Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

Stephen Bordley (c. 1710-1764)
MSA SC 3520-113

Biography:

Born before March 30, 1710 in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland.  Son of Thomas Bordley (c. 1683-1726) and Rachel Beard Bordley (d. 1722).  Attended school in Blackheath, London, England; law apprentice in London, England.  Unmarried; no children.

Stephen Bordley was born in Annapolis shortly before his baptism in the Anglican Church on March 30, 1710.  He was about 13 years old when he was sent to England to study at "Mr. Richardson's School on Blackheath near Greenwich," where he obtained a classical education before moving to London to study business under a local merchant.  Unhappy with the prospect of a career in business, Bordley began a law apprenticeship under a Mr. Page, and was admitted to the Inner Temple (Inns of Court)  in 1729.  He returned to Annapolis in 1733, where he resided with his sister Elizabeth in the home built by his father, now called the Bordley-Randall House.  He was a lawyer and was admitted to practice in the Anne Arundel and Prince George's County courts in June 1733; in the Baltimore County courts in August 1733; in the Provincial Court in October 1739; in the Court of Chancery by October 1741; in the Frederick County courts in March 1748/49; and in the Kent County courts by March 1753.  He served in the Lower House of Assembly representing Annapolis in 1745, representing Anne Arundel County from 1749 to 1751, and representing Annapolis again from 1754 to 1756.  He was also a naval officer of Annapolis from 1755 to 1762.  From 1756 to 1763 he served as attorney general.  He also served in the Upper House of Assembly from 1759 to 1761 and again from 1762 to 1763.  He was a member of the Council from 1759 to 1764 and was commissary general from 1762 to 1764.  He was an Anglican and attended St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Annapolis, serving as vestryman from 1742 to 1745.  He was a common councilman in Annapolis from 1754 to 1755 and again from 1757 to 1760; and was an Annapolis alderman from 1760 to 1763 and mayor of Annapolis from 1761 to 1762.  He was a member of the Tuesday Club, Annapolis, 1748-56.  In the summer of 1763 he suffered a stroke and was an invalid by 1764.  He died on December 6, 1764 at his home in Annapolis.

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