Benedict Swingate Calvert

Benedict Swingate Calvert (January 27, 1722 – January 9, 1788) was an American planter, politician, and judge from Maryland who was a Loyalist during the American Revolution. He was the son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, the third Proprietor Governor of Maryland (1699–1751). His mother's identity is not known, though one source speculates that she was Melusina von der Schulenburg, Countess of Walsingham. As he was illegitimate, he was not able to inherit his father's title or estates, which passed instead to his half brother Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore (1731–1771). Benedict Calvert spent most of his life as a politician, judge and planter in Maryland, though Frederick, by contrast, never visited the colony. Calvert became wealthy through proprietarial patronage and became an important colonial official, but he would lose his offices and his political power, though not his land and wealth, during the American Revolution.

Early life

Calvert was born Benedict Swinket in England on January 27, 1722,

His mother's identity is not known. H. S. Lee Washington, writing in the New England Historic Genealogical Society Register in July 1950, speculates that she was Melusina von der Schulenburg, Countess of Walsingham, the daughter of George I of Great Britain and his mistress, Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal.

According to a letter of Benedict's daughter-in-law Rosalie Stier Calvert dated 10 June 1814, Calvert's mother had been a woman "of the highest rank in England".

Arrival in Maryland In around 1736 or 1737, The population of colony was 120,000 at the time.

According to the letters of Rosalie Stier Calvert, Benedict was personally escorted to Annapolis on a frigate commanded by Admiral Edward Vernon, though this seems unlikely. On arrival, the boy was placed in the care of Dr George Steuart (1700–1784), an Edinburgh-trained physician and a political ally of the ruling Calvert family. Steuart provided the boy with a tutor, the Italian Onorio Razzolini, the first immigrant of Italian descent to hold public office in the North American colonies.

Benedict Calvert grew up at Steuart's "old-fashioned house" on Francis St in Annapolis, just off State Circle and a short walk from the Maryland State House. At least once he was beaten by a town bully; his attacker was brought before the County Court and whipped.

Benedict Calvert would never return to England; nor would he meet his father again. Some time before his death in 1751, Lord Baltimore wrote to his son, offering advice on marriage: Pray do not think of Marrying until you hear from me having some things to Propose for you, much for your advantage, and believe me I will never force Your Inclination, Only Propose what I think will make you most Happy, Afterwards Leave it to Your own Determination. The couple, aged 18 and 17 years, respectively, moved into Elizabeth's house at 58 State Circle, Annapolis.

The marriage was announced in the Maryland Gazette on April 27, 1748: Last Thursday the Honourable Benedict Calvert, Esq., Collector of His Majesty's customs for Patuxent District, etc., was married to Miss Elizabeth Calvert, only surviving Daughter of the late Honourable Charles Calvert, Esq., deceased, former Governor of this province.

In 1751 Calvert's father Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore died, leaving his illegitimate son the estate of Anne Arundel Manor in Anne Arundel County. Unfortunately, Lord Baltimore's legitimate son and heir, Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore, successfully challenged the will and invalidated Benedict's bequest, apparently worth £288 per annum.

Despite the loss of his father's bequest, Calvert's career progressed steadily. In 1755 he became a Judge of the Land Office, sitting alongside his former guardian Dr. George H. Steuart. The Land Office had been created in 1715 to resolve disputes over title to land in the colony.

By 1761 Calvert was wealthy enough to commission formal portraits of his four children: Rebecca, Charles and the twins Eleanor and Elizabeth, by the Maryland portrait painter John Hesselius, three of which are today a part of the permanent collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art.

In 1769 his half-sister Caroline Calvert married Robert Eden (the last royal governor and ancestor of Anthony Eden, British Prime Minister) who in the same year succeeded Governor Horatio Sharpe as Governor of Maryland. Eden and Calvert shared a love of horse racing and Benedict Swingate Calvert would soon find himself appointed to the Governor's Council.

Mount Airy Plantation

In 1751 Calvert inherited a plantation known as Mount Airy, originally a hunting lodge for his great-grandfather Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, near Upper Marlboro in Prince George's County, Maryland, where he grew tobacco. Mount Airy was most likely a gift from his father, Lord Baltimore, who had ensured that Calvert would be provided with lands and revenues. Calvert began construction on the house at Mount Airy in 1751, expanding it considerably, to create the house which still survives today.

By the 1770s Benedict Swingate Calvert controlled a large and profitable estate of around 4,000 acres, with upwards of 150 slaves. He was also an enthusiastic horse breeder, training thoroughbreds and running them in competitions in Maryland and Virginia. and was present at the wedding celebrations, which took place at Mount Airy.

On May 13, 1777, Calvert was forced to resign his position as Judge of the Land Office. As the conflict grew, Calvert became fearful of his family's safety, writing in late 1777 that his family "has been made so uneasy by these frequent outrages" that he wished to "remove my family and property where I can get protection".

Calvert did not leave Maryland, nor did he involve himself in the fighting, even though many other Maryland Loyalists went on to form a Maryland Loyalists Battalion. On occasion Calvert supplied the Continental Army with food and provisions.

In spite of the war, on June 15, 1780, Calvert's daughter Elizabeth was married to Charles Steuart, son of Calvert's benefactor George H. Steuart, at Mount Airy Mansion.

After the war After the war's end, Calvert had to pay triple taxes as did other Loyalists, but he was never forced to sign the loyalty oath and his lands and property remained unconfiscated.

Calvert's Loyalism does not appear to have affected his cordial relations with the leader of the Revolution, George Washington. Most likely this was because of the marriage in 1774 of Washington's stepson to Calvert's daughter. In 1783, after the war was over, Washington stayed with the Calverts at their Mount Airy plantation, shortly after resigning his commission in Annapolis on December 23. Because Calvert was a known Loyalist, the visit drew much criticism from Washington's political enemies.

Family life

Benedict and Elizabeth Calvert had thirteen children, many of whom died in childhood: Rebecca Calvert (born December 25, 1749) Charles Calvert (1756–1777), who was sent to be educated in England at Eton College and died young and unmarried. Eleanor Calvert (1757/1758–1811), who on February 3, 1774, married John Parke Custis (1754–1781), son of Daniel Parke Custis and Martha Washington and the stepson of George Washington. Washington himself did not approve of the match owing to the couple's youth. Philip Calvert, died young Leonard Calvert, died young Cecilius Calvert, died young John Calvert (died after 1788) William Calvert (died after 1788) Robert Calvert, died young Ariana Calvert (1763–1788) Edward Henry Calvert (November 7, 1766 – July 12, 1846), who inherited Calvert's plantation at Mount Airy

Gallery

Ancestry

+Benedict Swingate Calvert's ancestors in three generations Benedict Swingate Calvert (–1798) Father: Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore Paternal grandfather:Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore Paternal great-grandfather:Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore Paternal great-grandmother:Jane Lowe Paternal grandmother:Charlotte Lee, Lady Baltimore Paternal great-grandfather:Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield Paternal great-grandmother:Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield Mother:Unknown. Speculatively, Melusina von der Schulenburg, Countess of Walsingham (1693–1778) Maternal grandfather:George I of Great Britain Maternal great-grandfather:Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg Maternal great-grandmother:Sophia of Hanover Maternal grandmother:Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal Maternal great-grandfather:Gustavus Adolphus Baron von der Schulenberg Maternal great-grandmother:Petronella Ottilie Baroness von Schwencken

Modern archeology The Calverts' house at 58 State Circle, Annapolis, was the subject of an archaeological dig in the 1980s and early 1990s. The results of the dig, along with much other research, were published in 1994 by Anne Elizabeth Yentsch in her book A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves, published by Cambridge University Press. The excavation of the Calvert House was financed by Historic Annapolis Inc, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and other institutions.