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––
This reference to Benedict places him in Maryland in 1736 rather than 1742, which has long been held to be his arrival date. He is called "Swingate" in this entry because he has not yet been acknowledged by his father, Charles Calvert, the fifth Lord Baltimore. He was acknowledged by 1742 because he uses his name, Benedict Calvert in documents by that date. For more information, see A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves by Anne Elizabeth Yentsch in which she talks about the Calvert house in Annapolis, including Benedict and Elizabeth. If you are interested, it can be ordered from Amazon or more cheaply from Thrift Books at https://www.thriftbooks.com/
(Maryland State Archives, ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY COURT (Judgment Record) 1736-1738, Liber IB 2, p. 122 [MSA C91-13, 01/01/08/029]; see also Anne Elizabeth Yentsch, A Chesapeake Family and their Slaves, p. 386, n.2.
