Benedict Leonard Calvert (1679-1715)
Fourth Lord Baltimore
MSA SC 3520-190
Biography:
Born: 1679 in Maryland; oldest surviving son.
Native: Second generation.
Resided: St. Mary's County; England after 1684.
Died: April 16, 1715, at Epsom, Surrey, England.
Family Background:
Father: Charles
Calvert, 3rd Lord Baltimore (1637-1714/15).
Mother: Jane
Lowe Sewall (?-1700).
Brothers:
Cecilius Calvert
(1667-1681);
Charles Calvert
(1680-1733).
Half Brothers:
Nicholas Sewall (ca. 1655-1737).
Sisters: Clare Calvert (1670-by 1694); Anne Calvert (1673-1713).
Half Sisters: Jane Sewall; Elizabeth Sewall; Anne Sewall; and Mary
Sewall.
Married: In 1698/99 Charlotte Lee (?-1721), daughter of Edward
Henry Lee (1663-1716), earl of Lichfield, and wife Charlotte Fitzroy. Divorced
in 1705, Charlotte subsequently married in 1719 Christopher Crewe.
Children:
Sons:
Charles Calvert, 5th
Lord Baltimore (1699-1751);
Benedict Leonrd Calvert
(1700-1732);
Edward Henry Calvert
(1701-1730), who married Margaret Lee; and Cecilius Calvert (1702-1765), principal secretary of Maryland, who served
jointly with Thomas Beake from January 1729/30 to February 1732/33, and alone from 1751 until death.
Daughters: Charlotte Calvert (1702-1744), who married Thomas Brerewood; Jane Calvert (1703-?), who married
in 1720 John Hyde, of Kingston Isle, Berkshire, England; Barbara Calvert (1704-?); and Anne Calvert.
Private Career:
Education: Literate, probably had extensive schooling.
Religious Affiliation: Catholic, converted to Anglicanism in 1713.
Social Status and Activities: Close associate of Francis North,
Lord Guilford, who as a member of the Board of Trade and a prominent Tory,
aided in obtaining the restoration of the proprietary government and became
guardian of Charles Calvert, 5th Lord Baltimore, in 1715.
Additional Comments: His mother-in-law, Charlotte Fitzroy, was the natural daughter of King Charles II.
Occupational Profile: Lord proprietor of Maryland, 1714/15-1715.
Public Career:
Out of Colony Service: M.P., (Tory), Harwich, Essex, England, 1714-1715.
Stands of Public/Private Issues: His conversion to Protestantism was an important condition leading to the
restoration of the colony to Calvert family as a proprietary colony.
Wealth During Lifetime:
Personal Property: Given £600 a year by his father at
the time of marriage, he was nevertheless often in financial straits. He
was dependent on Queen Anne for support after his divorce, because his
fathering of illegitimate children by his housekeeper and his religious
conversion caused a break with his father. Calvert received an annual pension
of £300 and an estimated £1,500 in arrears of customs duties
from Maryland, 1713/14-1714/15. His father claimed to have paid a considerable
amount of his son's debts and was paying for the education of his grandchildren.
Wealth at Death:
Size of estate unknown.
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