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Eleanor Dorsey (ca. 1739-1805), who married
John Hall (1729-1797); Mary Dorsey (?-1816),
who married John Weems (1727-1794); Elizabeth
Dorsey (?-ca. 1811), who married Richard Ridgely
(1755-1824); Charles Ridgely, of John (ca. 1749-
1786); Deborah Ridgely (1749-1807), who mar-
ied John Sterett (1750/51-1787); and Mary Ridgely
(?-1804), who married Benjamin Nicholson (?-
1792). Her niece was Ann Worthington (1760-
1809), who mamed John Cradock (ca. 1749-1794).
CHILDREN. SONS: Thomas (1763-17%); John (1765-
?). DAUGHTERS: Katherine (1758-1803), who
married Robert North Carnan (1756-1836);
Eleanor (1760-?); Frances (1767-?), who mar-
ried in 1786 Nicholas Owings; and Rebecca (1770-
?), who married in 1795 Bazabel Wells. PRIVATE
CAREER. EDUCATION: literate. RELIGIOUS AFFILI-
ATION: Anglican. OCCUPATIONAL PROFILE: planter
by 1757; farmer at death. PUBLIC CAREER. LEG-
ISLATIVE SERVICE: Lower House, Baltimore
County, 1769 (elected to the 2nd session of the
1768-1770 Assembly, did not attend; election of
county delegation declared void November 30,
1769, because of misconduct of sheriff), 1771;
Conventions, Baltimore County, 1st, 1774, 4th,
1775 (elected, but did not attend). LOCAL OF-
FICES: churchwarden, St. Thomas' Parish, Balti-
more County, 1758; St. Thomas' Parish Vestry,
Baltimore County, 1763-1765; Committee of
Observation, Soldier's Delight Hundred, Balti-
more County, elected 1774; Committee of Cor-
respondence, Baltimore County, by 1774- in of-
fice 1776. WEALTH DURING LIFETIME. PERSONAL
PROPERTY: assessed value £393.0.0, including 9
slaves. Back River Upper Hundred only, 1783; 9
slaves. Back River Upper Hundred only, 1790.
LAND AT FIRST ELECTION: 844 acres in Baltimore
County (504 acres from father and Talbot heirs;
340 acres acquired through marriage). SIGNIFI-
CANT CHANGES IN LAND BETWEEN FIRST ELEC-
TION AND DEATH: leased 116 acres in Baltimore
County, by 1783. WEALTH AT DEATH. DIED: will
probated April 14, 1792, in Baltimore County.
LAND: 844 acres, plus 116 acres held on lease, all
in Baltimore County.
ROBERTS, JOHN, JR. (1754-1801). BORN: in
1754 in Talbot County; third son of father. NA-
TIVE: at least second generation. RESIDED: in Dis-
trict 2, Talbot County. FAMILY BACKGROUND.
FATHER: Thomas Roberts (?-1769) of Talbot
County, a planter. MOTHER: Rebeckah (Re-
becca). BROTHERS: James (?-by 1768); Thomas;
and Edward (ca. 1758-1810), who married first.
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Anne, and second, Mary. SISTERS. Susannah, who
married in 1750 Solomon Armstrong; Rebeckah
(?-by 1768), who married (first name unknown)
Blake; Elizabeth, who married Jacob Kirby; Mary,
who married Nathan Besswick; and Nancy (ca.
1763-ca. 1770). ADDITIONAL COMMENT: Some of
Robert's brothers and sisters may have been his
half siblings by a previous marriage of his father.
MARRIED first, by 1785, Mary (?-by 1797). MAR-
RIED second, ca. 1798, Sarah (?-1826), widow of
John Turner (?-1797) of Talbot County. CHIL-
DREN. SONS: George (?-1806), who married Sarah;
William. STEPSON: John Turner, who probably
married by 1803, Ann Oldham. ADDITIONAL
COMMENT: Roberts may have had other children.
PRIVATE CAREER. EDUCATION: literate. SOCIAL
STATUS AND ACTIVITIES: Gent., by 1783; Esq., by
1791. OCCUPATIONAL PROFILE: planter. PUBLIC
CAREER. LEGISLATIVE SERVICE: Lower HoUSC,
Talbot County, 1782-1783, 1783, 1784, 1785, 1786-
1787, 1787-1788, probably 1795. OTHER STATE
OFFICE: Maryland Senate elector, Talbot County,
1796. LOCAL OFFICES: justice, Talbot County,
1785-1787, 1791-1795; sheriff, Talbot County,
1788-1791; collector of the tax, Talbot County,
in office 1790; associate justice, Talbot County,
in office 1798, 1801; commissioner to divide Tal-
bot County into election districts, appointed 1800;
trustee of Easton Academy, in office 1800. our
OF STATE SERVICE: presidential elector, 1796.
WEALTH DURING LIFETIME. PERSONAL PROPERTY:
assessed value £330.0.0, including 6 slaves and 12
oz. plate, 1783; 20 slaves, 1790; assessed value
£1,463.13.4, including 21 slaves and 7 oz. plate,
1798. ADDITIONAL COMMENT: By his marriage to
Sarah Turner, Roberts gained control of John
Turner's personal estate, which in 1798 had an
assessed value of £841.6.8 and included 29 slaves
and 17 oz. plate. Sarah's share of this property
was £280.8.11, with the rest being held by Roberts
as guardian of Sarah's son, John. LAND AT FIRST
ELECTION: probably 594 acres in Talbot County
(probably 240 acres inherited from his father, 250
by purchase, and 104 by certificate of survey).
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN LAND BETWEEN FIRST
ELECTION AND DEATH: purchased 482 acres in
Talbot County with his brother Edward in 1784,
sold 148 acres of it in 1785, and then divided the
remainder and some of his father's land with Ed-
ward for a net loss of ca. 36 acres; resurveyed
and patented the lands received in the division
with Edward, plus some vacant land, for a net
gain of 143 acres in 1787, but sold 133 acres of
this new tract in the same year; acquired ca. 600
698
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