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(at least 370 acres inherited from his father; 254 by
patent). SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN LAND BE-
TWEEN FIRST ELECTION AND DEATH: patented an
additional 729 acres in Charles and Prince
George's counties in the 1720s; acquired an inter-
est in 290 acres in Prince George's County, plus 1
lot in Nottingham, Prince George's County, as a
gift from his father-in-law, Thomas Brooke (ca.
1659-1730/31), in 1726. He continued to purchase
and patent land in Prince George's County
throughout the 1730s and 1750s, and combined
several tracts into a 1,294-acre patent in 1753.
Gantt secured an interest in 584 acres in Prince
George's County upon his marriage to Margery,
but released 500 acres to her daughter in 1754. He
probably gave 300 acres in Prince George's
County to his son Thomas Gantt (ca. 1710-1785)
by 1760. WEALTH AT DEATH. DIED, between Feb-
ruary 19 and August 29, 1765, in Prince George's
County. LAND: 2,764 acres in Prince George's and
Charles counties, plus 1 lot in Nottingham, Prince
George's County.
GANTT (GAUNT), THOMAS (ca. 1710-1785).
BORN: ca. 1710 in Prince George's County; eldest
son. NATIVE: third generation. RESIDED: in Prince
George's County. FAMILY BACKGROUND. FATHER:
Thomas Gantt (?-1765). MOTHER: Priscilla, daugh-
ter of Thomas Brooke (ca. 1659-1730/31). STEP-
MOTHER Margery (?-1764), widow of Levin Cov-
ington (?-1725); daughter of Thomas Hollyday (ca.
1661-1702/3). UNCLE: Thomas Brooke (1683-
1744). STEPUNCLE: James Hollyday (1696-1747).
AUNT Sarah Brooke (?-1724), who married first,
William Dent (ca. 1660-1704), and second, Philip
Lee (ca. 1681-1744). HALF AUNT: Jane Brooke,
who married Alexander Contee (ca. 1691-1740).
BROTHERS: George (?-1779); Fielder Gantt (?-
1807); Edward Gantt (?-by 1783). STEPBROTHER:
Leonard Covington. SISTERS: Priscilla; Elizabeth;
and probably Ann, who married John Brome
(1703-1748). STEPSISTER: Elizabeth Covington.
FIRST COUSINS: Richard Brooke (1716-1783); El-
eanor Brooke, who married Samuel Beall (ca.
1713-ca. 1778); Richard Lee (ca. 1707-1787); Ar-
thur Lee (?-1760); Francis Lee (?-1749); and Han-
nah Lee, who married Joseph Sprigg ( 1736-1 800).
HALF FIRST COUSINS: John Contee (1722-ca.
1796); Thomas Contee (ca. 1729-1811); Jane Con-
tee (1728-1812), who married John Hanson, Jr.
(1721-1783); Thomas Beall, of George (1735-
1819); Thomas Sprigg (1715-1781); and Edward
Sprigg (?-?). NEPHEW: Thomas Gantt (?-ca. 1802).
NIECE: Ann Gantt, who married Thomas Harwood
1/1 (by 1757-by 1805). MARRIED first, by 1734
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Rachel, daughter of John Smith (?-1738). Her sis-
ters were Jane; Sarah, who married Joseph Hall
(ca. 1701-?); and Tabitha (ca. 1690-1769), who
married Thomas Sheredine (1699-1752). Her
nephew was Upton Sheredine (1740-1800). MAR-
RIED second, by 1754 Eleanor (?-1787), daughter
of Thomas Hillary (?-ca. 1728/29), of Prince
George's County. Her brothers were Thomas;
John; William; and Henry. Her sisters were Sarah;
Elizabeth. CHILDREN. SONS: Thomas Gantt, Jr. (?-
1808); Edward (ca. 1741-1837), A.B., College of
New Jersey (later became Princeton University) in
1762, M.D., University of Leiden, Netherlands, in
1767, a physician, who married in 1768 Ann
Houghton (Stoughton) Sloss, of Somerset County,
and later moved to Kentucky; John (1740-?), who
moved to Berkley County, Virginia by 1778; Levi,
who married Harriet Lowndes; Erasmus Gantt (?-
?); and Fielder (ca. 1764-1824). DAUGHTERS: Ra-
chel (?-1793), who married Richard Brooke (17 16-
1783); Elizabeth; Priscilla (?-ca. 1784); Ann, who
married Basil Waring; and Sarah, who married
Osborn Sprigg (ca. 1741- 1815). ADDITIONAL COM-
MENTS: Sarah may have been Eleanor's child by a
previous marriage. PRIVATE CAREER. EDUCATION:
literate. RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: Anglican. SO-
CIAL STATUS AND ACTIVITIES: Gent., by 1773.
OCCUPATIONAL PROFILE: planter. PUBLIC CA-
REER. LEGISLATIVE SERVICE: Lower House, Prince
George's County, 1757 (elected to the 6th session
of the 1754-1757 Assembly to fill vacancy), 1757-
1758. LOCAL OFFICES. Queen Anne Parish Vestry,
Prince George's County, 1735-1738, 1742-1744,
1751-1754, 1761; justice, Prince George's County,
1738-1740, 1748-at least 1751 (quorum, 1748-at
least 1751); commissioner to purchase land to lay
out Bladensburg, Prince George's County, 1742.
MILITARY SERVICE: captain, by 1743. WEALTH
DURING LIFETIME. LAND AT FIRST ELECTION:
985 acres in Prince George's County (287 acres
received from John Smith as a dower upon his
marriage to Rachel; at least 600 acres by pur-
chase). SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN LAND BE-
TWEEN FIRST ELECTION AND DEATH: obtained
about 400 acres in Prince George's County as a
gift from his father by 1760, and inherited ca.
1,014 acres in Prince George's County from his
father, 1765. Gantt purchased 1,550 acres in Fred-
erick County in 1766, but exchanged it with his
son Thomas Gantt, Jr. (?-1808) for 452 acres in
Prince George's County in 1773. He purchased or
patented a few small tracts in Prince George's
County during the early 1770s, but sold 4 of these,
plus the 452-acre tract, in 1776 and 1777. He gave
at least 200 acres to his son John in 1775. WEALTH
342
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