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Henry Harford
Henry Harford (5 April 1758 – 8 December 1834), 5th Proprietor of Maryland, was the last proprietary owner of the British colony of Maryland. He was born in 1758; the eldest — but illegitimate — son of Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore and his mistress Mrs. Hester Whelan. Harford inherited his father's estates in 1771, at the age of thirteen, but by 1776, events in America had overtaken his proprietary authority and he would soon lose all his wealth and power in the New World, though remaining wealthy thanks to his estates in England.
Harford's father was Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore, fourth and last in the line of Barons Baltimore. The Calvert family had been granted a royal charter to the Maryland colony in the 17th century. Since then, successive Lords Baltimore had increased the family holdings and their wealth: the Calverts owned shares in the Bank of England as well as a large family seat at Woodcote Park, in Surrey. Although Frederick Calvert exercised almost feudal power in the Province of Maryland, he never once set foot in the colony and, unlike his father, he took little interest in politics, treating his estates, including Maryland, largely as sources of revenue to support his extravagant and often scandalous lifestyle. In 1768, he was accused of abduction and rape by Sarah Woodcock, a noted beauty who kept a milliner's shop at Tower Hill. The jury acquitted Calvert but he left England soon afterwards, and never recovered from the public scandal which surrounded the trial. He had many mistresses, including Hester Whelan, Henry Harford's mother.[citation needed]
Henry Harford was born in Bond Street, London, on 5 April 1758, the fruit of an extra-marital union between Lord Baltimore and his mistress Mrs. Hester Whelan. He was educated at Eton College and later Exeter College, Oxford. When the last Lord Baltimore died in Naples in 1771 at the age of 39, the thirteen-year-old Henry became heir to all of Frederick's estates, including those in Britain, as the eldest son of the deceased peer. However, Harford was not entitled to ascend to the peerage or inherit his father's title as, like his sister Frances, he was born out of wedlock and was therefore illegitimate. Despite this, a suit was brought forth in an attempt to continue the title Lord Baltimore.
Despite his illegitimacy, the people of Maryland initially supported Harford and welcomed him as their new Lord Proprietor, even naming Harford County, Maryland after him in 1773. However, Governor Robert Eden disputed Harford's inheritance, and in 1774 tried to claim a part of the estate on behalf of his wife Caroline Calvert, sister of the deceased Baron Baltimore, and a legitimate daughter of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore.
Before the English courts could rule on the case, the American Revolution broke out. Maryland, initially the most Loyalist colony of the original thirteen, soon found its revolutionary spirit growing. Eden, the figurehead of English presence in the colony and a well-liked man as well as a good governor, left for England in June 1776, his authority having been fatally undermined by the Maryland Convention and the rapid erosion of British rule.
In England, Harford succeeded in his claim to his father's inheritance; the rents from the Calvert estates in Britain were awarded to Harford by an act of Parliament – Lord Baltimore's Estate Act 1781 (21 Geo. 3. c. 35 Pr.). However, events in America moved against his interests, and in 1781, the new State of Maryland confiscated all of Henry Harford's estates and used their income to help finance the cash-strapped revolutionary government and its militia. On 3 September 1783, the Treaty of Paris at last brought a formal end to the war.
In 1783, Harford travelled with Sir Robert Eden to Maryland, where Henry attempted to reclaim his land and estates lost during the Revolutionary War, following British defeat at the hands of the Revolutionaries. Harford believed his claim to be a good one, especially as the English courts had already settled his inheritance in his favor, but he soon learned that his claims would be strongly resisted. In 1785, Harford formally petitioned the Maryland General Assembly, claiming lost rents from 1771 (the date of his father's death) until the Declaration of Independence in 1776. His total claim was for £327,441.
Harford's petition to the assembly included a letter in which he recognized the "free state" of Maryland, but appealed to "the dictates of equity and the feelings of humanity," and further argued that his need for the restoration of his land was great, citing the "relief of his financial situation to avoid further embarrassments."
Henry Harford
Henry Harford (5 April 1758 – 8 December 1834), 5th Proprietor of Maryland, was the last proprietary owner of the British colony of Maryland. He was born in 1758; the eldest — but illegitimate — son of Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore and his mistress Mrs. Hester Whelan. Harford inherited his father's estates in 1771, at the age of thirteen, but by 1776, events in America had overtaken his proprietary authority and he would soon lose all his wealth and power in the New World, though remaining wealthy thanks to his estates in England.
Harford's father was Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore, fourth and last in the line of Barons Baltimore. The Calvert family had been granted a royal charter to the Maryland colony in the 17th century. Since then, successive Lords Baltimore had increased the family holdings and their wealth: the Calverts owned shares in the Bank of England as well as a large family seat at Woodcote Park, in Surrey. Although Frederick Calvert exercised almost feudal power in the Province of Maryland, he never once set foot in the colony and, unlike his father, he took little interest in politics, treating his estates, including Maryland, largely as sources of revenue to support his extravagant and often scandalous lifestyle. In 1768, he was accused of abduction and rape by Sarah Woodcock, a noted beauty who kept a milliner's shop at Tower Hill. The jury acquitted Calvert but he left England soon afterwards, and never recovered from the public scandal which surrounded the trial. He had many mistresses, including Hester Whelan, Henry Harford's mother.[citation needed]
Henry Harford was born in Bond Street, London, on 5 April 1758, the fruit of an extra-marital union between Lord Baltimore and his mistress Mrs. Hester Whelan. He was educated at Eton College and later Exeter College, Oxford. When the last Lord Baltimore died in Naples in 1771 at the age of 39, the thirteen-year-old Henry became heir to all of Frederick's estates, including those in Britain, as the eldest son of the deceased peer. However, Harford was not entitled to ascend to the peerage or inherit his father's title as, like his sister Frances, he was born out of wedlock and was therefore illegitimate. Despite this, a suit was brought forth in an attempt to continue the title Lord Baltimore.
Despite his illegitimacy, the people of Maryland initially supported Harford and welcomed him as their new Lord Proprietor, even naming Harford County, Maryland after him in 1773. However, Governor Robert Eden disputed Harford's inheritance, and in 1774 tried to claim a part of the estate on behalf of his wife Caroline Calvert, sister of the deceased Baron Baltimore, and a legitimate daughter of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore.
Before the English courts could rule on the case, the American Revolution broke out. Maryland, initially the most Loyalist colony of the original thirteen, soon found its revolutionary spirit growing. Eden, the figurehead of English presence in the colony and a well-liked man as well as a good governor, left for England in June 1776, his authority having been fatally undermined by the Maryland Convention and the rapid erosion of British rule.
In England, Harford succeeded in his claim to his father's inheritance; the rents from the Calvert estates in Britain were awarded to Harford by an act of Parliament – Lord Baltimore's Estate Act 1781 (21 Geo. 3. c. 35 Pr.). However, events in America moved against his interests, and in 1781, the new State of Maryland confiscated all of Henry Harford's estates and used their income to help finance the cash-strapped revolutionary government and its militia. On 3 September 1783, the Treaty of Paris at last brought a formal end to the war.
In 1783, Harford travelled with Sir Robert Eden to Maryland, where Henry attempted to reclaim his land and estates lost during the Revolutionary War, following British defeat at the hands of the Revolutionaries. Harford believed his claim to be a good one, especially as the English courts had already settled his inheritance in his favor, but he soon learned that his claims would be strongly resisted. In 1785, Harford formally petitioned the Maryland General Assembly, claiming lost rents from 1771 (the date of his father's death) until the Declaration of Independence in 1776. His total claim was for £327,441.
Harford's petition to the assembly included a letter in which he recognized the "free state" of Maryland, but appealed to "the dictates of equity and the feelings of humanity," and further argued that his need for the restoration of his land was great, citing the "relief of his financial situation to avoid further embarrassments."