Henry Harford

Henry Harford (5 April 1758-1834) was the last proprietor of the British colony of Maryland.

Background

The Calvert family had been given a royal charter to the Maryland colony in the 1600’s. Since then, successive Lords Baltimore had increased the family’s value: they owned shares in the Bank of England as well as Woodcote Park, in Surrey. The family’s profit from these estates were considerable enough for a lavish lifestyle, and Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore, lived it, earning a reputation as a rakehell. Frederick had even been run out of Constantinople once for keeping his own harem there. In addition, he was also tried for the rape of Sarah Woodcock in 1768. Although Frederick was acquitted (probably due to his position in the peerage), he fled to the Continent and never returned to Britain. It was this behavior that estranged Calvert from his wife, Diana (daughter of Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater). Diana's death on 13 August, 1758 left Calvert without legitimate issue, but by this time he was already living with Hester Whelan, with whom he had two children: Henry Harford and Mary Frances. In 1770, he had twins by another woman, in addition to a daughter by yet another.

Frederick Calvert finally died in Naples in 1771. Thirteen-year-old Henry Harford became heir to all of Frederick's estates, including those in Britain. However, he was not entitled to ascend to the peerage because he was an illegitimate child.

Loss of Maryland

The people of Maryland were glad that the embarrassing episode with Frederick was over, and supported their new proprietor, naming a new county for him in 1773 (Harford County), until Governor Robert Eden tried to claim a part of the estate for his wife in 1774, on the grounds that he was Henry’s uncle. The American Revolution broke out before a decision was reached on the matter. The new State of Maryland seized all of Henry Harford’s properties there in 1781 and used them to help fund the revolutionary government and militia.

It was in fact this ordeal that caused Maryland, the most Loyalist colony of the original thirteen, to have its revolutionary spirit grow. Eden, the figurehead of English presence in the colony and a well-liked man as well as a good governor, left for England to stake his claim to Maryland. The colonial press eagerly labeled this “abandonment” and dislike towards the Crown grew rapidly.

Attempts to Recover

In 1783, Harford attempted to recover Maryland following the American Revolution, where he was a witness to George Washington’s resignation of command at Annapolis. He and Eden were invited to stay at the home of Dr. Upton Scott and his nephew, Francis Scott Key. However, he had no success in retrieving his land, despite the fact that Charles Carroll of Carrollton and Samuel Chase argued in his favor. In 1786, the case was decided by the Maryland General Assembly. Although it passed in the House, the Senate unanimously rejected it. In their reasoning for this rejection, the Senate cited Henry's absence during the war, and his father Frederick's alienation of his subjects, as major factors.

Returning to Britain, he filed for litigation and was awarded £100,000.

Morris vs. U.S.

Henry Harford’s claim to Maryland was exploited for years after his death in1834. The latest major case was the United States Supreme Court case Morris v. US ( [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?friend=nytimes&court=us&vol=174&invol=196 174 U.S. 196, 198] ), in 1899, in which one of Harford’s descendents attempted to claim a part of the Potomac River from the District of Columbia.

Personal life

During the Maryland ordeal, Henry Harford was attending the colleges of Eton and Exeter at Oxford University. Although he received no money from his family’s former property in America, the profits of the other three Calvert estates were awarded to Harford by the Estate Act of 1780.

In 1792, Harford married Louisa Pigou and they had five children. Louisa was a granddaughter of Frederick Pigou, director of the British East India Company. Her father, another Frederick Pigou, had been in partnership with Benjamin Booth in the tea trade in New York and was therefore indirectly involved in events leading up to the Boston tea party. Louisa died in 1803, and three years later, Harford married Esther Ryecroft. They too had five children.

Henry Harford died in 1834. His estates were left to his oldest surviving son, Frederick Paul Harford.

References

*http://www.aboutfamouspeople.com/article1022.html
*http://www.roseinfist.net/md/harford.htm