John Paca (ca. 1712-1785)
MSA SC 3520-964
Biography:
Born: ca. 1712, in Baltimore County; younger son.
Native: Third generation.
Resided: On Bush River, Baltimore (later became Harford) County.
Died: January 2, 1785, at the home of his daughter Martha Phillips
in Harford County.
Family Background:
Father: Aquila Paca (ca. 1676-1721).
Mother: Martha Phillips (?-1746).
Uncle: James Phillips (?-1720).
Half Uncle: John Hall (ca. 1658-1737).
Aunt: Mary Phillips (?-1738), who married first, John Carvile
(ca. 1670-1709).
Brothers: James; Aquila Paca (ca. 1703-1743/44).
Sisters: (first name unknown) (?-1709); Mary (1701-?); Susannah
(1705-?); and Priscilla (?-ca. 1742).
Nieces: Martha Paca (1732/33-?), who married Robert Adair (?-1768).
Married: November 2, 1732, Elizabeth (?-ca. 1766), daughter
of William Smith (?-1731/32) of Baltimore County, formerly of Calvert County,
and wife Elizabeth Martin, widow of Richard Dallam (?-1714). Her brothers
were William Smith (?-1777); Winston (?-ca. 1752), who married first, Priscilla
Paca (?-ca. 1742), daughter of Aquila Paca (ca. 1676-1721), and second,
Susanna (1718-1806), widow of George Stokes (?-1741), daughter of James
Phillips (?-1720). Her half brothers were William Dallam (1706-1761), who
married Elizabeth Johnson (?-1748); Richard Dallam (1708-ca. 1765), who
married Frances Wallis (1711-?). Her half sister was Christian Dallam (1704-1787),
who married Richard Caswell (1685-1755). Her half nephew was Richard Dallam
(1743-1820).
Children:
Sons: Aqulia Paca (1738-1788); William
Paca (1740-1799).
Daughters: Mary (1733-?), who was unmarried in 1781; Susannah,
who married in 1776 her first cousin William Smith (ca. 1756-ca. 1794);
Elizabeth (1742-1758), who died in
Philadelphia and is buried in Christ Church Cemetery, Philadelphia;
Martha (1743/44-1829), who married in 1767 James Phillips (?-ca. 1800);
and Frances (?-ca. 1787), who married in 1765 her half cousin Richard Dallam
(1743-1820).
Private Career:
Education: Literate.
Religious Affiliation: Although his father was a Quaker and
requested in his will that his children be brought up as Quakers, John
became an Anglican, served as church warden and vestryman of St. John's
Parish, Baltimore County, and entered the births of his children in the
parish register.
Social Status and Activities: Gent., by 1743; Esq., by 1780.
Occupational Profile: Planter, developer. Paca laid out the
towns of Abingdon, in 1779, and Washington, by 1781, both in Harford County.
Public Career:
Legislative Service: Lower House, Baltimore County, 1744 (elected
to the 2nd session of the 1742-1744 Assembly to replace his brother), 1745
(Aggrievances), 1745/46-1748 (Aggrievances Cv 1, 1-3,4), 1749-1751 (Aggrievances
Cv-3; Bills of Credit 1), 1753-1754 (elected to the 3rd session of the
1751-1754 Assembly), 1754-1757 (Bills of Credit 6; Arms and Ammunition
5, 6), 1762-1763, 1770 (elected to the 3rd session of the 1768-1770 Assembly;
Grievances 3); Conventions, Harford County, 1st, 1774, 3rd, 1774.
Local Offices: Churchwarden, St. John's Parish, Baltimore County,
1736-1737; St. John's Parish Vestry, Baltimore County, 1737-1740, 1748-1751,
1753-1756; justice, Baltimore
County, 1744-1753 (quorum, 1750-1753), Harford County, 1774-1777 (quorum,
at least 1774); justice, Especial Court of Oyer, Terminer, and Gaol Delivery,
Baltimore County, 1750-1751 (quorum); commissioner to erect a courthouse
and prison, Harford County, 1773; Committee of Correspondence, Harford
County, 1774; commissioner of the tax, Harford County, appointed 1777 (appointment
not renewed June 1777); judge, Court of Appeals for Tax Assessment, Harford
County, 1779.
Military Service: Captain, by 1774.
Wealth During Lifetime:
Personal Property: Distributed his slaves and stock to his daughters
before 1782.
Land at First Election: At least 3,360 acres in Baltimore County
(1,282 acres inherited from his father, 470 acres acquired through marriage,
425 acres acquired by purchase, 150 acres added through patent and resurvey,
at least 420 acres inherited from his sister Priscilla, and at least 152
acres inherited from his sister Susannah).
Significant Changes in Land Between First Election and Death:
Acquired 673 acres by patent and 205 acres by purchase, and sold 924 acres,
for a net loss of 46 acres, 1746-1759; acquired 744 acres by patent and
purchase and 785 acres by inheritance from Josias Middlemore, and sold
283 acres, for a net gain of 1,246 acres, 1750-1759; acquired 264 acres
by patent and 48 acres by purchase, and sold 1,493 acres and gave 1,120
acres to his sons, for a net loss of 2,300 acres, 1760-1769; acquired at
least 600 acres as heir of Martha Adair, and sold 833 acres, for a net
loss 233 acres, 1770-1779; sold 258 acres and at least 24 and one-half
lots in Abingdon, and gave at least 13 lots in Abingdon to his children,
1780-1785. All of these transactions were in Baltimore County before 1773
and in Harford County after 1773. Paca's will, written in 1781 with a codicil
in 1782, mentions ca. 2,400 acres and lots in Abingdon and Washington towns,
Harford County. Of this acreage, at least 1,000 acres had already been
deeded to his sons. The 1782 codicil confirms specific lots in Abingdon
and Washington to his son William and his three married daughters. By 1783
the children were paying taxes on this land. After 1783 John Paca's land
transactions were confined to sales of Abingdon lots.
Source: Edward C. Papenfuse, et al., eds. A Biographical Dictionary
of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789. Vol. II. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1985, p. 631.
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