USA > Maryland > Biographical sketches of distinguished Marylanders > Part 7
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And thus was introduced to our State this Alpha and Omega of Maryland inland trade and commerce, whose capital stock in 1875 is $16,815,362; Assets, $78,975,- 807.95 ; whose President is John W. Garrett. July the 4th, 1828, was a gala day in the city of Baltimore. The venerable Charles Carroll, accompanied by other men of distinction, appeared in the line of procession that moved through the principal streets toward the important point. All the trades were represented distinctly ; gar- deners, Baltimore county farmers, etc. The ship-car- penters were represented by "a frigate of the first-class, fifteen feet long and of proportionable dimensions in every other respect. The stern was beautifully orna- mented with carved work, representing the American Eagle in wreaths of oak leaves." The Carrollton March was played by the band upon the field, after which the public gathering was addressed by Mr. Morris. On the summit of a hill forming one of a line, a handsome can- opy was erected, for the reception of Mr. Carroll, the Railroad Directors, the Mayor of Baltimore, and other civil authorities, as well as many invited guests. Along 8
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the range of hills extended a line of cavalry, commanded by Captain Kennedy, Mr. Carroll came upon the ground in an open barouche, drawn by four horses, attended by postilions, dressed in blue and white, and wearing tur- ban hats.
The descriptions in the newspapers of the day are very interesting. Those who opposed the railroad system were as loud in their outcry as those who desired its success.
On the same day chosen for inaugurating the Balti- more and Ohio Railroad, ground was broken for the Ohio and Chesapeake Canal, July the 4th, 1828. The President of the United States, who was present, after performing his portion of the ceremony, handed the spade to General Mercer. The day was cloudless, and considered by those who looked on the bright side of the picture, as an auspicious sign, fifty-two years after the Declaration of Independence.
Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, had two daughters and one son. Miss Catharine Carroll became the wife of Robert Goodloe Harper, the distinguished Virginia soldier-lawyer, who was a patriot and a philanthropist. -The eldest daughter married an English gentleman named Richard Caton. The only son, Mr. Charles Carroll, first loved and "courted " Miss Nelly Custis, who preferred the name of Lewis to that of Carroll. After this the young heir discovered his destined wife in the city of Philadelphia. The young lady in ques- tion was Miss Harriet Chew, the sister of the wife of Colonel John Eager Howard. The family of Miss Chew were Episcopalians, and insisted that the mar- riage should be performed according to the ritual of the Church of England, by the venerable Bishop White. Mr. Carroll was finally induced to accede to the wishes of the family. The preparations completed, the cere-
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mony was to take place in a few moments, when Mrs. Caton arrived, accompanied by Arcbhishop Carroll, of Baltimore. After a few moments conversation with his sister, Mr. Carroll changed the order of approaching events by deciding in favor of the faith of his fathers, and Bishop Carroll performed the marriage ceremony according to the Roman ritual, after which Bishop White performed the service of the Church of England.
The daughters of Mr. Richard Caton, four noted beauties, made what are termed brilliant matches. Mary Anne married Robert Patterson, the brother-in- law of Jerome Bonaparte. This lady afterward becom- ing a widow, visited England for her health, and soon became the wife of the Marquis of Wellesly, the brother of the Duke of Wellington, and at that time the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Her portrait was painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence. So noted was she for her beauty and accomplishments that the late Bishop England in "toasting" the last survivor of the Declaration of Independence, offered the following tribute: "Charles Carroll, of Carrollton-in the land from which his father fled in fear, his daughter's daughter reigns a queen."
Louisa Catharine Caton married Sir Harvey Felton, Aid-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington; upon his death she married the eldest son, the Marquis of Car- marthen, who afterward succeeded to his father's title Elizabeth J. Caton married Baron Stafford, the de- scendant of that Stafford who was beheaded in the reign of Charles II, of England, for his supposed favor to the " Popish plot."
Emily Caton became the wife of John McTavish, a Scotch gentleman living at that time in Canada.
On Wednesday, the 14th of November, 1832, in the 96th year of his age, Charles Carroll, of Carrollton,
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passed away from the earth. He died at the house of his daughter in Pratt street, Baltimore, in that portion of the city now known as Old Town.
The following poetical tribute to "The Last of the Signers," by Lippard, is worthy of being read and re- membered :
"One by one, the pillars have crumbled from the roof of the temple, and now the last-a trembling column- glows in the sunlight, as it is about to fall.
" But for the pillar that crumbles, there is no hope that it shall ever tower aloft in its pride again, while for this old man, about to sink into the night of the grave, there is a glorious hope. His memory will live. His soul will live, not only in the presence of its God, but on the tongues, and in the hearts of millions. The band in which he counts one, can never be forgotten.
"The last! As the venerable man stands before us, the declining day imparts a warm flush to his face, and surrounds his brow with a halo of light. His lips move without a sound : he is recalling the scenes of the Dec- laration-he is murmuring the names of his brothers in the good work.
" All gone but him! Upon the woods-dyed with the rainbow of the closing year-upon the stream, dark- ened by masses of shadow-upon the home peeping out from among the leaves, falls mellowing the last light of the declining day.
"He will never see the sun rise again ! He feels that the silver cord is slowly, gently loosening; he knows the golden bowl is crumbling at the fountain's brink. But death comes on him as a sleep, as a pleasant dream, as a kiss from beloved lips !
"He feels that the land of his birth has become a mighty people, and thanks God that he was permitted to behold its blossoms of hope ripen into full life.
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"In the recess near the window, you behold an altar of prayer ; above it, glowing in the fading light, the image of Jesus seems smiling, even in agony, around that death-chamber.
"The old man turns aside from the window. Totter- ing on, he kneels beside the altar, his long dark robe drooping over the floor. He reaches forth his white hands-he raises his eyes to the face of the Crucified.
"There, in the sanctity of an old man's last prayer, we will leave him. There, where amid the deepening shad- ows, glows the image of the Saviour; there, where the light falls over the mild face, the wavy hair and tranquil eyes of the aged patriarch.
"The smile of the Saviour was upon that perilous day, the 4th of July, 1776; and now that its promise has brightened into fruition, He seems to-He does smile on it again-even as His sculptured image meets the dying gaze of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, THE LAST OF THE SIGNERS."
Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, a Catholic by reason of faith as well as inheritance, had learned well the first great lesson of the mother church : "That obedience is better than sacrifice." In the maturer years of his life, he practiced most rigidly the penance of abstinence on those days set apart by the church as fasting days. He was so faithful in assisting at the divine office, that it was his great pleasure to serve the priest during the offering of the holy Mass. In the monthly visits of the missionary priest, Mr. Carroll was the first person on his knees in the confessional. He was a monthly com- municant for many years before his death ; and so ear- nest was his desire to repair any wrong impressions caused in earlier days, that he selected the High Mass at eleven o'clock on Easter Sunday to receive commun- ion, and this was his coming back to those neglected
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duties over which his heart had not ceased to mourn, and for which he was bound, as Catholics ever are, to make reparation. In the chapel adjoining his residence at the Manor, he spent many precious hours. This was the first place he sought in the morning, where a half hour was spent in prayer and meditation. The morn- ings were usually passed until one o'clock, P. M., in the cultivation of literature. He wrote Latin with facility, and no day was allowed to pass without the perusal of the works of some of the ancient authors; yet as age deepened upon him his reading was confined principally to books of a religious character, and their effect, and his sentiments, were constantly revealed in the purity and holiness that prevailed in his conversation.
His body reposes in the Church at Doughoragan Manor. On the Gospel side of the altar is a monument, erected by order of the late Colonel Charles Carroll, which was executed by the American artist, Bartholo- mew, in Rome, 1853. According to the father of Mr. John Lee Carroll, the house at Doughoragan Manor was built about the year 1717. The men employed in its erection were brought from England for that purpose, and returned home after the completion of the building.
It is a handsome old-style residence, with a chapel attached, which is connected by a private entrance with the house. The grounds are well kept and extensive, and many an ancient tree, shadowing the sward, bears evidence of "the days that are no more." To use the words of Bishop Pinkney, of Maryland :
"No living man had seen it in the bud, And none could tell the day it first took root ; While on its brave old trunk a hundred names Were deep engraven. The hands that wrote them Are stiff and cold; but still the names remain, As fresh as when they were at first engraved, And will remain for ages."
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The land on which stand the buildings of Saint Charles College, in Howard county, Maryland, was pre- sented by Mr. Carroll, January the 21st, 1830. His wishes in regard to the purposes of the establishment have been fulfilled thus far. It is a preparatory seminary, under the direction of the order of Saint Sulpice, for the education of youth destined for the priesthood. The col- lege farm was a portion of land originally known as " Mary's Lot," which had been added by Mr. Carroll to Doughoragan Manor by purchase. The transfer could, therefore, be made without injury or injustice to his heirs. The corner-stone of the building was blessed by Archbishop Whitfield; it was then laid by Mr. Carroll, July the 11th, 1831.
Mr. Carroll was the inheritor of vast tracts of land throughout his native State. Of Carrollton Manor, the following is written of the grant which was obtained from "Charles, Lord Baltimore, a grant of 10,000 acres of land in Frederick county, with liberty to select the best land they could find; they first fixed on a spot be- yond Frederick town, but finding the land better on this side of Frederick, changed to the spot which the present Mr. Carroll now possesses on the Monocacy river." It is said that the first view ever obtained of these beautiful lands, by the ancestor of Mr. Carroll, was enjoyed from the summit of the Sugar Loaf Moun- tain, a spur of the Blue Ridge. And now, adding to his already full wreath, is presented this golden leaf from the Reminiscences of Macready:
"" We received attentions from many families, among the rest from that of Dr Potter, my physician, a very skillful, intelligent and agreeable man, who accompanied me in a visit which I paid, on his own particular invi- tation, to Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, a man most interesting from his varied and extensive acquirements,
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and, especially, as being the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was a rare instance of extreme old age (being then in his ninetieth year), retaining all the vivacity and grace of youth with the polish of one educated in the school of Chesterfield. In my life's experience, I have never met with a more fin- ished gentleman. At his advanced age he kept up his acquaintance with the classics. He spoke of England with respect, and of his own country, its institutions, its prospects, and its dangers, with perfect freedom, an- ticipating its eventual greatness, if not marred by faction and the vice of intemperance in the use of ardent spirits, detaining me, not unwillingly, more than two hours in most attractive conversation. When, at last, I was obliged to take my leave, he rose, and, to my en- treaty that he would not attempt to follow me down stairs, he replied in the liveliest manner, " Oh, I shall never see you again, and so I will see the last of you !" He shook hands with me at the street door, and I bade a reluctant adieu to one of the noblest samples of man- hood I had ever seen, or am ever likely to look upon."- Macready's Reminiscences, Vol. I, p. 322; London, 1875.
The following extract is from one of the newspapers of the day, (1875) :
"In the year 1826, after all save one of the band of patriots whose signatures are borne on the Declaration of Independence had descended to the tomb, and the venerable Carroll alone remained among the living, the government of the city of New York deputed a com- mittee to wait on the illustrious survivor and obtain from him, for deposit in the public hall of the city, a copy of the Declaration of 1776, graced and authenti- cated anew with his sign manual. The aged patriot yielded to the request, and affixed with his own hand to the copy of that instrument the grateful, solemn and pious supplemental declaration which follows :
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" Grateful to Almighty God for the blessings which, through Jesus Christ our Lord, He has conferred on my beloved country in her emancipation, and on myself in permitting me, under circumstances of mercy, to live to the age of eighty-nine years, and to survive the fiftieth year of American independence, and certify by my present signature my approbation of the Declaration of Independence adopted by Congress on the 4th of July, 1776, which I originally subscribed on the 2nd day of August of the same year, and of which I am now the last surviving signer, I do hereby recommend to the present and future generations the principles of that im- portant document as the best earthly inheritance their ancestors could bequeath to them, and pray that the civil and religious liberties they have secured to my country may be perpetuated to remotest posterity, and extended to the whole family of man.
CHARLES CARROLL, of Carrollton." " August 2, 1S26."
NEWRET LIERA
A
EVENING HYMN.
ITHE evening stillness sweetly steals O'er earth and air: The Vesper chimes, in solemn peals, The hour of prayer; While with rapt hearts and bended knee, We chant our evening hymn to thee, Virgin Bless'd, to thee !
The birds with music sweet, no more The forest fill; The melody of day is o'er. All, all is still; Save that in holy harmony, We chant our evening hymn to thee, Virgin Bless'd, to thee !
Virgin Mother, linger near, Our prayers approve, And upward to our Father bear Our words of love, While robed in faith our souls agree To chant our evening hymn to thee, Virgin Bless'd, to thee !
GEORGE HAY RINGGOLD,
United States Army.
THE MOST REVEREND JOHN CARROLL, FIRST ARCHBISHOP OF BALTIMORE.
MONG the dauntless soldiers of Maryland was one who wore an invisible armor. This was John Carroll, the hero of a thousand victories. Marking his triumphal way, imperishable monuments have arisen to immortalize his fame. His fame is linked with the name of the Great Captain whose work he did most faithfully. The name of his Captain is the watch-word of Eternity. It is em- blazoned upon the ramparts of Time, unchanging as the rock-bound "inviolet hills." It will resound through the far realms of the Everlasting, when the ages are no more.
John Carroll was the third son of Daniel Carroll, of Ireland, who in his youth had emigrated to the Colony of Maryland. Belonging to a Roman Catholic family of the "mother-land," he had forfeited his rights as a property-holder because of his faith. Daniel Carroll established himself as a merchant at Upper Marl- borough, on the Patuxent river, in Maryland. He married Miss Eleanor Darnall, the daughter of Mr. Darnall, a gentleman of wealth, who was, like Mr. Carroll, also a Roman Catholic. Miss Darnall, who had been educated in France, was not alone cultured and refined in manner and intellect to the exclusion of
الحمل
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THE MOST REVEREND JOHN CARROLL.
her heart; she was noted for those virtues that en- noble and purify the life of woman, and render home beautiful in its peace. She was the mother of John Carroll, who was born at Upper Marlborough, in Mary- land, on the 8th day of January, 1735. This day noted in American history for the gaining of a victory by the force of arms deserves to be doubly celebrated as the birth-day of the great and good Bishop, whose tri- umphs were achieved through the power of christianity. He was the instrument selected by the Divine Will to accomplish a high and holy mission. Urged onward by a sublime inspiration only comprehended by those upon whom Heaven bestows its best gifts, he fulfilled most perfectly the commands of his Royal Guide.
At the age of twelve he was placed at a grammar school established at Bohemia. This place, situated upon what was known as a manor in the early days of Terre Maria, claims an important notice in our history. The founder of this manor was that remarkable man, Augustine Herman, whose story is so strangely inter- woven with that of the Lord Proprietary of Maryland.
After a time John Carroll was sent to the College of Saint Omer, in French Flanders. This institution was under the direction of the Jesuits. It was also the place of learning selected for the early training of his relative Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, who was for a time his schoolmate. At the termination of six years John Carroll finished the usual college course; he was then placed at a college at Liege, which was also under the direction of the Jesuits. While at this institution he formed the resolution of pursuing a course of the- ology preparatory to entering the order known as the Society of Jesus. This order, founded by Saint Ignatius, of Loyola, is honored for its noble works of charity as well as for the profound learning of many of its mem-
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bers. Having fulfilled the term of a novice, John Carroll was ordained as a priest in 1769, and in 1771 he was professed.
Before renouncing the world he settled the estate, which he had inherited from his father, upon his brother, Daniel Carroll, Esq., and his two younger sisters.
Father John Carroll was now sent to Saint Omer's college, where he held the place of professor in that institution. Returning in a short time to Liege, lie directed the students of the higher classics. He was thus employed when the order for the supression of the Society of Jesus was executed, in 1773. When the Jesuits were driven from their domains in France, the colleges of Saint Omer and Liege were closed. The young Jesuit, Father John Carroll, on the 11th of September, 1773, wrote the following letter from Bruges, which is extracted, with much of the material for this sketch, from Mr. Brent's life of Bishop Carroll :
"I this day received a few lines from Daniel, of July 15th, in which he complains with much reason of my long silence. My mind is at present too full of other things to make any apology. After spending part of the autumn of 1772 at Naples, and its environs, we returned to pass the winter at Rome, where I stayed till near the end of March; from thence came to Flor- ence, Geneva, Tunis, Lyons, Paris, and so to Liege and Bruges. I was willing to accept of the vacant post of Prefect of the Sodality here, after consigning Mr. Stourton into his Father's hands about two months ago, that I might enjoy some retirement, and consider well in the presence of God the disposition I found myself in of going to join my relatives in Maryland, and in case that disposition continued, to get out next Spring ; but now all room for deliberation seems over. The
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enemies of the Society, and above all the unrelenting perseverance of the Spanish and Portuguese Ministries, with the passiveness of the Court of Vienna, have at length obtained their ends, and our so long persecuted, and I must add, holy Society, is no more. God's holy will be done, and may His name be blessed for ever and ever! This fatal stroke was struck on the 21st of July, but was kept secret at Rome till the 16th of August, and was only made known to us on the 5th of Septem- ber. I am not, and perhaps never shall be, recovered from the shock of this dreadful intelligence. The greatest blessing which, in my estimation, I could re- ceive from God, would be immediate death; but if He deny me this, may His holy and adorable designs on me be wholly fulfilled. Is it possible that Divine Provi- dence should permit to such an end, a body wholly devoted, and I will still aver, with the most disinter- ested charity, in procuring every comfort and advantage to their neighbors, whether by preaching, teaching, catechizing, missions, visiting hospitals, prisons, and every other function of spiritual and corporal mercy ? Such I have beheld it in every part of my. travels, the first of all ecclesiastical bodies in the esteem and con- fidence of the faithful, and certainly the most laborious. What will become of our flourishing congregations with you, and those cultivated by the German Fathers ? These reflections crowd so fast upon me that I almost lose my senses; but I will endeavor to suppress them for a few moments. You see that I am now my own master, and left to my own direction. In returning to Maryland I shall have the comfort of not only being with you, but of being farther out of the reach of scandal and defamation, and removed from the scenes of distress of many of my dearest friends, whom God knows, I shall not be able to relieve. I shall, therefore,
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most certainly sail for Maryland early next Spring, if I possibly can."
When the suppression of the Jesuit order was finally effected, he retired to England. For a while he acted as Secretary to those members of the Society born in the British dominions, who addressed a petition of re- monstrance to the government of France regarding the seizure of their property. At this period Father Car- roll was induced by Lord Stourton, a Roman Catholic nobleman, to make the tour of the continent of Europe in the capacity of preceptor to his son, the Honorable. Mr. Stourton. During this tour he wrote for his pupil a brief history of England. To the termination of this tour he alludes in the letter presented above.
Upon his arrival in England he was invited by Lord Arundel to reside in his family, asking that his friend would act as chaplain to his household. This invita- tion he graciously accepted, and was thus enabled to bestow the comfort of religious assurances upon the catholic family of Wardour House. Wardour Castle, whose ruins are near by, is conspicuous in history as having been defended against assault during five days, by a garrison of twenty-five men under the command of the Lady Blanche Arundel. The attack was made dur- ing a brief absence of her husband; the fair lady was finally compelled to surrender on honorable terms. Upon the return of her husband, Lord Thomas Arundel, he caused a mine to be sprung under the castle, which was thereby reduced to a state of ruin in 1643. The more modern building, known as Wardour House, is a handsome mansion situated in the midst of a grove. Among numerous pictures and relics of the days of old, there is said to be a fine portrait of the Lady Blanche Arundel. Near the altar of the beauti- ful chapel is a monument erected in memory of Thomas, second Lord Arundel, and his heroic wife.
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Father John Carroll remained much longer than had been his expectation in England. He had vainly hoped to behold the re-establishment of the Jesuit order in the catholic States of Europe. Being disappointed in this hope, he embarked in one of the last vessels that sailed from England for America. . Arriving in his native land just before the outbreak of the Revolution- ary war, he landed at Richland, in Virginia, the estate of William Brent, Esq., who had married the second sister of Father Carroll.
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He spent two days in the society of his sisters in Vir- ginia, both of whom were married to gentlemen of the same sirname, William and Robert Brent. His widowed mother resided with her two younger daughters in Montgomery county, Md. Toward them he hastened with love and respect. Duty, to whose call he was ever attentive, left him little time for the endearing associa- tions of home. Gathering together the Catholics of Montgomery, he formed them into congregations, ex- pending much labor and care in their instruction. During this time he also extended his devoted zeal to the ministration of the Catholics in the neighborhood of his sisters' home at Aquia Creek, Stafford county, in the State of Virginia. Although desiring to extend the faith practically in all places, his heart went out natu- rally to those of his own blood first; these were the descendants of those men and women who had suffered persecution, renounced worldly honors, and titles, and goods, in behalf of religion. There was at this time no Catholic church built in Virginia. Mass was celebrated at the house of Mr. Brent; those of this faith who had banded themselves together as a congregation, would, upon the coming of a priest from Maryland, receive the sacrament, and listen to instructions from the servant of the Church.
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