USA > Maryland > Talbot County > History of Talbot county, Maryland, 1661-1861, Volume I > Part 55
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What needs that, Captain Evelin. Nobody doth interrupt or hinder you in the merchant's business. You have done already and may do what you please, in that respect; none of us will meddle therewith.
But all the freemen and servants on the island reiterated their "deter- mination to stand by their old friend Claiborne, and to remain under the government of Virginia." Evelin, chagrined at the ill success of his diplomacy, returned to St. Mary's and made his report which concluded with a recommendation to Gov. Calvert to waste no more time nor words, but to resort to the force of arms to compel submission. Gov- ernor Calvert, who was not so impulsive as the Commander of the Isle of Kent, was disinclined to adopt such a decided course, but was rather dis- posed to await the result of Claiborne's visit to England, whither he had gone to lay the matter before the King and his privy council. But the Governor was not proof against Evelin's importunities which were so constant and harassing that "he would not let him sleep in his bed." So an expedition was fitted out composed of forty armed men which left St. Mary's in December, 1637, in boats bound for Kent Island. The voyage was soon made. A landing was effected in the night. The fort was taken possession of without resistance from the inhabitants who had
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anticipated no such warlike excursion. When the morning arrived the people heard with astonishment their island declared to be
by right and by conquest a dependency of the government of Maryland and the jurisdiction of Claiborne and his partners, under the govern- ment of Virginia, at an end.
But though resistance to the Maryland forces was useless, the Kent Islanders were far from being tamely submissive and some of them, par- ticularly Thomas Smith and John Boteler, were so incautious as to ex- press their reluctance to come under Maryland rule. They were accordingly seized and carried off to St. Mary's, where they remained in custody until bailed out by Richard Thompson-Claiborne's relative, of Poplar Island. The people of the island now became harassed by civil suits entered by Cloberry & Co. All the property belonging to Capt. Claiborne, even that in which the London firm had no interest whatever, was seized. But the climax was reached when a warrant was served by Evelin to attach the persons of John Boteler, Thomas Smith and Edward Beckler, and to hold them without bail and to send them to St. Mary's to answer for the several crimes of sedition, piracy and murder. These parties had participated in the affair in the Pocomoke. The indignation of the Islanders was no longer to be restrained and they "burst out into open rebellion." The officers were defied; the prisoners who had been arrested were rescued, and a determination manifested to submit no longer to orders so unjust, so odious, and as they believed arbitrary or without proper authority. Another military and naval expedition became necessary. But before sailing Governor Cal- vert secured the indictments before mentioned, against those persons who had taken part in the fight in which William Ashmore was killed in the Pocomoke, and against Claiborne, as instigator and abettor or accessory before the fact. Another indictment was made against other parties for piracy, on account of some opposition to Capt. Cornwaleys in the Great Wicomico. In March, 1638, the expedition sailed, Gov. Calvert being chief in command while Capt. Cornwaleys was his lieu- tenant. The force consisted of about fifty men. It would appear that no resistance was offered by the Kent Islanders. Boteler made his peace with Gov. Calvert, and at a later day was placed in charge of the mili- tary guard upon the island. Beckler also succeeded in escaping punish- ment for the time, but it seems he was subsequently executed. Thomas Smith, who, because he was either more firm in his opposition to the Maryland authorities, or because he was the second in command in the
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affair of the Pocomoke, was carried away to St. Mary's, there tried before the Assembly sitting as a high court, and there executed. Gov. Calvert returned to St. Mary's, and inasmuch as the person of Claiborne could not be secured, he at this time being in England, he procured the pas- sage of a bill of attainder against him, which involved the forfeiture of all his goods to the Lord Proprietary. The amount of property thus obtained is said to have exceeded thirty thousand dollars in value.3 Many of these incidents have already been mentioned out of their order in time, in the preceeding paper of this series.
From this very imperfect recital it appears, that as far as any outward manifestation of resistance is concerned, the people of Kent Island had been subjugated to the government of Lord Baltimore. Not so with their leader, Capt. Claiborne. He was by no means disposed to yield his rights and property without an appeal to the court of last resort, the King and his council. In the year 1637 he, in company with the Rev. Mr. James, returned to England, where the last named died at the house of his friend, Sir Richard Cotton. Claiborne subsequently became the administrator of his estate on Kent Island. No time was lost by Capt. Claiborne, in laying his grievances before the throne. The King promptly referred his petition to the "Lord Commissioners of the Plantations," with directions to consider the contents, and advise him what he should do in the premises. In his petition Clai- borne makes mention of the circumstances under which the settlement was made on Kent Island; of the granting the charter to Lord Baltimore subsequent to this settlement; of his having transported to the island people and cattle; of his having built houses and established trade with the Indians; of his having a letter of the King, granting to him freedom of trade, notwithstanding Lord Baltimore's patent, of the disregard of this letter of the King by the Governor of Virginia, and also by the Governor of Maryland; of the seizure of his (Claiborne's) goods and boats by the people of St. Mary's, and of their firing into another boat and killing three of the people of Kent Island; and finally, of his having been openly defamed and accused of great crimes, "to his exceeding grief." He speaks of his plantation at Palmer's island also. He promises to pay to the King a certain stipulated amount annually, if he should be confirmed in his possessions. He states also that he had a ship then ready freighted with goods and people to prosecute his ad- ventures and begs a speedy reply. The commissioners took the mat-
3 Manuscript of Dr. Allen.
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ter into consideration; they heard each party through his counsel, and they decided that Claiborne had no right of title to the isle of Kent, or to plant or trade there or in any other parts or places within the pre- cincts of Lord Baltimore's patent; and "concerning the violences and wrongs," suffered by Claiborne, "they found no cause at all to relieve them, but to leave both sides within the ordinary course of justice." This was decisive, apparently of Claiborne's claim, but in the sequel it will be found he was not willing to rest satisfied with the opinion of the Commissioners of the Plantations, and took the first favorable opportunity to disregard it. There is good ground to believe that Claiborne was not sufficiently a courtier to compete with Lord Balti- more. It must, however, in justice to the King, be said that he desired that justice should be done to Claiborne, for during the time which in- tervened between the presenting of the petition and the rendition of the opinion of the commissioners, he sent a letter or order to Lord Balti- more, in which he referred in very positive, if not severe terms to a former letter which had been disregarded; and then commanded that its precepts should now be observed strictly, viz .:
that the above-named planters (William Claiborne, David Morehead and others) and their agents may enjoy their possessions and be safe, in their persons and goods without disturbance or further trouble by you or any of yours, till the cause be decided.
It is proper to say, too, there is some doubt in the minds of historians whether the commissioners ever gave any opinion whatever upon the matters in controversy, as the original documents of such decision could never be found, and a mutilated copy, of the authenticity of which there is uncertainty, is all upon which writers of the present day have to depend.
The decision of the Lords Commissioners of the Plantations, the deser- tion of his cause by the Virginia authorities, the actual possession of his settlement by the Marylanders, the faithlessness of his business copart- ners, the appropriation to the use of the Proprietary of his estates and other property under the bill of attainder which forbade his return to Kent Island under peril of his life, seemed to render the prospects of Claiborne for the recovery of what he deemed his rights desperate in- deed. But possessed of the courage and constancy of conscious recti- tude, or to place it upon lower grounds sustained by a fixed purpose to serve his own interests he did not despair. He quietly submitted and returned to Virginia determined to await events. We hear little of him
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for several years; though in 1640, under circumstances of which history gives us no information, he made application, through his attorney, George Scovell, Esq., to the Maryland authorities for a restoration of his property. The petition of his attorney dated Aug. 8, of that year, to the governor and council was couched in the following words:
That Captain Will. Claiborne, at his departure from the isle of Kent, left an estate within your province, as your petitioner is informed, amounting to a good value; since which time divers inhabitants within your province are possessed of said estate, but by what right your petitioner knoweth not. Your petitioner's humble request there- fore is, the premises considered, that your worships would be pleased not only to allow your petitioner's letter of attorney, but also to grant unto him free power and liberty together with your worship's further- ance therein, for the recovery of the aforesaid estatein the hands of any in whom it shall be found.
This petition had this very curt, and sufficiently explicit reply:
what estate Captain William Claiborne left within this province at his departure, indisposed of, on the 24th of March 1637, the petitioner may know, that it is possessed by right of forfeiture to the Lord Proprietary for certain crimes of piracy and murder, whereof the said William Claiborne was attainted the day aforesaid, by judgment of the house of General Assembly. If the petitioner can find out any of the said estate not possessed or held by that right, he shall do well to inform his lordship's attorney of it, that it may be recovered to his lordship's use; but if the said Claiborne, or any other to his use, has since the said day acquired any estate within the province, the law of the province, with- out any grant or furtherance of governor or commissioners gives the petitioner or any other attorney of the said Claiborne free power and authority to recover it, and when it is recovered, such order shall be taken with it as justice shall require.
It is thought Claiborne had no expectation of receiving a favorable answer to this petition, but that it was preferred by him merely to advise or notify the Maryland authorities that he had not surrendered his rights to his property, and meant to assert them when occasion offered. The premonitions of civil trouble in England suggested to him that there might be contingencies in which he might with success en- force his claims. If this conjecture be true, it indicates that Claiborne possessed that forecast which is the highest qualification of the states- man as well as of the man of business, for it will presently appear his anticipations were fully realized.
The next item of information which history has transmitted respecting Claiborne, is that on the 6th of April, 1642, being still a resident of Vir-
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ginia and probably a member of the council of that province, he was ap- pointed by the royal authorities "the King's Treasurer in the dominion of Virginia for life." Dr. Allen says of this appointment that it
shows that though he had lost his island by the decision of the lord commissioners, yet that he had not thereby lost favor with the King. It was no doubt given him as some compensation for his loss by their decision.
Some of the members of the board of commissioners had been suc- ceeded by others, whose sense of right was more acute, or whose par- tiality for Lord Baltimore was less pronounced. This office of Treasurer was not only one of the highest responsibilities, but it is thought it was the most lucrative of any in Virginia. It was one therefore of honor and profit and one not likely to be bestowed upon a person supposed to be guilty of the heinous offenses of piracy and murder, with which he was charged in the neighboring province of Maryland, or even of sedition and rebellion against lawfully constituted authority.
In the year 1638, owing to an attempt of King Charles I of England to impose the Episcopal liturgy upon his Scottish subjects and other ar- bitrary acts, rebellion and civil war had broken out in the northern por- tion of the kingdom which finally extended to the south and resulted years after in the death of the King and the substitution of parliamentary for royal authority throughout the realm, to be followed by the protec- torate of Cromwell. In the year 1644 there is record evidence of the presence of Claiborne in Virginia holding his seat in the provincial council. In this year the parliamentary forces were in the ascend- ency in England. Puritan principles in religion and politics had ac- quired some currency even in Maryland, though there really was no puri- tan organization, civil or ecclesiastical until 1649, when a body of those people came out of Virginia. In 1644 there appeared in the province of Maryland a certain Capt. Ingle, who by his suspicious conduct gave ori- gin to the belief that he was contemplating some act which should trans- fer the colony from Lord Baltimore and the King to the parliamentary authorities. He was, by proclamation of the Governor's council, de- clared to be guilty of "high treason to his majesty," and orders for his arrest and seizure of his ship were issued from St. Mary's. He seems to have eluded the officers however, and made his escape, to return again the year following where his scheme had better success. It has been thought by some historians that Claiborne was in collusion with Ingle, for it appears that at the time Ingle was attracting the attention of the Maryland authorities of St. Mary's, Claiborne was proceeding up the
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bay and taking possession of his island. This he did without opposi- tion and apparently with the approbation of the inhabitants. So secretly, too, had it been accomplished that the Marylanders remained in entire ignorance of the forces with which he had effected his conquest, and of his conduct after taking possession. In order to acquire informa- tion a commission was sent from St. Mary's with instructions to use the utmost caution in approaching the island,
to inquire whether Capt. Claiborne, or any others have made any disturbance of the peace, or committed any outrage upon the island, and to learn what force he did it with, and what strength he is of there, at sea or shore, and what his intents further be, and how long he means to stay.
Upon the return of this commission, proclamation was made Jan. 1, 1645, by the governor to the effect that no ships should proceed to Kent island for trading until they had previously touched at St. Mary's, and that Capt. William Claiborne and Richard Thompson were enemies of the province; and that no intelligence should be communicated to, nor correspondence maintained with them or their agents "at peril." There are traditions that after Claiborne had gained possession of the island, he proposed to his followers who numbered about twenty men, of whom one-half or nearly so were from Chicocoan, Northumberland county, Virginia, to proceed to St. Mary's and seize the governor of the province; that he did accomplish this feat and carried Mr. Calvert to the island a prisoner. Whether this be true or not it is asserted by one annalist as unquestionable that the agents which Gov. Calvert sent to Kent Island were seized by Claiborne's men, and after receiving a sound beating at their hands were sent home to report to their su- periors. [Allen MSS.] It would thus appear that in the beginning of 1645, or even before Claiborne was in possession of his island. In February of the same year, Richard Ingle who had been proclaimed a traitor returned to St. Mary's, and armed with authority derived from a commission from the Earl of Warwick who, with a council of peers and commoners had been authorized by parliament, then the supreme power,
to nominate, appoint and constitute all such subordinate governors, counsellors, commanders, officers and agents, as they shall judge best affected, and most serviceable to the plantations, and to remove others.
By what means he achieved his purposes is now enveloped in ob- scurity, for the provincial records for some months succeeding his arrival
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are missing; but by the employment of actual force in all probability he compelled Governor Calvert to leave his station and fly to Virginia. Ingle assumed his place and his authority. By some historians it is said Ingle called Claiborne to his assistance; by others, the movements of the latter were quite independent of the former. Into the discussion of this question there is no purpose here to enter. The absence of all authentic records would render it unprofitable. The facts are indisputable that the authority of Lord Baltimore was overthrown at St. Mary's by Capt. Ingle, and Caliborne was in possession of Kent Island.
Towards the close of 1646, Gov. Calvert, who, as before stated, had taken refuge in Virginia, a province that yet maintained its adherence to the King, returned to St. Mary's followed by a body of soldiers, prob- ably enlisted from among the Maryland refugees and the Virginia loyal- ists. He took the insurgents by surprise and with some little bloodshed reduced the settlement to submission. Most of the people who had sided with Ingle submitted, some were arrested and imprisoned and others fled to the adjoining province. In the beginning of the year Gov. Cal- vert set about the reduction of Kent Island, and as the first step to this undertaking an embargo was declared in January by which "during this time of war" all persons were forbidden to leave St. Mary's without permission, or to entertain any person from Kent Island. All persons arriving in St. Mary's were to give notice of their presence at the fort. The embargo was to continue one hundred days, any violation of it was to be punished with death "or such other censures as the offense shall deserve in the judgment of a Martial Court." In the month of April the Governor himself headed an expedition directed against the people of Kent island. Of the size and character of this expedition no in- formation has reached us. The result only is known. The inhabitants are said to have "submitted themselves again to his lordship's govern- ment;" whether there was any resistance we are not informed. It is probable a time was taken when Claiborne was known to be absent, or doubtless submission would have been secured with more difficulty for he was not a man to yield without resistance. Pardon was granted to all who would acknowledge fealty to Lord Baltimore, but a large num- ber fled from the island and took refuge upon the main land. Of these doubtless some crossed the Eastern bay and thus became what is Tal- bot county proper.4 Of those who were pardoned and took the oath
4 It would appear that the number of inhabitants of the island very sensibly diminished after this reduction of Gov. Calvert, showing that disaffection to the Maryland Government was felt by a large part of the people, many of whom pre- ferred exile to submission.
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was Zachary Wade, who settled then or afterwards at Wade's Point, Bay-side, just over from Kent Point. Thus again after a possession of more than two years was Claiborne driven from his settlement and his property escheated to the Lord Proprietary.
The congregation of Independents or Puritans which had been formed in Virginia in 1642, notwithstanding the legal impediments thrown in its way by the colonial authorities, continued to increase in numbers. In 1648 it was driven from the province and its members, during the year 1649, took refuge in Maryland, settling at Providence on the Severn river on or near what is now the site of the city of Annapolis. Among those who came in with these Puritans were Mr. Richard Bennett and Mr. Edward Lloyd, the founders of conspicuous Talbot families. The religious party to which these people at Providence belonged was now
in the ascendency in England. It became a current belief that Lord Baltimore, by this party, would be deprived of his proprietary rights, for his supposed adherence to the cause of the King. Acting upon this impression we find Claiborne in the year 1650, in a letter to the Gov- ernor of Maryland, renewing his "former pretended claims in opposition of his lordship's right and dominion." He is said, also, to have declared publicly that he purposed "e'er long to make some attempt upon the isle of Kent." An act of assembly was accordingly passed in this year entitled "an act prohibiting all compliance with Capt. William Clai- borne, in opposition of his lordship's right and dominion." It thus ap- pears that Claiborne stood ready to avail himself of any turn of public affairs in England or America to secure possession of his settlement on the island. The battle of Worcester had, in 1651, been fought, and Charles II became a fugitive from the kingdom. Some of the depend- encies still acknowledged alliance to the King. In this year a commission was appointed by the council of State of five persons, two of whom were Richard Bennett and William Claiborne, whose duty it became under orders issued to reduce "Virginia and the inhabitants thereof to their due obedience to the commonwealth of England." In the first instance it was intended to embrace Maryland in the instructions to the commis- sioners, but the circumstances that this province had afforded asylum to the Puritan congregation when driven out of the neighboring colony; that Gov. Stone was, or was thought to be zealously affected to the par- liament; and that the merchants trading to Maryland were willing "to assist with their ships in the reducement of Virginia," induced the coun- cil to strike out the name of Maryland. But when these instructions were received by Messrs. Bennett & Claiborne, the two commissioners
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appointed for the colonies, they put such interpretation upon the phraseology as comported with their purposes. The commissioners were to "use their best endeavors to reduce all the plantations within the bay of Chesopiaik to their due obedience to the parliament of the commonwealth of England." Such were the words which they claimed required the reduction of Maryland, as well as the colony explicitly named. After the reduction of Virginia, Curtis, one of the English commissioners, the other two having been shipwrecked on the voyage, with Bennett and Claiborne proceeded to Maryland, and after certain negotiations which there is not space in this paper to recount, Gov. Stone and other officers of the Maryland government were deposed and a council appointed for the government of the province, under "the keepers of the liberty of England, by authority of the parliament." After the "reducement" of Maryland, Messrs. Bennett and Claiborne returned to Virginia, where in 1652 the former was appointed for one year or until the pleasure of the home government could be known, governor of the province, and Col. Wm. Claiborne "secretary of State, with all belonging to that office, and to be next in place to the governor." These gentlemen then returned to Maryland to settle the civil affairs of that province as they had those of Virginia. They reinstated Gov. Stone and appointed a council for him. Col. Claiborne being now in connection with Mr. Bennett, as it were, in supreme authority both in Virginia and in Maryland, he assumed again his proprietorship of the isle of Kent and, as Bozman conjectures, ordered those quit rents to be paid to him which had been paid to Lord Baltimore, and required all grants of land to proceed from him instead of the Lord Proprietary. He then returned to Virginia to attend to his duties as Secretary of State. In a treaty with the Susquehanicks, made in the year 1652, it was ex- pressly stipulated that Kent and Palmer's islands belonged to Claiborne and were not accounted in the territory then surrendered to Maryland.
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