Henry Harford (ca. 1759-1834)
MSA SC 3520-596
BORN: ca. 1759 in London, England: eldest child, natural son.
RESIDED: in England, at his house in London or his country estate, "Down Place," near Windsor, Berkshire, England;
in Maryland, at the Annapolis home of Dr. Upton Scott, 1783-1786.
FAMILY BACKGROUND.
FATHER: Frederick Calvert, 6th Lord Baltimore (1731/32-1771).
STEPFATHER: Peter Prevost, Esq.
GUARDIANS: Dr. John Moore(1730-1805),
archbishop of Canterbury; Hugh Hammersley, Esq., principal secretary of Maryland from 1765 to at least 1771
(date of last commission); and his stepfather Peter Prevost, Esq.
MOTHER: Hester Whalen (?-1812), of Ireland.
HALF UNCLE: Benedict Calvert (ca. 1724-1788).
AUNT: Caroline Calvert, who married
Robert Eden (1741-1784).
SISTER: Frances Mary Harford (ca. 1760-1822).
HALF SISTERS: Sophia Hales (1765-?); Elizabeth Hales (1765-?); and Charlotte Hope (1770-?).
MARRIED first, in June 1792 Louisa Pigou (?-ca. 1802), daughter of Peter Pigou, Esq. MARRIED second, in June 1806 Esther Ryecroft (ca. 1775-1853).
CHILDREN.
SONS: Henry Harford (1793-died in infancy); Frederick Paul Harford (ca. 1802-1860), who married
Elizabeth Louisa Halifax (ca. 1810-1876); George Harford (1807-?); and Charles Harford (1811-?).
DAUGHTERS: Louisa Ann Harford (1794-?); Frances Harford (1796-?); Fredericka Louisa Elizabeth Harford (1797-?), who
married Robert T. J. Glynn; Charlotte Penelope Harford (1808-died young); Esther Harford (1810-?); and Emily Harford
(1814-?), who married Rev. William H. W. Bowyer.
PRIVATE CAREER.
EDUCATION: Richmond School near Epson, England; Eton College, England, 1772-1775; Exeter
College, Oxford University, 1776-1779.
RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: Anglican.
SOCIAL STATUS AND ACTIVITIES: Esq.; did not inherit the title of Lord Baltimore because of his illegitimacy.
PUBLIC CAREER.
PROVINCIAL OFFICE: proprietor of Maryland, 1771-1776.
OUT OF STATE SERVICE: tied for a seat in Parliament from Lyme Regis, Dorsetshire, in 1780, but lost when the
election was decided by the House of Commons.
WEALTH DURING LIFETIME.
PERSONAL PROPERTY: inherited ca. £96,000 in deposits and investments from his father's estate. Received a £60,000
settlement from proprietorship litigation, 1781. Submitted a claim for £327,441 to the Maryland government for the loss
of land and revenues, which was denied by the General Assembly in 1786. A similar claim for £447,000 presented to the
British government was partially allowed and Harford received probably £70,000 in compensation. He also received
£10,000, which was deducted from Maryland's bank stock in England in 1805. After further petitions to the British
government for compensation for debts owed him by Maryland residents but not paid because of the war, Harford's claim
was allowed in 1813 and he may have received a part of the £43,000 requested.
LAND AT FIRST ELECTION: during Harford's minority his father left Maryland in the control of his executors Robert
Eden (1741-1784), Hugh Hammersley, Esq., Peter Prevost, Esq., and Robert Morris (who was removed by 1776). The
provisions in the will of Frederick Calvert, 6th Lord Baltimore (1731/32-1771), leaving the proprietorship to his
illegitimate Harford children was contested by John Browning and the Edens and remained in litigation until 1781.
Although Harford inherited the proprietor's rights to lands in Maryland under the will of his father in 1771, the
resulting litigation and war made his ownership of little value.
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN LAND BETWEEN FIRST ELECTION AND DEATH: Harford estimated that his inheritance included
71,000 acres of manor lands and 125,000 acres of undeveloped land west of Fort Cumberland, 1786. The proprietary lands
confiscated by the Maryland government totaled about 245,000 acres.
WEALTH AT DEATH.
DIED: on December 8, 1834, at "Down Place"; buried in St. Michael's Churchyard, Bray, England. LAND: probably a house in London and a country estate near Windsor.
Return to Maryland Government, Historical List
|
Tell Us What You Think About the Maryland State Archives Website!
|