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of Ridgely, Howard & Lux by the late 1760s and
involved with the Ridgely family ironworks. Under
the terms of his father-in-law's will, Lux was ap-
pointed trustee of the one-third share of the iron-
works devised to his wife and her two sisters. By
1783 the ironworks, owned by Charles Ridgely
(1733-1790) and Lux & Company, was assessed
for 1,375 acres of land in Baltimore County and
for personal property valued at £4,257.5.0, in-
cluding improvements and 29 slaves. In 1782, Lux
joined with his Ridgely relatives and others in
purchasing 4,740 acres of land in Baltimore County,
plus slaves and equipment, formerly belonging to
the Nottingham Forge and confiscated by the state
as British property. In 1785 Lux and the Ridgelys
purchased 900 acres of land confiscated from the
Principle Company. Lux sold his one-eighth in-
terest in these ironworks to Charles Carnan Ridgely
in 1791, but repurchased a small share of the
Principle land in 1793. Lux was also involved in
a lead mining operation in Baltimore County dur-
ing the Revolution, and maintained a sizable home
plantation. PUBLIC CAREER. LEGISLATIVE SERV-
ICE: Conventions, Baltimore County, 4th, 1775,
5th, 1775. LOCAL OFFICES: churchwarden, St. Paul's
Parish, Baltimore County, 1768-1769; St. Paul's
Parish Vestry, Baltimore County, 1753-1754;
justice, Baltimore County, appointed 1774-1775;
Committee of Observation, Back River Upper
Hundred, Baltimore County, elected 1774; com-
missioner of the tax, Baltimore County, ap-
pointed 1783, 1785, and 1786. MILITARY SERVICE:
colonel. Gunpowder Battalion, Baltimore County
Militia, 1777-1779 (resigned). WEALTH DURING
LIFETIME. PERSONAL PROPERTY: wife's dower at
time of marriage valued at £2,000.0.0. Assessed
value £1,090.0.0, including 23 slaves and 64 oz.
plate, 1783; owned 20 slaves, 1790. LAND AT FIRST
ELECTION: probably 2,236 acres in Baltimore
County (714 acres as a gift from his brother, ca.
1,164 acres by marriage and wife's inheritance,
112 acres by patent, and 246 acres by purchase).
Lux was taxed in 1771 for a 1,175-acre tract in
Baltimore County, but did not receive title to the
land until much later; his ownership of it in 1774
is questionable. SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN LAND
BETWEEN FIRST ELECTION AND DEATH: sold 157
acres of his wife's inheritance in 1777 and 1783;
purchased 225 acres in 1778, but sold it in 1778
and 1794; purchased 200 acres in 1779; sold a 42-
acre tract previously patented, 1787; in 1787 re-
ceived title to 885 acres of the tract he had been
paying taxes on since 1771. sold 664 acres of that
tract in five parcels in 1789; gave probably 555
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acres of Rachel's inheritance to their son William
in 1793 and Rachel's one-fourth share of her
brother Charles's land to son Darby, Jr., in 1794.
All land transactions were in Baltimore County.
WEALTH AT DEATH. DIED: on April 10, 1795, in
Baltimore County; buried in St. Paul's church-
yard on April 12, 1795. PERSONAL PROPERTY: TEV,
£1,027.19.5 current money (including 24 slaves
and 42 oz. plate); FB, estate overpaid £98.19.4.
LAND: probably 2,067 acres in Baltimore County.
LUX, WILLIAM (by 1730-1778). BORN: in All
Hallows Parish, Anne Arundel County, baptized
on February 18, ca. 1730, of age by 1745; prob-
ably eldest son. NATIVE: second generation. RE-
SIDED: in Baltimore Town, 1743-1752; "Chats-
worth," Baltimore County, 1752-death. FAMILY
BACKGROUND. FATHER: Darby Lux (ca. 1698-1750).
MOTHER: Ann (ca. 1705-1785), daughter of Rob-
ert Sanders (?-1755) of Anne Arundel County
and wife Rebeckath Groome (?-1752). BROTH-
ERS: Darby Lux (?-1795); Robert (?-1796). SIS-
TERS: Mary (by 1730-?); Sarah (?-ca. 1734);
Elizabeth; Ann; Sarah; Rebecca (?-by 1780);
Frances; and Jane. FIRST COUSINS: Anne Jennings
(1745-1794), who married Thomas Johnson, Jr.
(1732-1819); Ann Baldwin, who married Samuel
Chase (1741-1811); and Hester Baldwin (?-1832),
who married Jeremiah Townly Chase (1748-1828).
NEPHEW: Daniel Bowley (1745-1807). NIECE: Anne
Hughes (1771-?), who married William Fitzhugh,
Jr. (1761-1839). MARRIED on July 16, 1752, Agnes
(1731-1783), daughter of Dr. George Walker (?-
1743), who immigrated to Baltimore Town in 1715
and built "Chatsworth," and wife Mary, widow
of Jonathan Hanson (?-by 1728), daughter of
Mordecai Price (?-ca. 1717) and wife Mary (?-
1718), a Quaker. Agnes's half sister was Mary
Hanson. Her first cousin was Susannah Walker,
who married William West (ca. 1737-1791). CHIL.
DREN. SONS: George (1753-1797), who married
Catharine Biddle, daughter of Edward Biddle
(1738-1779) of Philadelphia; William (1760-?),
died a minor. PRIVATE CAREER. EDUCATION: lit-
erate. RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: Anglican, St. Paul's
Parish, Baltimore County. SOCIAL STATUS AND
ACTIVITIES: Gent., by 1752; Esq., by 1778. OC-
CUPATIONAL PROFILE: merchant. By 1751 Lux was
selling imported goods in Annapolis as well as in
Baltimore, and during the 1760s he opened a store
in Elkridge Landing, Anne Arundel County, in
partnership with John Stewart. By 1764 he had
formed an association with William Lyon of Bal-
timore County, Charles Grahame (ca. 1721-1779)
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