Elizabeth Calvert

Elizabeth Calvert (born in either 1730 or 1731; died in either 1788 or 1798) was a colonial Maryland heiress and member of the prominent Calvert family. She was the daughter of Captain Charles Calvert, who served as governor of Maryland, and Rebecca Gerard, a landed heiress. Her parents died when she was young, leaving her a substantial inheritance.

Early Life:

Captain Charles Calvert (1680–1734) was appointed Governor of Maryland by his cousin, Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore. His parentage is not definitively documented, but it is believed that his father was Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, and his mother may have been Countess Henrietta, known as "Mother Calvert." Elizabeth’s mother, Rebecca Gerard (1708–1734/35), was from Maryland and married Charles Calvert in 1722 when she was sixteen. The marriage included a plantation near Queen Anne's Town in Prince George's County, Maryland.

Elizabeth had a brother named Charles (1723–1723/4), who died in infancy, and a sister, Anne (1724–c. 1737), who died unmarried. Her godfather was Benedict Leonard Calvert, governor of Maryland from 1727 to 1731, and a cousin of her father. Benedict Calvert died in 1732, leaving Elizabeth a slave boy named Osmyn in his will.

Marriage and Family:

In 1748, Elizabeth married her cousin Benedict Swingate Calvert, an illegitimate son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, and a planter. Their marriage took place at St. Ann's Church in Annapolis. Benedict Swingate Calvert inherited Mount Airy, a 4,000-acre tobacco plantation in Prince George's County, likely a gift from his father. He managed a large estate, with approximately 150 slaves, and was engaged in horse breeding.

The couple had thirteen children, though only four survived to adulthood:

- Rebecca Calvert (born December 25, 1749)

- Eleanor Calvert (1753–1811), who married John Parke Custis, son of Martha Washington, on February 3, 1774.

- Elizabeth Calvert (1753–1814), twin sister of Eleanor, who married physician Charles Steuart.

- George Calvert (1768–1838), who married Rosalie Eugenia Stier.

Other children included William, Edward Henry, and others, with several dying young or in infancy.

American Revolution:

As Loyalists, the Calverts supported British authority during the American Revolution. Benedict Swingate Calvert resigned from his position as Judge of the Land Office in 1777 amid growing unrest. Despite fears for their safety, the Calverts remained in Maryland and occasionally supplied provisions to the Continental Army. After the war, they paid triple taxes but retained their lands and avoided confiscation. Notably, George Washington visited the Calvert estate at Mount Airy in 1783 shortly after his resignation from the Continental Army, despite political tensions related to their Loyalist sympathies.

Legacy:

Elizabeth Calvert died at the age of 57 in 1788. Her wartime residence, the Calvert House at 58 State Circle, Annapolis, underwent archaeological excavation in the late 20th century. Her portrait by John Wollaston hangs in the Baltimore Museum of Art alongside other Calvert family portraits. She is interred beside her husband at Page's Chapel, St. Thomas' Church, Croom, Maryland.

Family Descendants:

Her grandson, Charles Benedict Calvert (1808–1864), served as a U.S. Congressman and founded what is now the University of Maryland, College Park, established in 1856.