Charles Calvert, 3rd Lord Baltimore (1637-1714/15)
BORN: on August 27, 1637, in England; oldest surviving son. IMMIGRATED: in 1661 as a free adult with his wife. RESIDED: in St. Mary's County; returned to England, 1684.
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, on 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-appapent to the propeietorship 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 protege´, Henry Coursey (ca. 1629-1695); continued his father's policy of religious toleration, and in particular reached accommodation in the 1680s wit the Quakers; fashioned a close circle of policial 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. DIED: on February 20, 1714/15; estate size unknown.
Source: Edward C. Papenfuse, et al., A Biographical Dictionary of
the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789. Vol. I. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1979, 187-188
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