| PREVIOUS | NEXT | NEW SEARCH |
The Capital and the Bay: Narratives of Washington and the Chesapeake Bay Region, ca. 1600-1925
The Calvert papers, Vol ITHE CALVERT PAPERS.
Page 9 { page image }
Address Of Mr. Albert Ritchie.
Mr. President,--
ON behalf of those who have recently secured possession of a valuable collection of historical papers from an immediate descendant of the Calverts, I am here to-night to perform a most agreeable service.
The papers referred to lie on the table before you, and I am instructed to present them to the Society of which you are the beloved and honored President.
During the supremacy of the Lords Proprietary, they resided, as you know, at their homes abroad, and were represented here by their Governors. They, however, to a large extent, themselves exercised the ample powers which they possessed, and maintained an active participation in the government of the province.
2
Page 10 { page image }
Frequent and full reports of the condition of affairs were from time to time transmitted to them, as were also many important official papers requiring their consideration and action.
Thus, much of our history got upon the other side of the water; some in the original, some in duplicate; the original forming its own part of the record, and that in duplicate serving in some degree to supply the place of original material lost on this side.
This collection was received from the possession of Col. Frederick Henry Harford, of Down Place, near Windsor, the great-grandson of Frederick, the last Lord Baltimore, and embraces all that is positively known still to exist of those papers that were sent over to the Lords Proprietary in the manner stated.
You will remember that in his Calendar Index of 1861, Dr. John Henry Alexander states that in the year 1839 he saw, in the British Museum, two large chests, marked "Calvert Papers," but that, on inquiry made by him many years afterward, all trace of them had disappeared.
The acquisition of the papers in those two chests has been an object of which the members of this Society have never since lost sight. Whether these are they or not, it is impossible yet to say. They may, or may not be. But much as we desire to possess those papers, it is rather to be hoped that
Page 11 { page image }
the records we now have secured are not the ones referred to by Dr. Alexander, because, if it be determined that they are not, we will then be stimulated by the knowledge that there are other historical treasures in the same line of search still to be looked for and found.
The character of these papers will be told to you more in detail during the evening, but I may say in a word that it is believed that they will prove to be a historical treasure trove such as it has not been the good fortune of any other of the States to find, and that they will add much value to the collections already possessed by this Society. They will enable us to replace some of the lost leaves of the history of our State, to revise others, and to illuminate many more.
Without anticipating what will be better told you by another, I may, in passing, give a suggestion of the contents of these papers by referring to one or two of them.
You know, sir, that the princely grant of lands and waters which comprised the province of Maryland, was given on the condition prescribed in the Charter, that the Lord Proprietary should in every year on Tuesday in Easter week yield and pay therefor the rental of "two Indian arrows of those parts." We are able to assure you to-night that at least the first year's rent was duly paid, for lying before you is the receipt of "W. Thomas, keeper of his Majesty's
Page 12 { page image }
Wardrobe," for two Indian Arrows "tendered and left at and within the Castle of Windsor," for "one year's rent due to the King's Majesty" for "a territory or continent of land called Maryland," and dated on "Tuesday, the XXIIIrd day of April, 1633."
For how many years the prompt payment of this rent continued we may not know, but we may presume that it was well kept up, because, from the failure of the native population to appreciate the principle of public law, that the discovery of the fact of their existence, gave the discoverer a claim to all their possessions, it was many years before Indian arrows became scarce in Maryland. Ultimately, however, about the 4th of July, 1776, we know that this rent was docked. All that we pay now is the annual levy of $2.07 on every one hundred dollars worth of our property.
Another paper of this collection, while not so unique, is of more historical value. It is a copy in his own handwriting of the instructions given by Cecilius Calvert to the immigrants before the Ark and the Dove left the Isle of Wight.
These Calvert papers, after much search and effort, which will be more fully detailed by Mr. Mendes Cohen, were finally secured by a few of the members of this society, aided by some prominent citizens, and also, it is a great pleasure to add, with the gracious co-operation of several ladies who are with us to-night.
Page 13 { page image }
There is no need now to make special mention of the names of those for whom I speak, but I feel that I ought at least to say that, more than to anything else, we are indebted for the possession of these papers to the intelligent and persistent efforts of Mr. Cohen. He will not, in his account of them, say this for himself, and I therefore say it, because it ought to be said by some one.
The circumstances warrant the mention of one other name in this connection. Always an interested member of this Society and in sympathy with its work, one of the last acts of his life was a generous contribution to the fund for the purchase of these papers by Mr. T. Harrison Garrett.
The acquisition of these Calvert papers and the interest manifested in them to-night, are an assurance that our State has reached the age of historic research. This, of course, is a development of a somewhat advanced period, for the forces of moral evolution will not produce the historic sentiment until there is a history to be written. The conditions are--a story to be told, and also the appropriate time for telling it. Unlike the observation of material objects the atmosphere is cleared by distance, and the truth of history is better discerned as we get above and beyond the motives, the partialities and mists which obscure a closer view. These conditions, like experience and good wine, come only by age. There is no improved method of hastening
Page 14 { page image }
them, and we must wait until the State has a past. The process may be going on, but we can simply stand by while seed time is ripening into harvest. But when the times have ripened for the pen of the historian, and existing conditions have created the want, the same forces which created the conditions will supply the want.
Almost exactly two hundred years from the date of the charter had passed before the full period for writing the history of Maryland came, and then the great pen of McMahon was applied to the task. Bozman's Introduction to a History of Maryland had appeared in 1811, and Griffith's Sketches of the Early History of Maryland in 1821, but the publication of McMahon's first volume in 1831 may be taken, I think, as the well marked beginning of the period of historic research in Maryland. While that work was the evidence of a growth, it at the same time stimulated the growth. The presentation to the State of the manuscript of Bozman's history and its publication followed in 1834; then came the Act of 1835 for the rescue, arrangement and preservation of the State papers and documents. The Maryland Historical Society was incorporated in 1844; another Act looking to the preservation of the records was passed in 1847; in 1849 McSherry's History appeared, and in 1855 the "Day Star" by Mr. Davis. In 1858 an Act was passed for the procurement of copies of important papers from
Page 15 { page image }
foreign repositories, and the report and calendar of Dr. Alexander followed in 1860. In 1867 important historical features were added to the Land Office; in the same year Terra Mariae, by Mr. Edward D. Neill, was published; Scharf's History appeared in 1879, and the History of a Palatinate, by Dr. Wm. Hand Browne, in 1884. Many other incidents, as well as numerous monographs, which cannot now be referred to, have marked the period mentioned.
The time had indeed come, but when the thought of the State turned to the history of the State, the inquiry was, what are the records? and (more difficult to answer), where are they? The archives have a history as well as the State, but though the acquisition of these papers is part of it, the full story cannot be told to-night.
Maryland has probably always possessed a more complete collection of State papers than any other of the original States, and the State has always manifested as great an interest in their preservation as perhaps could well be expected. But we seldom find the instinct of the historian united with official position, and there never has been by the State a sufficiently well directed effort for the collection and preservation of its archives.
They have passed through the perils of new government, of war and insurrection; of removal, waste and neglect; of mould, fire and private spoliation. Very much, however, has survived; much that had
Page 16 { page image }
nearly gone has been rescued, and means have been found to supply from other sources much that has been lost.
A valuable work was performed by Mr. David Ridgely, State Librarian, under the Act of 1835, in collecting and arranging State papers and documents, but the Act unfortunately provided that after collection and repair they should be returned to the various public offices, from their exposure in which the effort had been to rescue them; and when looked for, in later years, many that Mr. Ridgely had noted could no longer be found.
Immediately upon the formation of this Society it directed its attention to the collection and safety of the State papers, and in 1847 procured the passage of a resolution by the General Assembly to this end. This resolution authorized the Governor to transfer to this Society all original papers, documents and records relating to the history of Maryland prior to the close of the Revolutionary war, which it was not necessary should be kept at the seat of Government. The first part of this resolution was full of promise and looked like a liberal transfer, but there was a string tied to the papers in the shape of a retractive proviso. Under the operation of the proviso there was very little left to be transferred except such documents as were in duplicate, or in such a condition of "apparent or manifest decay" as that they might be "advantageously
Page 17 { page image }
deposited with the said Historical Society." The Society thankfully received the records that were in a state of "manifest decay" and, as far as it was possible to do so, reverently restored them to a state of convalescence.
By the Act of 1858, the Governor was authorized to appoint some person to procure copies of all papers and documents of value relating to the provincial history, which were to be found in the Colonial Office in London, in the library of Zion College, and in the archives of the Propaganda at Rome. Dr. Alexander, who was appointed under this Act, very properly thought that before he began to copy it was important to know what the State already possessed, and accordingly, with the assistance of Dr. Ethan Allen, he prepared the first volume of a Calendar of State papers which is now in the library of this Society. But before the preliminary work was completed the appropriation was exhausted, and the hand of the type-writer has not yet garnered the sheaves in question.
The importance of the State papers was, again, most earnestly pressed upon the Constitutional Convention of 1867, by the late Mr. George L. L. Davis, and through his efforts a clause was inserted in the Constitution, making it the duty of the Commissioner of the Land Office to collect, arrange and classify the papers, records, relics and other memorials connected with the early history of Maryland.
3
Page 18 { page image }
This Society at length, in the passage of the Act of Assembly of 1882, accomplished what had been a cherished purpose ever since its organization, namely, the transfer into its custody of all the records, archives and ancient documents of the Province and State prior to the acknowledgment of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, on the condition that they should be safely kept, properly arranged and catalogued, and that the Society should edit and publish such of them as were of historical importance, the State reserving its ownership, and providing for the free access to these papers of all its citizens. The State at last had appreciated the fact that it had no agency of its own suitable for the work of collecting, assorting and preserving these papers.
Then began the reclamation of State papers from all conceivable, as well as inconceivable repositories. The search went through places where they ought to have been, and were not, and places where they should not have been, but were. Under the authority of this Act, and through previous efforts, the cellars, the lofts, the forgotten cupboards, the woodhouse of the Treasury and the dome of the State House, as well as the public offices, all gave up their historic treasures, and at last, so far, at least, as those possessed by the State are concerned, we are able to answer the inquiry, where are the records? They are in the iron vault of this Society
Page 19 { page image }
--the Home for Aged Papers--protected from exposure and neglect, secure against the hand of the spoiler, and safe from the depredations of the autograph fiend.
This Society is faithfully and gladly discharging the conditions upon which it was made the repository of these papers, and is now solving the problem of what the records are. The accumulations of a hundred and fifty years, including about 10,000 separate papers, thus came into its hands. All are being properly assorted and catalogued, with due reference to subject matter and chronological order, and, with infinite labor, the worn papers, the faded writing, the contracted hand, the long disused abbreviations, and the long since obsolete terms, are being deciphered and the entire text transcribed. Five volumes of the archives, under the scholarly supervision of Dr. Browne, have been published.
Towards the expense of this work the State has made a moderate but inadequate appropriation. Much of the necessary service is gratuitous, while important gaps in the records have been filled from the collections of this Society, and by material gathered abroad at its expense. This Act of 1882, from a historical standpoint, is the most important event that has yet transpired.
It not only secured the safety of our State papers, but, through the agency of this Society, it is working out a full disclosure of their contents. To a
Page 20 { page image }
certain degree, in their past condition, they have been as if written in an unknown tongue.
This Act, also, is leading up to a new, a more accurate and complete history of the State. The histories of Maryland heretofore written have been well done in view of the broken record and the difficulty of mining the material at command. But a new history of the State has been begun, and will appear in due season.
We may not know by whom it will be finished, nor whose name will be upon the title page as its author, but this Society has begun the work. It is now making accessible and capable of use the large stores which have been preserved; it is replacing much that has been lost, and with an eye quick for the search, and a hand ready to reach, it is looking for further historical riches in foreign repositories not yet explored. In thus preparing ready to his hand all materials, and in doing for the future author the most dreary and laborious part of his work, this Society is contributing its important part toward the new history of the State.
It has assumed that portion of the task, which, as McMahon well said, "if inflicted as a punishment, would be intolerable."
Such, sir, is part of the work now being done by this Society, and it is in recognition of its active zeal, and of the service it is rendering the State, that we desire to place in its possession these Calvert
Page 21 { page image }
Papers. They begin the story of our people at a period earlier than the landing at St. Mary's. They had already opened the record when Leonard Calvert set up the cross on St. Clement's, and in the name of his brother, took possession of his unexplored kingdom of forest and river and bay.
They have been singularly preserved through the casualties of two hundred and fifty years. The Barons of Baltimore, each in his turn, have played their almost royal parts, and the baronetcy itself has been extinct for more than a century. Eight generations, full of life and high impulse, have wrought their mission, and passed on. The first seat of government has disappeared, and not even its ruins now mark the spot where the early legislators assembled. From the little colony has grown a great State, superb in its free institutions, and the home of a million noble people.
These parchments have survived through all these changes, and, by the force of association, they fill this hall to-night with voices and faces from the weird and majestic past, and stamp again with the vividness of real life, acts and events which were fading into shadow and tradition.
With all their rich associations and historic value, I now have the honor to present them to you as the representative of the Maryland Historical Society, and, as I do so, it is with the thought that they are part of the muniments of our goodly
Page 22 { page image }
heritage of civil and religious liberty--part of the evidences of our title to all that is great and honorable in our past.
Address of Hon. John H. B. Latrobe.
Upon the conclusion of the address of Colonel Ritchie, the President, Hon. John H. B. Latrobe, said:
I gratefully acknowledge, Mr. Ritchie, on behalf of the Maryland Historical Society, the valuable addition to its archives of the "Calvert Papers," which the generosity and public spirit of some of our fellow citizens have enabled it to secure.
To go now into more formal or extended remarks would consume time which may better be given to some matters immediately connected with the papers referred to.
Address of Mr. Mendes Cohen.
Mr. Mendes Cohen, Chairman of the Committee on the Calvert Papers, then addressed the meeting, as follows:
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,--
In the distribution of the duties of this occasion, it devolves upon me to tell you something in regard
Page 23 { page image }
to the finding of these papers. I cannot do so, however, without mentioning the name of one of our departed members, taken from among us in the midst of his usefulness more than twenty years ago; one well known to the older members of the Society and to his fellow citizens generally, as a gentleman of the highest scientific and scholarly attainments. I refer to the late John Henry Alexander, LL. D.
Dr. Alexander, amongst numerous other literary and scientific works, prepared an "Index to the calendar of Maryland State papers," compiled under his own direction by authority of an Act of the Legislature (January session, 1858, Chapter 27).
In the preface to this Index which bears date Easter Monday, 1861, speaking of the collections of Maryland documents in the British Museum, he records:
"Many years ago, these possessions of the British Museum might have been increased, and with objects of great interest. In the autumn of 1839, there were lying in one of its rooms, on the ground floor, two considerable chests marked Calvert Papers, which I myself observed with much interest; but presuming that they were an acquisition of the establishment, and would be shortly examined and reported upon thoroughly, or at least be thereafter forever accessible, I made no particular inquiry about them at the moment. It appears that this presumption was erroneous, and upon a diligent
Page 24 { page image }
research instituted recently--under the disadvantage, to be sure, of there being not a single person left now in the employment of the institution, who was connected then with the particular branch of its service to which belongs the receipt and custody of such things, until they are handed over to be placed in their proper receptacles--no further intelligence could be obtained about them, and no other conclusion arrived at than that, when seen they were merely in transitu, having been probably offered by some party possessing them, but at such a price as precluded their purchase. However this may have been, the mischance is very much to be regretted."
It was my good fortune to know Dr. Alexander from my early youth. I was a student of engineering; he, the accomplished scientist and mathematician, the intimate friend of an uncle who stood to me in loco parentis, was pleased on this account to take much interest in the progress of my studies, and subsequently in my professional career. I learned to respect the thoroughness with which Dr. Alexander pursued every investigation; the careful accuracy of his observation and the precision with which he noted results. I did not then know how rare were the qualities that I admired in him, nor how great was the privilege which I enjoyed in my intercourse with him; but I have realized it since, and it is to me a great pleasure to say that we
Page 25 { page image }
primarily owe our acquisition of these papers to Dr. Alexander's careful methods--for I do not think that the search would have been thought of, as it would certainly not have been undertaken by me, but for that record of a failure to find what he believed to have existed a few years before.
On reading that account for the first time and knowing something of the way which English people have of preserving written documents, I thought the chances were strongly in favor of Dr. Alexander's theory, and that the papers had gone back to the attic corner whence they had emerged for their visit to the British Museum, and I promised myself the pleasure of searching them out as soon as opportunity permitted me a visit to England.
In the meantime it chanced that, as corresponding secretary of this Society, I was in communication with Mr. Winslow Jones of Exmouth, England, a gentleman interested in matters bearing upon our history, and who has contributed to our collection some interesting notes in regard to the early Calverts. I ventured to ask his interest and co-operation in a search for the lost papers. He readily gave his assistance and through an inquiry made by him in Notes and Queries, information was elicited which led to our being convinced that a large mass of the Colonial Papers and correspondence was still in existence and in the possession of Col. F. H. Harford, a retired officer of the British
4
Page 26 { page image }
Army, and a descendant of the last Lord Baltimore. Some months later Mr. Jones was permitted to see these papers at Col. Harford's seat, Down Place, near Windsor, and in May, 1887, he writes me:--
"I finished on yesterday the examination of the deeds and papers at Down Place. . . . . . .
"They were in utter confusion, in one very large chest, and not in the two in which they were originally kept, without any arrangement and mixed up with family papers unconnected with the Province, and very many of both sets without endorsement, but they are all now arranged and for the most part marked. . . . . . .
"The chest has for some years been in an old Orangery, now used as a potting house and for garden purposes, and some signs of damp are on a few of the papers, so that if the chest should remain for some years longer in its present place, the papers may be seriously injured."
It is needless to recount our unsuccessful efforts to negotiate with the owners by a correspondence which extended over a year or more. We could neither learn the date of a single paper in the collection nor the price at which any or all of them would be transferred to the Society.
During the summer of 1887, Mr. D. R. Randall, of Annapolis, a corresponding member of this Society, being in London, was asked to call to see the papers which had by this time been removed from
Page 27 { page image }
Down Place to the custody of Col. Harford's solicitors in London. He did so, and was shown such of the collection as had then reached London. He was informed by the solicitors that some of the papers were still at Down Place, partly in the house and partly buried in a field adjoining. The papers referred to as being then in the house at Down Place, are said to have been brought shortly thereafter to London and to be included in our aggregation, but in regard to the buried papers the solicitors write: "We fear that they are lost beyond hope of recovery, as we understand from our client that they were buried some years ago by his gardeners in order to get rid of what at the time was supposed to be useless."
At this stage it began to look as if the story of the Sibylline books might be repeated to our irremediable loss, and we felt correspondingly anxious to secure the existing remainder before any further diminution should befall them. It was evident that some one familiar with the Maryland Archives must be sent to London, to report specifically as to the historical value of the find and to act as our agent.
The most suitable person available was Mr. J. W. M. Lee, the Society's librarian. The late Mr. T. Harrison Garrett, in whose service Mr. Lee was then engaged, readily consented to spare him for the purpose. Mr. Lee sailed for England April
Page 28 { page image }
14th last. He reached London on the 21st, and lost no time after his arrival in examining the papers at the office of Col. Harford's solicitors, where it was stated to Mr. Lee, that all the papers known to be in existence were then collected. We were informed by each mail of the progress of his investigation, and in time, of the price placed upon them and of his estimate of their value.
An agreement was arrived at without delay, and Mr. Lee was cabled to close the purchase which was at once effected through the medium of Messrs. Robert Garrett & Sons, who acted as our bankers, and advanced the necessary funds.
Through the liberal subscription of the ladies and gentlemen who have just presented the collection to the Society, sufficient funds were raised to defray the expenses of the mission as well as the cost of the collection and its transfer to your fireproof vault, where it was safely placed on the evening of June 11th, 1888.
There still remain for us the questions:
In regard to the first question it must be stated that our information is very meagre. We have not been able as yet, clearly to establish a connection
Page 29 { page image }
between the papers we now possess and the supposed contents of the boxes seen in 1839; nor has our agent, Mr. Lee, given us any information throwing light on the subject.
Nevertheless, I believe them to be the same. It is somewhat curious that whilst we in Maryland were wondering what could have become of these missing papers; at the very time, when in 1861, Dr. Alexander was printing the document which records the facts that have led to the renewal of the search, our sister State, Virginia, in a search for evidence bearing upon the question of the boundary between Virginia and Maryland, should have developed and recorded the fact of the then present existence of the papers which we now have before us.
In March, 1860, the General Assembly of Virginia adopted a resolution "authorizing and requesting the Governor, if he should deem it expedient, to send to England a competent agent to obtain from thence all record and documentary evidence tending to ascertain and establish the true lines of boundary between Virginia and the States of North Carolina, Tennessee and Maryland."
Col. A. W. McDonald was commissioned as such agent, and proceeded to London, where he arrived June 20, 1860. In his report to Governor Letcher, dated February 2d, 1861, he states: "I sought out the representative of the Baltimore family, and finally discovered him a prisoner for debt in the
Page 30 { page image }
Queen's Bench prison, to which some twelve years since he had been transferred from the Fleet prison, after having been there confined for more than eight years. I obtained an interview with this gentleman; informed him of the object of my visit, which he appeared entirely willing to promote, and learned from him, after most minute inquiry, that the original charter had never come into his hands with the other family papers which had; that he had never seen it; never heard of it as being in the hands of any other person; and that he verily believed said original charter to be utterly lost or destroyed."
Shortly after our discovery of the papers my attention was first called to this record by our fellow-member, Mr. Henry F. Thompson. It had theretofore seemingly escaped the notice of those interested in the Maryland Archives, as it certainly had my own, a fact which I can only account for by reason of Col. McDonald's report having been made just at the breaking out of our late civil war, at a period when all attention was concentrated upon the stirring events so rapidly succeeding each other almost before the eyes of many of us--a time when, in fact, our people were engaged in making History not in studying it.
From this report of Col. McDonald, it will be seen that the then representative of the Calverts had been in prison for debt for at least twenty
Page 31 { page image }
years, or certainly since 1840, possibly from a somewhat earlier date. As it was only in 1839 that Dr. Alexander saw the chests, it would seem possible that the then representative of the family had offered them to the Museum before going to prison, either for sale or for safe keeping, and that the Museum declining to take them, they remained in the possession of the family during his imprisonment, and subsequently until our acquisition of them. If this be the case, as I have no doubt it is, it will only be necessary to obtain from the present representative of the family, or his solicitors, the facts doubtless in their possession to establish the identity of the papers before us with those in the missing boxes.
Now, as to the story of the burial of a chest of papers. When that statement first reached me, I supposed that it might be a myth, due to the fact that when Mr. Jones found the chest of papers at Down Place, it was in an out-building--a potting-house--and may have been half-buried in the mould and débris of the gardener's work-shop.
Mr. Lee was requested to make particular inquiry on this point, and to go, if necessary, to Down Place to ascertain the facts. This he did. He saw both Colonel and Mrs. Harford at their home, but could obtain from them no information more precise than that Colonel Harford had a few years before given authority to his gardeners to bury a box of the
Page 32 { page image }
papers, which were much in the way. The gardener to whom this authority was given, was no longer in Colonel Harford's service when Mr. Lee was at Down Place, and Mr. Lee reports that Colonel Harford did not know the place of burial, nor even if the authority to bury was ever availed of.
The papers we have are so complete in some particulars, whilst lacking in others where we are pretty sure that the proprietors had received full reports from the Colony, that we cannot but feel that the chest supposed to have been buried may well have contained just what we find wanting. You have thus had a history of all we know, as yet, regarding these papers, and their re-discovery. It will devolve upon others to describe to you their interesting character and contents.
In conclusion, I will only express the hope that some of our members, hereafter visiting England, will be sufficiently interested to investigate the questions still left open, whilst there remains a chance of finding those capable of answering them, thus completing and perfecting for our State a record of her early history, perhaps unequalled by that of any other of the thirteen colonies.
Address of Dr. William Hand Browne.
Dr. William Hand Browne, followed Mr. Cohen, with the reading of extracts from some of
Page 33 { page image }
the recently acquired papers, and with some introductory and explanatory remarks, as follows:
As you have heard the story of the discovery and acquisition of the Calvert Papers, it remains to give you the briefest possible account of what they are.
They consist of nearly 1,000 documents, on paper and parchment, all in admirable preservation, ranging from the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth, down to the second half of the last century.
The most ancient document relating to Maryland is Cecilius Calvert's Instructions to the First Colonists, of which I shall speak more at large presently. We have the Conditions of Plantation of 1640; a series of Council-Books and of the Journals of the Upper and Lower Houses of Assembly, filling many gaps in our collections; also copies of laws transmitted to the proprietary for his assent. We have grants of land and rent-rolls of the various counties from 1640 to 1761.
Here also is a great mass of documents illustrating every phase of the boundary dispute between Maryland and Pennsylvania, from the granting of the latter colony to the completion of Mason and Dixon's survey in 1768, with the maps submitted in the process of the suit; among which last are Mason and Dixon's own map, and a copy on vellum of the famous forged map on which Cape Henlopen
5
Page 34 { page image }
was misplaced, so that the southern boundary of Delaware was run some twenty miles south of the line agreed upon.
We have a collection of receipts for the Indian arrows which the Proprietary was bound by his charter to tender every year at Windsor Castle; and among these the very first, of the date of 1633.
We have some twenty documents, all new to us, relating to Avalon; of which one is an inspeximus of the Charter in 1634, authenticated by the Great Seal of England.
There are also several hundred letters from the Proprietaries, the governors, and other persons of consequence; and many private letters of great interest, some of which throw curious light upon the obscure beginnings of the colony.
The heraldic and genealogical parchments are curious and attractive. Among them we have the original patent of nobility creating George Calvert first Baron of Baltimore; a beautiful piece of calligraphy and illumination, bearing the Great Seal of James I, and a miniature of that monarch.
There are also several other heraldic scrolls, richly blazoned, relating to the Calverts and other families. There are impressions of the Great Seals of England, from Elizabeth to George III: the Great Seals of Maryland, Virginia and New York; the seals of several kings-at-arms, and others of less interest.
Page 35 { page image }
I am aware that all this is little more than a very imperfect fragment of cataloguing, neither complete nor entertaining; but under the circumstances it cannot be helped. The importance of many of these papers could only be made clear by an introductory explanation of the omissions they supply, the errors they rectify, or the obscurities on which they throw light. Others of less striking interest, are valuable as serving to fill gaps in a series which is now, I believe, more continuous than any of the colonial archives. But for this evening I have preferred to dip here and there into the mass for fragments, in themselves curious and interesting, which will require the least amount of preface.
The first paper I shall bring to your notice is remarkable in two respects: It is absolutely the most ancient Maryland document known to be in existence (for although the charter is older, of that we have only official copies of later date); and it is also remarkable as clearly showing the intentions of the Proprietary with respect to religious toleration. You are all aware that there has been much idle discussion about this matter, many imperfectly informed persons dating Maryland toleration from the Act of 1649. We have now proof that this was from the first the purpose of the founder of Maryland; and that the Act of 1649 only formulated the policy which had ruled in the province from its very beginning.
Page 36 { page image }
The Ark and the Dove left Gravesend on October 18th, 1633, and proceeded to the Isle of Wight, where they took on board Fathers White and Altham, and some others, and lay there until November 30th. Just before their sailing a copy of instructions from the Proprietary was sent to Leonard Calvert and Messrs. Hawley and Cornwaleys, the heads of the expedition, containing precepts for their governance during the voyage and on their arrival. This paper is in Cecilius' handwriting, and from the interlineations and erasures is evidently the draft from which a fair copy was afterwards made.
[See No. 1.]
The next paper is a report by Governor Leonard Calvert of the circumstances attending the reduction of Kent Island--or rather of the trading post upon that island--in February, 1638. Two or three of the leading men at this post, which had been established for the purpose of trade with the Indians, by a firm of London merchants who had no grant of land from any source and whose representatives on the island were simply squatters--these leaders undertook to hold out against Baltimore's authority, so that he had either to throw up his charter, or compel them to acknowledge it.
[See No. 9.]
The next paper is a long letter written in November, 1642, by Cecilius to Leonard. We have scarcely
Page 37 { page image }
any writings from Cecilius except such as are of a purely formal character, and it is pleasant to find him here in confidential communication with his brother.
The whole tone of the letter is affectionate, though the extract which I shall read is one in which he takes Leonard sharply to task for disobedience of orders in granting land to certain parties contrary to his brother's express prohibition.
[See No. 12.]
The next is a very long letter written by Charles, son of Cecilius and governor of the Province, to his father in April, 1672. It is full of curious and interesting details about matters in Maryland; but the time will not allow me to read more than a few sentences about the interchange of gifts between father and son.
[See No. 14.]
The last paper which I shall read is a holograph letter from William Penn to some Marylanders near the head of the bay. Notwithstanding the enormous size of the grant he had received, Penn cast longing eyes upon the Chesapeake, and was all his life trying to extend his boundary southward at Maryland's expense. Shortly after his charter had been signed, he wrote to Charles, Lord Baltimore, a letter full of friendly professions, asking and promising neighborly comity, and desiring that
Page 38 { page image }
their conduct toward each other might be regulated by the simple rule, "do as thou wouldst be done to." His next step was to write a characteristic letter to Herrman and other influential Marylanders in the north of the province, to induce them, partly by fair words, and partly by veiled threats, to revolt against Baltimore's authority. This letter I shall read. The original, as I said, is entirely in Penn's handwriting, and bears his seal as well as Herrman's indorsement.
[See No. 19.]
Among other interesting documents exhibited at the meeting, were the following:
Exemplification of the Arms of Sir George Calvert.
To All And Singvlar As well Nobles, and gentles as others to whom theis presents shall come Sir Richard St. George Knight Norroy Kinge of Arms of the North parts of the Realme of England from the Riuer of Trent Northward send greetinge. Forasmuch as auntiently from the beginninge the virtuous and worthy actes of excellent persons haue bene commended to the World, with sundry monuments and Remembraunces of their good deserts amongest which the cheifest and most usuall haue bene the bearinge of Signes and tokens in Sheilds, called Armes which are evident demonstrac?ns and Testimonyes of proues & valour dyuersly distributed accordinge to the qualitie and deserts of the persons merrittinge the same, which order as it was prudently deuised to stirr vp and enflame the harts of men to the Imitac?n of Virtue, even soe hath the same bene, and yet is contynued to the intent that such as haue done Commendable Service to their Prince and Countrey either in warre or in peace, may therefore receiue due
Page 39 { page image }
honor in their owne Lyues and also deriue and contynue the same successiuely to their posterity for euer. Amongest which nomber for that I fynd the right Honourable Sir George Caluert Knight one of his Maiesties principall Secretaryes of State and his auncestors to haue recided in the North parts of this Kingdome, and not only to haue liued their in the Ranke and reputac?n of gent: and bene bearers of such badges and Ensignes of honor amongest vs, but further haue seene an exact collection made by Mr. Richard Verstegan an Antiquarie in Antwarpe sent ouer this last of March 1622, by which it appeareth that the said Sir George is descended of a Noble and auntient familie of that Surname in the Earldome of flanders where they have liued long in great Honor, and haue had great possessions, their principall and auntient Seate being at Warvickoe in the said Province, And that in theis later tymes two brethren of that surname vid: Jaques Calvert Lord of Seuere two leagues from Gaunt remayned in the Netherland broyles on the side of the Kinge of Spayne and hath a sonne who at this present is in honourable place and office in the Parliament Courte at Macklyn, And Leuinus Caluert the other brother tooke parte with the States of Holland and was by them ymployed as their Agent with Henry the fourth late Kinge of Fraunce, which Leuinus Caluert left a sonne in France whom the foresaid Kinge entertayned as a gentleman of his bed chamber. And further it is testefied by the said Mr. Verstegan that the proper Armes belonging to the Familie of the Caluerts is, or, three martletts Sables with this Creast vizt the vpper parte or halues of two Launces the bandroll of the first Sables and the second, or. Nowe forasmuch as I have been required by the said Sir George Caluert Knight to make a true declarac?n of what I haue seene concerninge the worthynes of his auncestors that it maye remayne to posterity from whence they orriginally descended as also that at this instant their is three of that Surname and lyniage lyvinge in three seuerall countryes beinge all men of great emenency and honourable ymployment in the State where they
Page 40 { page image }
liue, which otherwayes by a generall neclect might in future tyme be forgotten and the honor of their auncestors buried in obliuion. And withall for a further manifestac?n and memoriall of the familie from whence he is descended. The said Sir George Caluert is likewise desirous to add some parte of those honourable badges and ensignes of honor which descend vpon him from his auncestors their to those which he and his predecessors haue formerly borne here since their comminge into England. The premisses considered I the said Norroy Kinge of Armes haue thought fitt not only to publishe by the declarac?n what hath come to my hands and Knowledge concerninge the honor of this worthy familie but also to add to the Coate of Armes which they haue borne here in England beinge paley of Sixe peices, or and Sables a bend counterchanged this Creast ensuinge Vizt: the vpper parte of two halfe Launces or, with bandrolls there to appendinge the one or the other Sables standinge in a Ducall Crowne gules as more playnly appeareth depicted in the margent and is the auntient Creast descended vnto him from his auncestors, The which Coate and Creast I the said Norroy Kinge of Armes doe ratifie, approue and confirme vnto the said Sir George Caluert Knight and the yssue of his body foreuer bearinge their due and lawfull differences accordinge to the lawe of Armes in that case prouided. In withes whereof I the said Sir Richard St. George Knight Norroy Kinge of Armes haue hereto put my hand and Seale of my office this third Daye of December 1622. In the yeare of the Raigne of our Soueraigne Lord James by the grace of God Kinge of England France, and Ireland Defendor of the fayth &c. the Twentith, And of Scotland the ffyftie and sixe.
Rd: St. George Norroy.
Page 41 { page image }
Letters Patent
Under the Great Seal of England, to Sir George Calvert, creating him Baron Baltimore of Baltimore in the Kingdom of Ireland.
The entire space upon the parchment occupied by the Patent is about twenty-six inches in width, by seventeen inches in height. Of this space about eight and three-fourth inches in width by seven and one-half inches in height at the upper left hand corner (the dexter canton) is occupied by the initial letter J. The background of this part is black, but tassellated perspectively at the bottom in squares of black and white enriched with gold scrolled work--the whole edged with a plain gold band about one-eighth of an inch wide. The letter J is of blue, edged and beautifully knotted with gold. The letter proper occupies but two sides of the square, and its foot runs into the mouth of the Dragon of the Tudors (tricked as a wyvern, vert, heightened with gold, and enflamed at the mouth, legged gules), which faces to the sinister and occupies the entire foot of the canton. In the open space between the initial proper and the dragon is the portrait of King James the First, three-quarters profile, facing to the sinister, sitting upon his throne, clad in a red mantle, doubled ermine, the small clothes and hose of white silk, with gold rosettes and trimmings (the right knee only showing; the Garter does not appear). He is crowned imperially, and wears the Collar and George; in his right hand he holds a golden sceptre surmounted by a fleur de lis, in his left the orb. The throne is of gold; and behind it is a curtain of deep violet colour.
From this initial letter there runs a bordure of the width of about three and one-half inches along the top and down the left edge of the whole design; and also from the initial letter down the right edge--thus forming three sides of the entire work (the fourth side--the foot--being folded over and fastened down with the cords of the Great Seal which is affixed directly beneath the centre, pendent by a metallic cord passed in and out several times and sufficiently long to leave the Seal entirely clear of the parchment itself). This bordure is also edged in plain gold about oneeighth of an inch wide, and is beautifully ornamented with scrolls, urns, grotesques, and flowers, in gold and colours minutely detailed and skillfully done. The words "Jacobus Dei Gratia Angliae" (except the initial J already referred to) are large and done in gold upon a blue stripe of
6
Page 42 { page image }
the width of about one and one eighth inches, extending from the initial letter across to the bordure on the right. All the lettering is in the usual Court hand, evenly and nicely done, and in black, save as above noted.
On the upper strip of the bordure are three Heraldic trickings, viz: (1)--(dexter, and close to the initial letter) The crest of England [--A lion gardant Or, imperially crowned, tail extended, statant upon an imperial crown gold, jewelled proper, the cap red, turned ermine]--all in front of a large escallop shell ribbed and shaded in blue. (2)--(sinister, and at the extreme right hand upper corner of the entire work) The crest of Scotland [--A lion affronté gules, crowned imperially Or, in the dexter paw a sceptre erect, surmounted by a fleur de lis gold; in the sinister, a sword azure, erect also, hilted and handled also of gold: sedant upon an imperial crown of gold, jewelled proper, the cap red, turned ermine]--all in front of a large escallop shell ribbed and shaded in blue, as before. (3)--(centre, and half way between the two crests) The Royal Atchievement [--the Royal Arms, temp Jac. i, but not as ordinarily tricked, thus: quarterly grand quarters: i and iv, quarterly 1 and 4 England, gules 3 lions passant gardant in pale Or; 2 and 3 France, azure 3 fleur de lis 2 and 1, Or: ii Scotland), Or a lion rampant, within a double treasure, flory counter flory, gules: iii Ireland, azure a harp Or, stringed silver--All within the Garter (dark blue with gold edges, buckle, and champet of gold, the letters Roman and gold also), the intervening space of red, ornamented with gold scroll work spreading out behind the Garter. Above is the imperial crown, of gold, the cap red, turned ermine. The supporters are (dexter) for England: a lion gardant (rampant against the Garter), Or, langued and armed gules, imperially crowned gold, the cap red: (sinister) for Scotland, a unicorn (salient against the Garter), sable, armed, crined, unguled, gorged with a marquis' coronet, therefrom a chain reflexed over the back and terminating between the hind feet in an annulet, Or. Behind the dexter supporter are represented red and pink roses (but no white ones) with golden centres, growing from green stalks leaved proper, etc.; behind the sinister supporter, green thistles with flowers purpure, growing from green stalks, thorned, and leaved green, etc.--The whole Atchievement standing upon a greensward coloured naturally and arranged perspectively]--
It will be seen, by any one at all familiar with English coat-armour, that these three trickings depart considerably from the official blazon--notably (1) in placing England before France in the quartering, (2) in tricking the unicorn sable instead of argent, (3) in gorging the unicorn with a marquis' coronet instead of the royal crown, and (4) in transposing the sceptre and sword
Page 43 { page image }
in the paws of the lion upon the Scottish crest. In the blazon above given exactness of detail has been sought, rather than mere technicality of terms.
The Great Seal affixed is that of England, temporis Jacobi primi, in very dark green wax; it is in a fair state of preservation, but somewhat flattened; and the upper part is gone entirely. What is left of it is easily to be identified by comparison with other known examples of this Seal.
Jacobus Dei gratia Angliæ, | Scocie ffrancie et Hibernie Rex fidei defenfor etc., Archiepiscopis Ducibus Marchionibus Comitibus Vicecomitibus Epifcopis Baronibus Militib 3 | Prepofitis liberis hominibus ac omnibus Officiarijs Miniftris et Subiectis noftris quibufcunque ad quos prefentes litere pervenerint Salutem. Cum eminens | Nobilium numerus Regi fidelium et de Republica benemerentium sit Regni decor et fulcimentum ac gratia favoris amplioris ornentur hi merito in quibus | uberioris servitij studia contemplamur quod nullo modo fieri poteft efficacius quam honoribus rite diftribuendis ex quo non solum ipfi qui ad nobilitatem sint | evecti sed et alij etiam illorum exemplo pari spe incitati ad virtutis studium attendantur Nos itaque in perfona dilecti et perquam fidelis Confiliarij noftri | Georgij Calvert militis morum gravitatem singulares animi dotes candorem integritatem et prudentiam et erga omnes benignitatem et urbanitatem intime | confiderantes, Necnon mente noftra recolentes quanto fide induftria et alacritate nobis infervivit tam in Regno noftro Hibernie quo propter negotia noftra ibidem | graviffima maiorifque momenti non ita pridem specialiter miffus fuit quam in hoc Regno noftro Anglie perquam plures Annos precipue vero poftquam iuxta | perfonam noftram in locum et honorem Confiliarij et principalis Secretarij noftri afcitus fuit. Volentefque vt favoris noftri Regij singulare aliquod signum prefato | Georgio et pofteris suis imperpetuum maneat ex quo non ipfe solum sed et alij etiam perfpiciant quanti apud nos sunt eiufdem Georgij fides et obfequia quantumque | defideramus ipfius virtutes et benemerita remunerare Jpfum in Procerum dicti Regni noftri Hibernie
Page 44 { page image }
numerum afcribendum decrevimus Sciatis igitur quod nos de gratia noftra speciali Ac ex certa | scientia et mero motu noftris prefatum Georgium Calvert Militem ad statum gradum dignitatem et honorem Baronis Baltimore de Baltimore infra Regnum noftrum Hibernie ereximus prefecimus et creavimus | Jpfumque Georgium Calvert Militem Baronem Baltimore de Baltimore predict' tenore prefentium erigimus preficimus et creamus, Eidemque Georgio nomen statum gradum stilum dignitatem titulum et | honorem Baronis Baltimore de Baltimore impofuimus dedimus et prebuimus, Ac per presentes imponimus damus et prebemus, habendum et tenendum eadem nomen statum gradum stilum dignitatem | titulum et honorem Baronis Baltimore de Baltimore predict' prefato Georgio Calvert Militi et heredibus mafculis de Corpore suo exeuntibus imperpetuum. Volentes et per prefentes concedentes | pro nobis heredibus et Succefforibus noftris quod predictus Georgius et heredes sui mafculi predicti nomen statum gradum stilum dignitatem titulum et honorem Baronis Baltimore de Baltimore predict' | succeffive gerant et habeant et eorum quilibet gerat et habeat, et per nomen Baronis Baltimore de Baltimore succeffive vocentur et nuncupentur et eorum quilibet vocetur et nuncupetur Quodque idem Georgius | et heredes sui mafculi predicti succeffive Barones Baltimore de Baltimore predict' in omnibus teneantur et vt Barones dicti Regni nostri Hibernie tractentur et reputentur et eorum quilibet teneatur tractetur | et reputetur, habeantque teneant et poffideant et eorum quilibet habeat teneat et poffideat sedem locum et vocem in Parliamentis et publicis Comitijs atque Confilijs noftris heredum et Succeffor' nr' infra Regnum | noftrum Hibernie inter alios Barones vt Barones Parliamentorum et publicorum Comitiorum atque Confiliorum ibidem. Necnon dictus Georgius et heredes sui mafculi predicti gaudeant et vtantur et | eorum quilibet gaudeat et vtatur per nomen Baronis Baltimore de Baltimore omnibus et singulis talibus Juribus privilegijs preheminencijs et immunitatibus statui Baronis dicti Regni nostri | Hibernie in omnibus rite et de iure pertinentibus quibus ceteri
Page 45 { page image }
Barones dicti Regni noftri Hibernie ante hec tempora melius honorificentius et quietius vfi sunt et gauifi seu in prefenti gaudent et | vtuntur. Volumus etiam et per prefentes concedimus prefato Georgio quod habeat et habebit has literas noftras Patentes sub magno Sigillo noftro Anglie debito modo factas et sigillatas | abfque fine seu feodo magno vel parvo nobis in hanaperio noftro seu alibi ad vfum noftrum proinde quoque modo reddendo solvendo vel faciendo. Co quod expreffa mentio de vero valore annuo vel de | certitudine premifforum sive eorum alicuius aut de alijs donis sive Conceffionibus per nos seu per aliquem Progenitorum sive Predecefforum noftrorum prefato Georgio ante hec tempora factis in | prefentibus minime facta exiftit aut aliquo Statuto Actu Ordinacione Provifione proclamatione sive reftrictione in contrarium inde antehac habit' fact' edit' ordinat' sive provis' aut aliqua alia re caufa | vel materia quacunque in aliquo non obftante. In Cuius rei teftimonium has literas noftras fieri fecimus Patentes. Teste me ipfo apud Weftmonafterium decimo sexto die ffebruarij Anno Regni | noftri Anglie ffrancie et Hibernie vicesimo secundo et Scocie quinquagesimo octauo:
per Breve de privato Sigillo:
Edmondes:
Examinatur per Jo: Bembowe.
Translation.
JAMES, by the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c., to the Archbishops, Dukes, Marquises, Earls, Viscounts, Bishops, Barons, Knights, Governors, freemen, and all our officers, ministers, and subjects whomsoever to whom the present letters shall come, Greeting. Forasmuch as an eminent body of Nobility, faithful to the King and well-deserving of the State is the ornament and prop of a Kingdom, and those worthily are adorned with the grace of more ample favour in whom We behold the zeal of more abundant service which in no wise can be more effectually than by honours rightly distributed, whereby not only they who are elevated
Page 46 { page image }
to nobility, but even others also, incited by their example with a like hope, may be drawn to a zeal for virtue. We therefore, nearly considering in the person of Our well-beloved and entirely faithful Councillor, George Calvert, Knight, gravity of manners, singular gifts of mind, candour, integrity, and prudence, and benignity and urbanity toward all men, and also reflecting in Our mind with how great fidelity, diligence, and alacrity he has served Us, both in Our Kingdom of Ireland, whither, not long ago he was specially sent upon Our most weighty and very important business there, as also in this Our Kingdom of England, throughout many years, but especially since he was advanced near our person to the place and honour of a Councillor and Our principal Secretary, and Willing that some singular mark of Our Royal favour may remain unto the aforesaid George and unto his posterity forever, by which not only he, but Even others also may perceive how highly we prize the fidelity and obedience of the said George, and how much we desire to reward his virtues and merits. We have decreed Him to be inscribed among the number of the peers of Our said Kingdom of Ireland: Know Ye Therefore that We, of Our especial grace, and of Our Sure Knowledge and mere motion, have exalted, preferred, and created the aforesaid George Calvert, Knight, unto the estate, degree, dignity and honour of Baron Baltimore of Baltimore within Our Kingdom of Ireland, and Him the same George Calvert Knight, by the tenor of these presents, We do exalt, prefer, and create Baron Baltimore of Baltimore aforesaid; and upon the said George the name, estate, degree, style, dignity, title and honour of Baron Baltimore of Baltimore We have imposed, conferred, and bestowed, and by these presents do impose, confer, and bestow To Have and to hold the said name, estate, degree, style, dignity, title and honour of Baron Baltimore of Baltimore aforesaid unto the aforenamed George Calvert, Knight, and to the heirs male of his body issuing, forever: Willing, and by these presents granting, for Us, Our heirs and successors, that the aforesaid George and his heirs male
Page 47 { page image }
aforesaid, shall successively bear and have, and each one of them shall bear and have, the name, estate, degree, style, dignity, title, and honour of Baron Baltimore of Baltimore aforesaid, and successively shall be called and named, and each one of them shall be called and named, by the name of Baron Baltimore of Baltimore: And that the said George and his heirs male aforesaid shall successively be held in all respects Barons Baltimore of Baltimore aforesaid, and as Barons of Our said Kingdom of Ireland shall be treated and reputed, and each one of them shall be held, treated, and reputed; and shall have, hold, and possess and each one of them shall have, hold and possess, seat, place, and voice in the Parliaments, public Assemblies, and Councils of Us, Our heirs and Successors within Our Kingdom of Ireland, among the other Barons, as Barons of Parliaments, public Assemblies, and Councils there. And also that the said George, and his heirs male aforesaid, shall enjoy and use and each one of them shall enjoy and use, by the name of Baron Baltimore, all and Singular such Rights, privileges, prëeminences and immunities unto the estate of a Baron of our said Kingdom of Ireland in all things rightfully and lawfully appertaining, as the other Barons of Our said Kingdom of Ireland heretofore better, more honorably, and more peaceably have used and enjoyed, or at present enjoy and use. We will also, and by these presents do grant unto the aforenamed George that he have and shall have these Our letters Patent under Our Great Seal of England duly made and sealed, without fine or fee, great or small, to us into Our Hanaper or elsewhere to Our use therefor in any manner to be returned, paid or made, Inasmuch as express mention of the true yearly value, or of the certainty of the premises, or of any of them; or of other gifts or grants by Us or by any of Our Progenitors or Predecessors unto the aforenamed George heretofore made, doth not occur in these presents, any Statute, Act, Ordinance, Provision, Proclamation or restriction to the contrary thereto heretofore had, made, published, ordained or provided, or any other thing, cause, or
Page 48 { page image }
matter whatsoever in anywise notwithstanding. In testimony whereof these Our letters Patent We have caused to be made. Witness Myself at Westminster on the sixteenth day of February in the year of our Reign of England, France, and Ireland, the twenty-second, and of Scotland the fifty-eighth.
By Writ of the Privy Seal
EDMONDES.
Will of Sir George Calvert Lord Baltimore dated 14. Ap: 1632 and proved on 21 of the same month in the prerogative Court of Canterbury.
In the name of God Amen I Sir George Caluert Knight Lord Baltimore being sicke of bodie but well in minde doe hereby declare my last will, and Testament to be ffirst I doe bequeath my soule to God, and my bodie to the ground Item I doe bequeath my lands, goods, and Chattells of what nature soeuer to my eldest sonne Cicill Caluert either in England, or Ireland, and elsewhere Item I doe giue, and bequeath to my daughter Hellen Caluert the some of Twelue hundred pounds to be paied vnto hir out of the monyes remayninge in the hands of my Lord Cottington, and Sr William Ashton ffeoffees for those monies to the vse of my younger Children wch some I doe desire to be paied vnto hir within sixe monethes next after my death, And I doe bequeath the remainder of those monies in the ffeoffees hands aforemenc?ned (this said porc?n being deducted) to be equally deuided amongest my three younger sonnes vizt Leonard, George, and Henry Caluert to be paied vnto them att theire seuerall ages of One, and Twenty--respectiuely. Item I doe giue, and bequeath to my youngest sonne Phillipp Caluert the some of three hundred pounds to be paied vnto him att the age of one, and Twenty, And for his educac?n and maintenance in the meane tyme I doe order and require my eldest sonne Cicell Caluert to take care, and be att the charge thereof. Item I doe give vnto my daughter Anne
Page 49 { page image }
Peaseley and my daughter Grace Talbot each of them a Crosse of Goulde of the valew of ffortie shillings a peece, And likewise to my sonne in Lawe Robert Talbott, and William Peaseley Two other crosses of Gould of the same valew to be given vnto them within one moneth after my death. Item I doe give to my seruant William Mason the so?e of ffortie pounds Item I doe giue vnto my seruant Bridgett Draycoate the so?e of Twenty pounds. Item I doe giue vnto my seruant Edward Burke the some of ffyue pounds All which three fo?s to my seruants my will is that they be paied vnto them within Sixe monethes next after my death. Item I doe heereby appoint, and require my Sonne Cicill Caluert to paie and discharge all my debts that shall appeare to be due And all theise Legacies heerebefore menc?ned that are heere Charged vpon him And for better pforman? of this my last will, and Testamt I doe heereby nominate my sonne Cicell Caluert to be my sole Executor And desire my Noble, and auntient freinds the Lord Viscount Wentworth, and the Lord Cottington to be my ouerseers and supuisors thereof whome I likewise humblie request to haue a care of my poore familie, and to Patronize, and loue it as they have bene pleased to doe vnto mee ever since our first Acquaintau??e in Cort and elsewhere Item I doe give alsoe which I should haue menc?ned before amongst my kindred att Kiplie in the North the so?e of Twenty pounds to be disposed, att the discrec?n of my Executor and sonne Cicell Caluert because he knoweth the parties. In witnes whereof I haue this ffowerteenth daye of Aprill One Thowsand Sixe hundred Thirtie and Two putt my hande, and seale vnto this my last will, and Testament. Memorandum vpon further Considerac?n my will, and pleasure is That my sonne Leonard Caluert in regard that he is allreadie a man, and my second sonne he shall haue Nyne hundred pounds to be paied him within sixe monethes after my death out of the monyes remayninge in trust in the hands of the Lord Cottington, and Sr William Ashton my ffeoffees. And the remainder of the monies in theire hands (The saide porc?ns to my daughter Hellen and
7
Page 50 { page image }
my sonne Leonard being deducted I doe bequeath to be devided equallie betweene my sonnes George Caluert, and Henry Caluert to be paied vnto them att the yeares of One and Twentie. And my will is that the first porc?n menc?ned in this will to be given to my sonne Leonard shalbe voide; GEORGE BALTIMORE This was signed, and sealed in the prsence of vs And before the saide signeing, and sealing besides the small interlyning in the other page theise words (my sonne Cicell Caluert to be my sole Executor) menconed betweene the fourth and fifte lyne of this page besides theise other little interlinings were made. Tobie Mathew Leonard Caluert, Will: Peasely Will: Mason.
[This copy issued out of the prerogative Court of James Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of all Ireland and Metropolitan, and is tested June 5th, 1632.]
The Inventory of the Estate of Mr. George Calvert, Lord Baltimore.
A true and perfect Inventare of all and singuler the goods Creditts & Chattells of the Right hoble George Lord Baltimore deceased wch he had at the tyme of his death in this Kingdom of England taken the first day of ffebruary Anno D? 1632. stilo Anglie and praised by Wm Peasly John Langford and Thos ffludd as ffolloweth vizt.
Page 51 { page image }
Goods and ymplements of house & householdstuffe remayning in his Lo??s house in the backeside of Lincolnes Inne feilde vizt.
Page 52 { page image }
Page 53 { page image }
Page 54 { page image }
This copy is duly tested by Gilbert Dethick, Notary Public, 1, ffeb. 1632--3.
Tender of the First Year's Rent.
[Indorsement] 23 Aprill 1633.
Coppy of my letter | to the Deputy Constable | of Windsor Castle when | I sent my first rent | of 2 Indian Arrowes for | Mary Land. | by John Langford.
Sr
By a late grant of a Territory or continent of land called Mary Land in America, passed vnto me vnder the greate seale of England I am to pay his Matie at every yeare on the Tuesday in Easter weeke at his castle of Windsor two Indian arrowes: as a yearely rent for the said Territory. wch Arrowes I have accordingly sent by this bearer my seruant to be payd accordingly. and I desire yor acquittance for the receipt of them
so I rest Yor very louing freind.
Receipt for the First Year's Rent.
[Indorsement] 23 Aprill 1633
being Tuesday in Easter weeke.
A certificate of the tendring of my rent to the King at Windsot Castle for Mary Land: by the hands of John Langford.
Tuesday the xxiiith day of Aprill 1633 in the Ninth yeare of the raigne of or Soveraigne Lord King Charles.
Memorand. that the day and yeare abouesaid the right honorable Cecill Lord Baltimore hath tendred and left by the handes of his Seruant John Langford at and in the Castle of Windsor in the Countie of Berk Two Jndian Arrowes for one yeares rent due to
Page 55 { page image }
the Kinges Matie this present day for a Territory or continent of land called Maryland in America granted by his Matie vnder the great Seale of England to the said Lord Baltimore vnder the yearlie rent aforesaid. Jn testimonie whereof we have herevnto subscribed the day and yeare abouesaid.
Information about SGML version of this document.
| PREVIOUS | NEXT | NEW SEARCH |