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had a one-third interest in his brother's mercan-
tile firm of John Sterett & Co., and a one-half
interest in his own firm of Samuel Sterett & Co.,
1792. At the time of his death he was the partner
of William G. Harrison in the Baltimore firm of
Harrison & Sterett and had an interest in the firm
of Harrison, Brown & Co. in New Orleans. Ster-
ett was also a licensed auctioneer in partnership
with Hall Harrison, 1829. PUBLIC CAREER. LEG-
ISLATIVE SERVICE: Lower House, Baltimore Town,
1789 (Claims). LOCAL OFFICES: committee to so-
licit subscriptions for the relief of refugees from
St. Domingo, Baltimore Town, 1793; trustee for
erecting a penitentiary for criminals in Baltimore
City, 1805-at least 1808; committee of corre-
spondence protesting attack on the Chesapeake,
Baltimore City, 1807; committee to provide for
the defense of Baltimore City, 1813. MILITARY
SERVICE: colonel, Baltimore City Militia, 1812;
captain, Independent Company of Militia, in-
volved in defense of Ft. McHenry, 1814. OUT OF
STATE SERVICE: appointed private secretary to the
president of Congress, 1782; representative, U.S.
Congress, 1791-1793. STANDS ON PUBLIC/PRI-
VATE ISSUES: president of the Maryland society
for promoting the abolition of slavery, 1791; del-
egate from Maryland to national conventions of
the Abolition Societies of the U.S. in Philadel-
phia, 1794, 1795; signed a petition of merchants
in Baltimore to the president and Congress pro-
testing British seizure of their goods and ships,
1806; held a share in the Society for the Encour-
aging of Arts and Sciences (formerly the Balti-
more Dancing Assembly), 1833. WEALTH DURING
LIFETIME. PERSONAL PROPERTY: forced to petition
for relief as an insolvent debtor, 1792. Sterett was
liable for one-third of ca. £20,000 in debts owned
by John Sterett & Co., and one-half of ca.
£2,200.0.0 in debts owed by Samuel Sterett & Co.
Sterett's personal property list submitted with his
petition of insolvency included at least 14 books,
plate, and 1 Irish servant. He owned no real prop-
erty. His personal property, with the exception
of clothing for himself and his family, was deeded
to a trustee to be sold to satisfy his creditors.
LAND AT FIRST ELECTION: probably none. SIGNIF-
ICANT CHANGES IN LAND BETWEEN FIRST ELEC-
TION AND DEATH: Sterett's father's will, written
in 1792, specifically bequeathed Samuel's share
of his estate to Rebecca and her children by Sam-
uel, presumably to avoid having the assets seized
by Samuel's creditors. Sterett does not appear to
have held much, if any, land during his lifetime.
He often served as trustee on mortgages, but dis-
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charged these duties promptly and did not use
them to acquire real estate for himself. In those
few land transactions where Sterett was a pur-
chaser, he sold the property within a year or so.
In 1814 and 1815, for example, he purchased land
on Gay and Water streets (some of which had
once been part of his father's property), but sold
the land in 1815 for a substantial profit. WEALTH
AT DEATH. DIED: on July 12, 1833, in Baltimore
City; buried in Westminster Presbyterian Church-
yard, Baltimore City. PERSONAL PROPERTY: TEV,
$25,872.28 (including stock in the Mechanics Sav-
ing Fund Society of Baltimore valued at $312.00,
and his interest in the firm of Harrison & Sterett
valued at at least $15,836.30); FB, $6,699.62 (be-
fore payments to legatees). LAND: possibly 12 acres
adjoining Baltimore City, but probably none.
STEUART, GEORGE (1700-ca. 1784). BORN: in
1700, in Perthshire, Scotland. IMMIGRATED: ca.
1721 as a free adult. RESIDED: in Annapolis until
his return to Scotland, 1775. MARRIED ca. 1743
Anne (1718-1814), daughter of Charles Digges
(?-1744) of "Warburton," Prince George's
County, and wife Susanna Maria Lowe. Anne
was the granddaughter of both William Digges
(ca. 1650-1697) and Henry Lowe (?-1717). She
was the niece of Henry Lowe (?-1721); Nicholas
Lowe (?-1728); and Jane Lowe, who married James
Bowles (?-ca. 1727/28). Her brothers were Wil-
liam (1713-1783), who married Ann Attwood;
Henry (?-died young); and Charles (?-died
young). Her sister was Mary Hill. Her first cousin
was Benjamin Hall, of Francis (?-1803). Her
nephew was George Digges (ca. 1742-1792).
CHILDREN. SONS: George Hume, who settled at
the family home in Argaty, Perthshire, Scotland,
and changed his name to George Steuart Hume;
James, who studied medicine at Edinburgh, re-
turned to Annapolis, and married in 1788 Re-
becca Sprigg; David (1750-1814), who fought for
the British during the Revolutionary War, but
returned to Maryland, and is buried at "Dodon,"
Anne Arundel County; Charles, who remained
in Annapolis, and married first, in 1780, Eliza-
beth, daughter of Benedict Calvert (ca. 1724-1788),
and second, in 1784, Mary Waters; and William
(1754-1838), who journeyed to Scotland with his
father in 1775 but returned to Annapolis by 1780
and is buried at "Dodon." DAUGHTERS: Susan-
nah (?-1774), who married in 1769 James Tilgh-
man (1743-1809); Ann; and Jane. Both Ann and
Jane died before their father returned to Scot-
land. PRIVATE CAREER. EDUCATION: graduate of
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