Friday, July 7, 2023
Lady Charlotte Lee's Baptism
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
"The Highest Rank in England," Princess Amelia of Great Britain as Benedict Swingate Calvert's Mother
Princess Amelia of Great Britain (1711-1786)
Credit: Wikipedia
Born at Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover, Germany, her grandfather became King George I of Great Britain at the death of Queen Anne in 1714. Amelia and her family moved to London, taking up residence in St. James Palace, although as a result of family infighting, her parents were ordered to leave the palace while their daughters were raised by their governess, Jane Temple Bentinck, Dowager Countess of Portland (1672-1751). George I left the care, education, health and recreation of his grandchildren entirely to her disposition.
Calvert family papers in my possession identify Amelia as Benedict Swingate Calvert's mother through Charles Calvert (1699-1751), 5th Lord Baltimore. Because he was the great-grandson of King Charles II, Charles was a distant cousin to the royal family and became a close friend of Frederick, Prince of Wales, Amelia's brother.
Amelia was known for being a brilliant horsewoman who did not always live according to societal expectations. On one occasion, while riding with the much older Duke of Grafton, they reportedly lost their way in Windsor Forest, and spent the night in woodsman's cottage, returning to much consternation the next morning. She is also thought to have been the mother of composer Samuel Arnold (1740-1802) as a result of a liaison with a commoner called Thomas Arnold.
A further development of my thesis can be found in Nancy Calvert-Koyzis, "'Of the Highest Rank in England': the Search for Benedict Swingate Calvert's Mother" [click on the title] found in the current issue of the Maryland Genealogical Society Journal.
Stay tuned for further postings about the scandalous separation and attempted divorce of Charles Calvert's brutal father, the 4th Lord Baltimore, Benedict Leonard Calvert (1679-1715) from his wife Charlotte Lee Calvert and Oxford antiquarian Thomas Hearne's relationship with their son, Benedict Leonard Calvert (1700-1732).
Charles Calvert, 5th Lord Baltimore (1699-1751)
Credit: Wikipedia
Thursday, January 13, 2022
Court Case Against William Baily for Assaulting Benedict
On March 8, 1736, a court case was heard in Annapolis, Maryland, against William Baily who was accused of assaulting "a certain infant child" named "Benjamin" (Benedict) Swingate. An image of the document is inserted below (please click on it to enlarge it):
Whereas Information is made to the Court here that a Certain William Baily hath assaulted and Beaten a Certain Infant Child named Benja Swingate which Said Wm Baily being Present in Court and not denying the fact its ordered that the Sherf take the said Baily to the Publick whipping Post and give him five Lashes for this Offence afd and Soon after the Sherf Returns that he has Executed the Judgmt of as he was commanded––
Sunday, September 5, 2021
Great-aunt Maude's Wedding Dress
Maude Elizabeth Calvert, daughter of Joseph Le Fevre Calvert and Mariah Leech Calvert was born on January 18, 1886 in Altoona and died on December 19, 1975, in Hollidaysburg. I do not remember ever meeting her. but I do remember Dad talking about her.
In an Altoona census from 1940, she is listed as living at 2013 Seventh Avenue in Altoona. The house is still standing:
According to Dad and Uncle Bill's notes, neither Maude nor Myrtle ever had any children due to concerns about possible genetic abnormalities because previous generations had been married cousins (Benedict Swingate Calvert and Elizabeth Calvert Calvert were cousins who married in 1748). Apparently Myrtle, who was a nurse, and her sister Maude followed the principles set forth by Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) about dominant and recessive traits handed down through the generations which could result in genetic abnormalities when cousins intermarried.
Maude married Roy Francis Klose (1882-1952) on September 12, 1911in Altoona at the First United Methodist Church. Roy was a proprietor of a grocery and meat store.
Maude's wedding dress was given to me on a visit to Altoona when I was a teenager, I believe. The dress has a lot of handwork which appears to my untrained eye to have taken a lot of time and talent. I have posted photos of the dress below:
The petticoat
Undated photo of Maude
Friday, June 4, 2021
Benedict's Slaves and Indentured Servants
Owners of eighteenth-century plantations in Maryland generally had slaves who worked in their fields, particularly in the production of tobacco. Our ancestor, Benedict Swingate Calvert, owned upwards of 150 slaves. According to the Maryland Gazette, some of his slaves ran away. Here are a couple of his advertisements for the return of runaway slaves:
And from June 17, 1756:
These advertisements give us a glimpse into eighteenth-century Maryland life and the horrors of slavery at the same time. Significant rewards were offered for them; pistoles are European gold coins, particularly Spanish. All three of them have injuries, presumably due to their difficult circumstances. Both of these advertisements were found repeatedly in the Maryland Gazette. I can only hope that this meant they had been successful in their escape.
Benedict also had indentured servants on his plantation. They were generally thought of as not much more than slaves and slaves and indentured servants formed close bonds. Here is an advertisement for another runaway indentured servant:
One wonders what their living conditions were like since the indentured servants also ran away. Of course, Benedict was not the only Calvert to own slaves. His son, George Benedict Calvert (1768-1838), who established Riversdale Plantation with his wife Rosalie Eugenia Stier, probably owned more slaves than Benedict.
Although further Calvert descendants who stayed in Maryland owned slaves, I find no mention of slaves in the few records I've found for our ancestor, William Michael Calvert (1770-1847), who went north to Pennsylvania while he was still a young man. One can only hope that part of his reason for going north was so he would not have to participate in the despicable practice of owning other human beings.
Saturday, May 8, 2021
Calvert Spectacles
Sunday, April 11, 2021
Michael Henry Calvert and Elizabeth Seip Calvert
Friday, March 19, 2021
Benedict's Letter to Merchant John Alexander
Benedict Swingate Calvert's Letter
Mt. Airy, June 14, 1784
We purchased this letter from an antiquarian book site a few years ago. In it, Benedict states, "I am greatly in want of some good Spirits for Sir. Robert Eden who I expect in a day or two. Shall be obliged to you if you will buy for me ten gallons, and send it by the bearer with a small box of Imported Candles. I shall be obliged to you for the amount of the above articles that I may contrive you the money. The family joins me in Compliments to Mr. Fitzgerald and I am Your Very Humble Servant, Benedict Calvert."
Baronet Robert Eden, who was the last Royal Governor of Maryland, lost his position during the American Revolution of 1776 and returned to England. He was married to Benedict's half-sister, Caroline Eden, which had continued the Eden-Calvert alliance before the Revolution. Benedict is writing the letter to Mr. John Fitzgerald, who was a wealthy merchant in Alexandria, Virginia, and who had also been George Washington's aide-de-camp during the Revolutionary War. Of course, Benedict and George Washington shared grandchildren and George Washington raised two of them: Nelly Parke Custis and George Washington Parke Custis. Here are a few more photos of the letter.
This is the back of the letter where another hand has written Benedict's. name and the date. You can also see where the sealing wax was.
And here is another page of the letter where he wrote the address after he folded the letter. It was mailed to "Colonel John Fitzgerald, Merchant in Alexandria," with writing in the lower left corner that, I believe, names the person with whom he is sending the letter, "Mr. Alex Soaper."
Friday, March 12, 2021
Calvert Family Photos Early Twentieth Century
Below you will find Calvert photos from around 1916/17 to 1951. I believe all of these were kept by Uncle Bill which he gave to my father at some point. The photo below is especially precious because our great-grandfather, Joseph L. Calvert, is in the photo. You can also see Martha, Willard and Roy in their much younger days.
Friday, March 5, 2021
Benedict Swingate Calvert 1
Here is a Wikipedia article on Benedict that has some good information. However the supposition that he is descended from Melusina de Schulenberg, Countess of Walsingham, is wrong. Uncle Bill had letters from Benedict's descendants through his son George that point instead to Princess Amelia, daughter of George II, as being Benedict's mother. These are in files that my father got from Bill that I then obtained. I'm wondering if anyone else heard stories about Benedict?
Remembering our Ancestors
I've purposely made this blog private for the time being. I have only invited Calvert family members who are descended from Roy L. Calvert Sr. and Helen Rigg Calvert. I hope to post some of the information I find from my work on Ancestry.com and other web sites as we go along. You will see pictures on the blog of George Calvert, First Baron Baltimore and Benedict Swingate Calvert, our fourth great-grandfather. I have also posted links to St. Mary's City and Rosaryville State Park where Benedict's home, Mt. Airy, still exists. I hope we all can enjoy the site.