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A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature 1635-1789 by Edward C. Papenfuse, et. al.
Volume 426, Page 274   View pdf image (33K)
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DOR BIOGRAPHIES

the peace, Somerset County, in office 1794 and
1801; judge, Somerset County, in office 1799. MIL-
ITARY SERVICE: colonel, Princess Anne Battalion,
Somerset County Militia, commissioned 1781. OUT
OF STATE SERVICE: presidential elector, 1796 (for
John Adams). WEALTH DURING LIFETIME. PER-
SONAL PROPERTY, assessed value £602.8.0, includ-
ing 12 slaves and 18 oz. plate, 1783. ANNUAL IN-
COME: law fees for practice in Somerset County
and Worcester County courts totaled £25.15.0
current money and 66,569 pounds of tobacco in
1785. LAND AT FIRST ELECTION: 555 acres in
Somerset County (by deed of gift from his mother
and brother). SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN LAND

BETWEEN FIRST ELECTION AND DEATH: sold 300

acres in Somerset County between 1785 and 1803;
owned 4 lots in Princess Anne, Somerset County,
but he sold 2 of these lots and leased out 2 other

lots, 1797-1829. WEALTH AT DEATH. DIED: in Oc-

tober 1831 in Annapolis. PERSONAL PROPERTY:
assessed value £659.0.0, including 3 slaves and 29
oz. plate, 1831. He sold several slaves to an un-
married daughter for $300.00, 1827-1829; he sold
many more slaves for $4,000.00 in 1831.

DORSEY, EDWARD (?-1705). BORN: probably
in Virginia; first son. IMMIGRATED: in 1649 as a
minor with his parents and siblings from Virginia.
RESIDED: in Anne Arundel County; Baltimore
County, by 1700. FAMILY BACKGROUND. FATHER:
Edward Dorsey (?-1659), who immigrated to Vir-
ginia by 1642 from Middlesex, England, and set-
tled in Lower Norfolk County; he was a Quaker
by 1657. BROTHERS: John Dorsey (ca. 1645-
1714/15); Joshua (?-1688); and probably Samuel.
NEPHEW John Dorsey (ca. 1682-?). MARRIED first,
ca. 1670 Sarah, daughter of Nicholas Damans
Wyatt. MARRIED second, Margaret, daughter of
John Lar km. She subsequently married John Isaac
(or Israel). CHILDREN. SONS: Edward (?-died
young); Joshua, who married Ann, daughter of
Henry Ridgely (1669-1699/1700); John, who mar-
ried Honor Elder; Samuel; Nicholas, who married
Frances Hughes; Benjamin; Larkin; Francis; and
Edward. DAUGHTERS: Sarah, who married John
Petticoate; Hannah, who married Joseph Howard
(1676-1736), son of Cornelius Howard (?-1680);
and Anne, who married John Hammond (?-1755),
son of Charles Hammond (ca. 1670-1713). PRI-
VATE CAREER. EDUCATION: literate. RELIGIOUS
AFFILIATION: Protestant. SOCIAL STATUS AND

ACTIVITIES: recommended for a position on the
Council in 1689 and 1696/97, but he was never
commissioned; his sons held no public office
higher than county justice. OCCUPATIONAL PRO-

FILE: planter; merchant; contractor. PUBLIC CA-
REER. LEGISLATIVE SERVICE: Lower House, Anne
Arundel County, 1694-1697 (probably Laws 6),
Baltimore County, 1701-1704 (Laws 2), 1704-
1705 (Elections and Privileges, chairman 1; Ag-
grievances, chairman 2; died before the 4th ses-
sion). OTHER PROVINCIAL OFFICE: judge, Court of
Chancery, 1694-1696. LOCAL OFFICES: justice,
Anne Arundel County, 1679-1685, 1686-1689,
Baltimore County, by 1701-1705. MILITARY SER-
VICE: captain, 1686-1687; major, 1687-1689,
1694-1702; colonel, by 1704-1705. STANDS ON
PUBLIC/PRIVATE ISSUES: his strong support of
Lord Baltimore in 1689 brought his dismissal
from his justiceship and militia commission after
the overthrow of the proprietary government; he
testified against the Protestant Associators in En-
gland, 1690; he was accused of being a Jacobite,
1692. WEALTH DURING LIFETIME. LAND AT
FIRST ELECTION: over 1,000 acres. WEALTH AT
DEATH. DIED, will probated on December 31,
1705. PERSONAL PROPERTY: TEV, £721.9.8 ster-
ling (including 13 slaves and 2 servants); FB,
£573.8.11. LAND, over 1,247 acres.

DORSEY, EDWARD (1718-1760). BORN: in Sep-
tember 1718 in Anne Arundel County; sixth of
eight sons. NATIVE: fourth generation. RESIDED:
maintained a house in Annapolis and a residence
at his plantation, "Dorsey," in Anne Arundel

County. FAMILY BACKGROUND. FATHER: Caleb

Dorsey, Gent. (1683-1742), of Anne Arundel
County. MOTHER: Elinor (1683-1752), daughter of
Richard Warfield and wife Eleanor Brown.
BROTHERS: Basil (1705-1763), twin to Achsah,
who married Sarah Worthington; John (1708-?),
who married Elizabeth Dorsey; Caleb (1710-?),
who married Priscilla Hill; Samuel (1712-1739),
never married; Richard (1714-?), who married
Elizabeth Beale, widow of William Nicholson;
Joshua (1720-1744), never married; and Thomas
Beal (1727-?), who married Ann Worthington.
SISTERS: Achsah (1705-?), who married first,
Amos Woodward, and second, Edward Fatterell;
Sophia (1707-?), who married Thomas Gough;
Elinor (1715/16-?), who married first, Thomas
Todd, and second, William Lynch; Deborah
(1722-?), who married second, Ely Dorsey; and
Mary (1725-ca. 1787), who married John Ridgely
(?-1771). NEPHEWS: Harry Dorsey Gough (ca.
1745-1808); Thomas Dorsey (?-1790); and Charles
Ridgely, of John (?-ca. 1787). NIECES: Achsah
Dorsey, who married Ephraim Howard (1745-
1788); Rebecca Dorsey, who married Charles
Ridgely (1733-1790); Eleanor Dorsey, who mar-

274



 

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A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature 1635-1789 by Edward C. Papenfuse, et. al.
Volume 426, Page 274   View pdf image (33K)
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