the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

, promotions which most likely were financed by his wealthy Calvert patrons.Yentsch, Anne E, p.56, ''A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves: a Study in Historical Archaeology'', Cambridge University Press (1994)
Retrieved Jan 2010 Guards Regiments were among the most prestigious in the army and commissions were comparatively expensive.

Governor of Maryland

Calvert was appointed Governor of Maryland in around 1720, sent to advance the interests of his Calvert relatives, who had recently regained control of the colony of

which had been confiscated by the Crown following the events of 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 1688. Among the reasons for his appointment were his loyalty to the Crown, his desire to live permanently in Maryland, and above all else his presumed loyalty to the family interest. Calvert was a pragmatic man not given to ostentation. His opening speech to the Assembly was brief, inviting the delegates "to let time and my actions show" that his governorship would serve the interests of the colony.Yentsch, Anne E, p.57, ''A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves: a Study in Historical Archaeology'', Cambridge University Press (1994)
Retrieved Jan 2010 According to Aubrey Land, his mission was initially "soothing tempers and making peace". He laboured to strike an acceptable balance between the interests of the Maryland colonists and those of the Lord Proprietor, and in addition to manage relations with the local Algonquian tribes. To this end Calvert entered into negotiations with the tribal chiefs of the

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following: First nations and Native American people and culture * Tuscarora people **''Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960) * Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people * ...

and

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

Indians. Calvert replaced as Governor the Protestant Thomas Brooke, whose "malicious designs" he had been sent to bring to an end. Early on he worked to reassert the Proprietary interest and prerogative against the privileges of the colonists as set out in the Maryland Charter. He also worked to ease tensions between the propriety government and its subjects. In a speech in 1725 he suggested that their differences might be of a devilish nature:

I am afraid some Evil Spirits walk among us and it would be a matter of Great pleasure to such, to have your house he people of Marylandand mine ord Baltimoreatt Variance, but for my own part, I defy the Devill and his Works to do it.

Marriage

As governor of the Province, Calvert was an eligible bachelor. He took as his wife Rebecca Gerard (1708-1734/35) a landed heiress from Maryland,Yentsch, Anne E, p.64, ''A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves: a Study in Historical Archaeology'', Cambridge University Press (1994)
Retrieved Jan 2010 who was just sixteen when the couple were married on November 21, 1722 by the rector of Queen Anne's parish, a marriage which "enlivened the whole winter season with entertainments for the new first lady", wrote Aubrey Land. She was an only child and on her marriage her property, a plantation near Queen Anne's Town in

Prince George's County ) , 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. Alsobrook ...

, passed to Captain Calvert.Yentsch, Anne E, p.65, ''A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves: a Study in Historical Archaeology'', Cambridge University Press (1994)
Retrieved Jan 2010 Calvert was an excellent horseman and promoted horse racing during his tenure as governor. When he died he left behind a thoroughbred worth 18 pounds sterling, a considerable sum at the time.

Religion

The religious disputes which had characterized Maryland politics in earlier years were subdued under Calvert's rule. Rules forbidding the practice of Roman Catholicism were relaxed and, in general, religious conflict was much reduced.

Replacement as governor

Captain Calvert was replaced as governor when his cousin

, brother of

, arrived in Maryland in 1727.Yentsch, Anne E, p.61, ''A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves: a Study in Historical Archaeology'', Cambridge University Press (1994)
Retrieved Jan 2010 The handover of power to his cousin was not entirely smooth. Captain Calvert insisted on retaining fifty percent of the 3 pence tobacco duty which was his due under legislation passed in 1727. Benedict was not impressed, and his younger brother Cecilius wrote to him that family opinion in England was appalled at Captain Calvert's behaviour, and "thinks him mad". Lord Baltimore himself wrote that Benedict should receive the full benefit of the tax. From 1726 to c. 1733 Calvert served as Surveyor General to the Western Shore.Yentsch, p.13

Family life

The Calverts had three children: * Charles (1723–1723/4), died in infancy. * Anne (1724–c.1737), died in childhood.Yentsch, p.66 *

Elizabeth Calvert Elizabeth Calvert (1731 – 1788) was the daughter of Maryland Governor Captain Charles Calvert and Rebecca Gerard, and a wealthy heiress in colonial Maryland. Her parents died when she was young, leaving her their substantial fortune. In 1 ...

(1731–1788), who married her cousin

Benedict Swingate Calvert Benedict Swingate Calvert (January 27, 1722 – January 9, 1788) was a planter, politician and a Loyalist in Maryland during the American Revolution. He was the son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, the third Proprietor Governor of Mar ...

(c. 1730-1788), on April 21, 1748, in St Ann's Church,

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 ...

. The couple were married by the Reverend John Gordon. Benedict Swingate Calvert was the illegitimate son of

, the third Proprietor Governor of

, and a wealthy planter. They had thirteen children. Elizabeth's godfather was Captain Calvert's cousin,

, second son of Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore, who died of consumption in 1732.Yentsch, Anne E, p.93, ''A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves: a Study in Historical Archaeology'', Cambridge University Press (1994)
Retrieved Jan 2010

Illness and death

Captain Calvert suffered from early senility and died on February 2, 1734, aged 42.Yentsch, Anne E, p.69, ''A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves: a Study in Historical Archaeology'', Cambridge University Press (1994)
Retrieved Jan 2010 He had arrived in Maryland a relatively poor man, but died one of the wealthiest men in the Province. On his death his estate was appraised at 4,401 pounds sterling. His wife Rebecca died soon afterwards, and in 1737 their daughter Anne died, leaving their last remaining child Elizabeth an orphan, but a wealthy heiress.

Legacy

Captain Calvert's house at 58 State Circle, Annapolis, was the subject of an archeological dig in the 1980s and early 1990s. The results of the dig, along with much other research, were published in 1994 by Anne Elizabeth Yentsch in her book ''A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves'', published by Cambridge University Press. The excavation of the Calvert House was financed by Historic Annapolis Inc, the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

, and other institutions.Yentsch, Anne E, Preface, p.xxiii

Notes

References

*Andrews, Matthew Page, ''History of Maryland'', Doubleday, New York (1929).
Peden, Henry C, p.55, ''Colonial Maryland Soldiers and Sailors, 1634-1734''
Retrieved August 3, 2010
Russell, George, p.8, ''The Ark and the Dove Adventurers''
Retrieved February 2013
Yentsch, Anne E, ''A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves: a Study in Historical Archaeology'', Cambridge University Press (1994)
Retrieved Jan 30 2010

External links

Calvert Family Tree
Retrieved Jul 10 2013

Retrieved October 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Calvert, Charles Colonial Governors of 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 ...

1688 births 1734 deaths