Caroline Eden

Caroline Eden (née Caroline Calvert) was the daughter of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, sister of Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore.

Sir Robert Eden, Caroline Eden's husband, and the last colonial Governor of Maryland
Caroline Eden's brother, Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore.

Early life

She was born Caroline Calvert, circa. 1745, daughter of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore. She had an older brother, Frederick Calvert (1731–1771) who succeeded his father to become the 6th and final Lord Baltimore, and a sister, The Hon. Louisa Calvert.

Maryland the American Revolution

On 26 April 1763 she married Maryland's last colonial governor, Robert Eden (1741–1784).[1]

Upon the death of her brother, Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore, the colony of Maryland passed to Frederick's illegitimate son, Henry Harford. Despite his illegitimacy, the people of Maryland initially supported Harford and welcomed him as their new Lord Proprietor, even naming Harford County, Maryland after him in 1773. However, Governor Robert Eden disputed Harford's inheritance, and in 1774 tried to claim a part of the estate on behalf of his wife Caroline.

Before the English courts could rule on the case, the American Revolution broke out. Caroline Eden would however lose her claim - Harford succeeded in winning his father's inheritance; the rents from the Calvert estates in Britain were awarded to Harford by Act of Parliament - the Estate Act of 1780. But in 1781 the new State of Maryland confiscated all of Henry Harford's estates and used their income to help finance the cash-strapped revolutionary government and its militia. After the war Harford made strenuous efforts to win compensation but without success.

Legacy

In 1773 Caroline County, Maryland, was named in her honor. The county was formed from land belonging to Dorchester County and Queen Anne's County.[2]

References

Notes

  1. Lundy, Darryl. "Caroline Calvert at www.thepeerage.com". The Peerage. Retrieved 2011
  2. www.carolinemd.org Retrieved September 2011


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/21/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.