Elizabeth Calvert
| Elizabeth Calvert | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Elizabeth Calvert 1731 Maryland |
| Died | 1788 Mount Airy, Prince George's County, Maryland |
| Spouse(s) | Benedict Swingate Calvert |
Elizabeth Calvert (1731 – 1788) was the daughter of Maryland Governor Captain Charles Calvert and Rebecca Gerard, and a wealthy heiress in colonial Maryland. Her parents died when she was young, leaving her their substantial fortune. In 1748, aged 17, she married her cousin Benedict Swingate Calvert, a Loyalist politician and planter and the illegitimate son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore. Benedict's connections to the ruling Calvert family allowed him to benefit from considerable proprietarial patronage, until the American Revolution saw the overthrow of British rule and the end of Calvert power in Maryland. Benedict and Elizabeth had to pay triple taxes after the war's end but, unlike many loyalists, their lands and fortune remained unconfiscated.
Elizabeth was the grandmother of Charles Benedict Calvert (1808–1864), a U.S. Congressman who founded what is now the University of Maryland, College Park, chartered in 1856. Elizabeth's portrait, painted by John Wollaston, still hangs on display, along with those of many of her Calvert relatives, in the Baltimore Museum of Art.
Elizabeth's father Captain Calvert (1680–1734) was governor of Maryland at a time when the Calvert family had recently regained control of their proprietary colony. He was appointed Governor by his cousin Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, who in 1721 would travel to Maryland to take personal charge of the colony. Captain Calvert's parentage is not entirely clear since neither of his parents has been positively identified but it has long been assumed that his father was Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, 2nd Proprietor Governor of Maryland (1637–1715). His mother's identity is unknown but, judging by the Calvert family papers, she appears to have been the Countess Henrietta, also known as "Mother Calvert", who died circa 1728. Captain Calvert was replaced as governor in 1725. He suffered from early senility and died in 1734.
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