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| THE EARLY YEARS |
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Carroll Barrister House |
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Charles Carroll, Chyrurgeon, of Annapolis, emigrated from Ireland in 1715 due to political difficulties. After his arrival in this country he renounced the Roman Catholic faith and became a member of the Church of England. At that time Maryland was a Protestant colony and Roman Catholics were not allowed to hold public office or have public worship services. Dr. Carroll wanted to be able to own land and participate in political activities. He settled in Annapolis where he practiced medicine and engaged in land speculation. In 1722, Dr. Carroll married Dorothy Blake of Talbot County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. On Sunday, March 22, 1723, their first son, Charles, was born. Dr. and Mrs. Carroll had two other children, John Henry and Mary Clare. The Carroll's Annapolis home was moved in 1950 to the campus of St. John's College. |
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Georgia Plantation Map
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One of Dr. Carroll's speculative purchases was in 1732 on the Patapsco River , a 2,568-acre tract which was rich in iron ore. This land, now known as Carroll Park, was just west of Baltimore. Dr. Carroll, along with Charles Carroll of Annapolis and his brother Daniel Carroll of Duddington, Daniel Dulany and Benjamin Tasker, formed the Baltimore Iron Works on this land. Dr. Carroll sold all but 800 acres to the Baltimore Iron Works.
In the late 1740's Dr. Carroll had a small frame house built on the property, calling it Georgia Plantation. There his younger son, John Henry, lived and managed the operations. John Henry Carroll died in 1754, a year before his father. His sister, Mary Clare, married Nicholas Maccubbin in 1747, an Annapolis merchant and High Sheriff of Anne Arundel County.
Dr. Carroll wished Charles be educated abroad, so at the age of 10, Charles, with his father, left Annapolis for England. The voyage was difficult, forcing them ashore in Portugal. Because the trip was so traumatic for young "Charlie", Dr. Carroll left him with the Reverend Edward Jones at English House in West Lisbon, Portugal, where he stayed until he was 16. He then went to England to attend Eton and later entered the University of Cambridge. After 12 years of study abroad, Charles returned to Annapolis in 1746. He enjoyed the sophisticated social life of Annapolis, at the same time applying himself to learning the management of the farms and mills on the Patapsco. Dr. Carroll felt Charles should have further education in order to advance in the world, so at the age of 28, Charles set sail for England where he studied law at the Inns of Court and resided in the Middle Temple in London.
Charles, now a Barrister-at-Law, returned home three months before his father's death in 1755, well prepared to assume the duties commensurate with his large inheritance. At the age of 32 he was one of the wealthiest members of the Maryland aristocracy. He was elected to fill his father's seat as the Delegate from Anne Arundel County to the Lower House of the Assembly. As there were four Carrolls of the same name living in Annapolis at that time, Charles designated himself in 1766 as "Charles Carroll, Barrister". |
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Margaret Tilghman |
For years he was taxed 20 shillings a year as a "persistent bachelor." So at the age of 40, on June 23,1763, Charles Carroll married Margaret Tilghman, the 21 year-old daughter of The Honorable Matthew Tilghman of Rich Neck Manor, Talbot County, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
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