William Hammond Dorsey
(1764-1819)
MSA SC 3520-362
Biography
Born: February 12, 1764, at "Oaklands," in the
Elkridge section of Anne Arundel or Baltimore counties; fourth
son.
Native: At least third generation.
Resided: in Georgetown, D.C., and
Montgomery County.
Family
Background:
Father: Col.
John Dorsey (ca. 1736-1810), amassed a fortune from iron deposits on
Curtis Creek in Anne Arundel County, which enabled him to establish
John Dorsey & Co. in Baltimore Town; eventually his company
became
insolvent and he lost practically all of his former wealth.
Mother:Mary (ca. 1738-?), daughter of Col. William
Hammond and wife Elizabeth Hughes.
Brothers: Robert
(1758-1841); Larkin (1760-?), a captain in the Revolution who died in
the West Indies; Alexander (1762-1813); Walter (1771-?), a merchant,
who married Hopewell, daughter of Vernon Hebb, of St. Mary's County;
John E. (1773-?), a merchant, who married Margaret, widow of (first
name unknown) Hudson; and Clement (1773-1848), a major in the militia
from 1812 to 1818, judge of the Fifth Circuit Court of Maryland, who
married first, Priscilla, daughter of Vernon Hebb, of St. Mary's
County, and second, Decandia, widow of Henry Smith and daughter of
Henry Ireland and wife Susannah Reeder.
Sisters: Elizabeth
(1766-?), who married Edward Dorsey; Sarah (1768-1846).
Married:
First, Anne Brooke (1773-1802), Daughter of Richard Brooke (1736-1788)
m. Nov. 2, 1789; Second, in 1808, Rosina Lynn (Aunt of Anne Brooke).
Children
Sons:
Robert E. (?-1876), a physician, who married on July 20, 1826, Sarah
Duvall; Richard Brooke (1790-?), who married his first cousin Anne,
daughter of Clement Dorsey; James M. (1798-1808); and William Hammond
(1800-?), who married on October 31, 1825, Susan Robertson.
Daughters: Anne (1792-died young); Maria A.
(1794-?), who married William Johnson.
Private Career
Education: Literate.
Religious Affiliation: Unknown. Though Dorsey
married a woman of Quaker lineage, there is no evidence that he himself
was Quaker.
Occupational Profile: Ironmaster;
joint partner in the Etna Furnace with his brothers Walter and John.
Heavily in debt, the business was sold for $102,697.70 in
1813.
Public Career.
Legislative Service: House of Delegates, Montgomery
County, 1788; Senate, Western Shore, 1796-1800.
Out of State Service:
Judge, Orphans' Court, Washington, D.C., appointed 1801.
Wealth During Lifetime
Property:
18 slaves, 1790; assessed value £593.0.0, including 15 slaves,
1798-1812; assessed value £483.5.0, including 3 slaves, 1813.
Significant Changes in Land Between First Election and Death:
Acquired at least 4,500 acres in Montgomery County through his marriage
in 1789. Between 1794 and 1802 he sold or mortgaged all except ca. 500
acres. Purchased 792 acres in Montgomery County (592 acres of this
between 1813 and 1816) and sold 246 acres between 1815 and 1818; the
sale of the ironworks owned by him and his two brothers included 5,810
acres in Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties, 1813.
Wealth
at Death.
Died:
Administration bond granted on January 24, 1819, in Montgomery
County.
Personal Property:
Total Estate Value, $13,031.31 (including 3 slaves, more than 48 books,
and plate); Final Balance- $10,481.23.
Land:
Probably ca. 1,050 acres in Montgomery County.
Source: Edward C. Papenfuse, et al., eds. A
Biographical Dictionary
of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789. Vol I. Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1985, p. 279. Additional research by Jackson
Gilman-Forlini, DAR Research Fellow, 2012.
Return to William Hammond Dorsey's Introductory Page
|
Tell Us What You Think About the Maryland State Archives Website!
|