Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Charles Carroll of Carrollton (September 19 1737–November 14 1832) was a lawyer and politician from Maryland who was a delegate to the Continental Congress and later a United States Senator. He was the last surviving and only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Biography

He was born on September 19, 1737 at Annapolis, Maryland. His reputed attendance at the Jesuit preparatory school at Bohemia in Cecil County cannot be confirmed from contemporary records, and he may have been schooled at home before departing for Europe, where he attended the College of St. Omer in France, and graduated from the College of Louis the Grand in 1755. He continued his studies in Europe, and read for the law in London before returning to Annapolis in 1765.

Related Topics:
September 19 - Annapolis, Maryland - Jesuit - College of St. Omer - 1755 - London - 1765

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Carroll was a voice for independence in Maryland. In 1772 he engaged in a debate conducted through anonymous newspaper letters and maintained the right of the colonies to control their own taxation.

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He was a member of Annapolis' first Committee of Safety in 1775. In early 1776, while not yet a member, the Congress sent him on a mission to Canada. When Maryland decided to support the open revolution, he was elected to the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, and remained a delegate until 1778. He arrived too late to vote in favor of it, but was able to sign the Declaration of Independence. His signature reads "Charles Carroll of Carrollton," which is why he has thusly gone down in history. At the time he was probably the richest man in America, and as he signed an observer stated "There go a few millions." Throughout his term in Congress he served on the board of war.

Related Topics:
Committee of Safety - 1775 - 1776 - Canada - July 4 - 1778 - Declaration of Independence

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He returned to Maryland in 1778 to assist in the drafting of a constitution and forming a state government. Carroll was re-elected to the Continental Congress in 1780, but he declined. He was elected to the state senate in 1781 and served there continuously until 1800.

Related Topics:
Continental Congress - 1780 - 1781 - 1800

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When the United States government was created, the Maryland legislature elected him to the first United States Senate. In 1792 Maryland passed a law that prohibited any man from serving in the State and national legislatures at the same time. Since he preferred to be in the Maryland Senate, he resigned from the U. S. Senate on November 30, 1792.

Related Topics:
1792 - Legislature - November 30

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Carroll retired from public life in 1801, although he did help to create the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1827. After Jefferson and Adams died, on July 4, 1826 he became the only surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. He died in November 14, 1832 at Baltimore, and is buried in his Doughoregan Manor Chapel at Ellicott City, Maryland.

Related Topics:
1801 - Baltimore and Ohio Railroad - 1827 - Jefferson - Adams - 1826 - November 14 - Baltimore - Doughoregan Manor - Ellicott City, Maryland

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Carroll funded the building of what is known today as Homewood House, a 140 acre (570,000 m²) estate in northern Baltimore, Maryland as a wedding gift to his son, Charles Jr. and Harriet Chew. Charles Jr. then oversaw the design and construction of the house, which began construction in 1801 and had mostly finished by 1808. Research shows that he incorporated suggestions from his wife. It took five years to build and cost $40,000, four times the budgeted expense. The house never really fulfilled any of their expectations, as it did nothing to cure Charles Jr.'s idolness and alcoholism or prevent the couple from separating years later.

Related Topics:
Homewood House - Baltimore, Maryland - 1801 - 1808

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Homewood, was donated to Johns Hopkins University in 1876 and later became its main campus. Today, Johns Hopkins operates Homewood House as a museum, and its beautiful Georgian architecture serves was the inspiration for the Hopkins' architecture.

Related Topics:
Johns Hopkins University - 1876 - Georgian

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