Charles Calvert (1637-1714/15)
Third Lord Baltimore
MSA SC 3520-193
Biography:
Born: on August 27, 1637, in England; oldest surviving son.
Immigrated: 1661 as a free adult with his wife.
Resided: St. Mary's County; returned to England, 1684.
Died: February 20, 1714/15.
Family Background:
Father: Cecilius Calvert,
2nd Lord Baltimore (1605-1675).
Mother: Anne Arundell (?-1649), daughter of Sir Thomas Arundell, of Wardour, England.
Uncles: Philip
Calvert (1626-1682); Leonard
Calvert (ca. 1606-1647)
Brother: George Calvert (1634-1636).
Sisters: Anne Calvert; Mary Calvert (1630-1663); and Elizabeth Calvert.
First Cousins: William Calvert (ca. 1642/43-1682); George Talbot (?-?); and William Talbot (?-1691).
Married: First, ca. 1650 Mary Darnall, daughter of Ralph Darnall, of Loughton, Herefordshire,
England.
Married: Second, in 1666
Jane Lowe Sewall (?-1700), widow of Henry Sewall (?-1665); daughter of Vincent Lowe, of Denby, England.
Her brothers were Vincent Lowe (?-1692); Nicholas Lowe; Henry Lowe (?-1700), and John Lowe (1616-?). Her
sisters were Dorothy Lowe; Grace Lowe; Anne Lowe; and Mary Lowe.
Married: Third, in 1701 Mary Thorpe (?-1710).
Married: Fourth, Margaret Charleton (?-1731), daughter of Thomas Charleton, of Hexham,
Northumberland, England. She subsequently married in 1718 Lawrence Eliot.
Children:
Sons: Cecilius
Calvert (1667-1681);
Benedict Leonard Calvert, 4th
Lord Baltimore (1679-1715), who married in 1698 Charlotte Lee, daughter of Edward Henry Lee (1663-1716); and
Charles Calvert (1680-1733).
Stepson: Nicholas
Sewall (ca. 1655-1737), who married Susanna Burgess, daughter of
William Burgess (ca. 1622-1686/87).
Daughters: Clare Calvert (1670-by 1694), who married in 1690 Edward Maria Somersett; Anne Calvert
(1673-1731), who married first, in 1694 Edward Maria Somersett, and second, William Parton, of Hoxton,
Gloucestershire, England.
Stepdaughters: Jane Sewall, who married Philip Calvert (1626-1682);
Elizabeth Sewall, who married first,
Jesse Wharton (?-1676),
and second, William Digges
(ca. 1650-1697); Anne Sewall (?-1693), who married first,
Benjamin Rozer (?-1681), and
second, Edward Pye (?-1696);
and Mary Sewall (?-1693/94), who married first William Chandler (1652-1685), son of
Job Chandler (?-1659),
and second, George Brent.
Private Career:
Education: Literate, probably had extensive schooling.
Religious Affiliation: Catholic.
Social Status and Activities: Arrived as governor and heir-apparent to the proprietorship of the
colony; married the widow of his close friend Henry Sewall (?-1665), who immigrated with him; established a
residence at Mattapany.
Occupational Profile: Placeman; colonial entrepreneur.
Public Career:
Provincial Offices: Receiver general, 1660, 1678/79-1684; governor, 1661-1675; secretary,
1665-1666, 1667-1669, 1673-1673/74; collector of Patuxent, 1673-1675/76; proprietor of Maryland, 1675-1714/15
(without governing rights, 1689-1714/15).
Stands on Public/Private Issues: Expressed frequent discontent in the 1660s and the 1670s with
the caliber and social standing of the Council; often at odds with his uncle Philip Calvert (1626-1682)
and the latter's protégé, Henry Coursey (ca. 1629-1695); continued his father's policy of
religious toleration, and in particular reached accommodation in the 1680s with the Quakers; fashioned a
close circle of political leaders, almost exclusively Catholics, who were usually bound to him by blood
kinship or marriage, especially in the case of his Sewall stepchildren; his struggles with William Penn over
the northern boundary of Maryland and attacks against the colony's charter finally necessitated his return
to England in 1684; his deputies lacked Calvert's ability to defuse attacks and govern smoothly; Calvert
lost his colony in the royal settlement following the Glorious Revolution, during which he was charged
with outlawry and treason, charges that were later dropped; he made many unsuccessful efforts to regain the
colony in the subsequent twenty-five years; he broke off relations with his son Benedict Leonard Calvert, 4th
Lord Baltimore (1679-1715) upon the latter's conversion to Protestantism.
Wealth at Death:
Estate size unknown.
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