Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

Robert Reynolds (1743-1787)
MSA SC 3520-16825 

Biography:

Birth: 30 August 1743 (to William Reynolds and Deborah Syng, Annapolis, MD). Marriage: Mary Wright (Annapolis, MD, 8 September 1763). Children: Deborah (b.22 September 1764), Elizabeth (b.26 June 1767), William (18 June 1769). [1]

On July 14, 1747, the Maryland Gazette recorded that the two eldest children of local hatter and tavern owner, William Reynolds, had drowned.Upon the deaths of his older brothers, Robert, the third child of William and his first wife Deborah Syng, became the eldest son. It is likely that this would have enabled Robert to learn his father's trade as he grew older. By October of 1764, Reynolds had completed his apprenticeship and advertised his services as a hatter operating out of his father's shop on 7 Church Circle, Annapolis, Maryland. In his early twenties, Robert Reynolds had some financial trouble, requiring his father at one point to pay his debts.[2]

In December of 1775, Robert Reynolds was appointed as doorkeeper to the House of Delegates.[3] Between 1775 and 1783, Reynolds appeared in several accounts to the state for caretaking duties to the House of Delegates including providing wood, riding express on behalf of the Governor and Council as a messenger, and general services to the House of Delegates. During this time, Reynolds also served as doorkeeper to the 1776 Council of Safety.[4] In the November session of 1779, Robert Reynolds replaced Allen Quynn as Sergeant at Arms to the House of Delegates, a position he held until 1783 when he was succeeded by Cornelius Mills.[5] That same year, Reynolds appeared on the 1783 tax list listed as a "tavern, inn, and boardinghouse keeper" with a property value of £567.16.8. Reynolds was likely once again working at his family's tavern on Church Circle.[6]

Upon his death in 1787, Robert Reynolds' inventory listed him with a modest amount of chattels amounting to £9.15.0. Reynolds appeared to have owned no property at the time of his death.[7] William Reynolds' tavern, meanwhile, was passed through his second wife, Mary Reynolds, and later to his daughter, Margaret. Reynolds' tavern remains in operation today.
[1] McIntire, Robert Harry. Annapolis Maryland Families. Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, Inc., 1979.
[2] The Maryland Gazette, 14 July 1747, 18 October 1764, 22 May 1766.
[3] Votes and Proceedings of the House of Delegates, 1775, MSA SC M3145.
[4] MARYLAND STATE PAPERS (Series A), 1776, MSA S 1004-2, MdHR 6636-2-41.
[5] Votes and Proceedings of the House of Delegates, 1783, MSA SC M3197.
[6] Papenfuse, Edward C. In Pursuit of Profit: The Annapolis Merchants in the Era of the American Revolution, 1763-1805, Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975, p. 260.
[7] ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY REGISTER OF WILLS (Inventories), 1787, MSA C88-3, MdHR 4813-1.

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