Ch Camoll of Canralston FROM A STUDY IN BRONZE BY DR. CHARLES L. HOGEBOOM, NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED. [Engraved through the courtesy of Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet.] MAGAZINE OF AMERICAN HISTORY VOL. XXII NOVEMBER, 1889 No. 5 A HOME OF CHARLES CARROLL OF CARROLLTON BOUT one historic figure all the old traditions of Doughoregan manor-house, in Maryland, seem to cluster. Charles Carroll, the signer of the Declaration of Independence, inherited the estate, which for a variety of reasons was one of the most interesting in Maryland. He was born in 1737, at Annapolis, and in pursuit of an education spent about twenty years abroad. His father first placed him, when seven years of age, at the college of St. Omer in France. Later he entered the college of Louis le Grand, from which he was graduated at the age of seventeen. He studied law in Paris, and afterward at the Middle Temple at the same time with Joseph Reed of Delaware, and other Americans, and returned to Maryland in 1764, one of the most finished scholars of the age. ments. The manor-house which became his home was entered by a wide hall with English hunting-scenes and other old pictures on its walls. To the right was the library and the family sitting-room, both heavily paneled in oak, and more tenderly associated than any other part of the mansion with the useful life of the last surviving signer of the great document which made us an independent people. His portrait, and that of his son and grandson, have in the past added greatly to the attractions of these apartThe dining-room, to the left of the entrance, was where the principal family portraits were displayed, representing the works of some of the best artists and the most fashionable costumes of the period in which they were produced. Sir Joshua Reynolds painted one of these-a beautiful young Carroll lady. A fine picture, executed in 1790, which hung in the large billiard-room of the right wing of the house, was a quaint sketch of the lord of the manor bidding adieu to his eldest son, about to sail for France-in the distance the ship, in the foreground the lad turning half reluctant to his father, whose hands are upon his shoulder, and his sisters standing by weeping. Half in shadow the negro servants watch the scene with sorrowful faces. The eldest sons of the Carrolls, as is probably well known, were all educated abroad for nearly two hundred years, and each one bore the name of Charles. VOL. XXII.-No. 5. - 25 The historic dwelling itself, of low, rambling architecture, with supporting wings, three hundred feet long, had been erected on an artificial knoll, the land rolling away gently on every side. A handsome private chapel was attached to it, as shown in the illustration, the Carrolls having always been strict Catholics. The surrounding grounds-some three hundred acres of park, lawn, and gardens-were beautified with stately trees and innumerable patches of bright-colored flowers. The situation was in a rich, rolling, wooded country, about a mile from the old turnpike leading to Frederick city, and six miles above Ellicott's Mills on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, in Howard county. In its palmy days the manor farm is said by some writers to have supported about a thousand slaves, although documents extant hardly swell the number above four hundred. Charles Carroll, the grandfather of the signer, was an Irish barrister of the Middle Temple, who was appointed by Lord Baltimore attorneygeneral of the American province in 1688, and shortly afterward arrived at Annapolis with quite a retinue of dependents. He possessed ample means to render life comfortable in the wilderness, and proceeded to secure extensive tracts of land, which were in due course of time erected into a manor with power to hold court-leet and court-baron. His son Charles, born in 1702, was the father of the signer. On his return from Europe, in 1764, Charles Carroll found his native country in a turmoil about taxation. Lord Grenville had been promoted to the head of the treasury, and was energetically preparing to enforce the acts of navigation. The laws of England had become, as it were, invalidated, and Grenville took pride in his determination to restore them to their proper sphere. He regarded the colonies merely as settlements in remote corners of the world for the improvement of trade. England must not be defrauded of her natural rights. It was estimated that of a million and a half pounds of tea consumed annually in the colonies, not more than onetenth part was sent from England! The nation's purse was thereby suffering. Measures founded upon the true principles of policy, commerce, and finance must be adopted. Thus reasoned the lord of the treasury, and thereby came to pass the stamp act of historic renown-one of the causes of the American Revolution. With fearless energy young Charles Carroll opposed the scheme, and ere long became one of the important leaders of the opposition in America. He engaged in a newspaper war with the authorities of Maryland, and kept up a close correspondence with his friends in London, who advised him from time to time of the temper and movements of the king and of parliament. He became distinguished as a political writer, and coming out triumphant from the contest with Dulany, the secretary of the colony, a brilliant writer on the side of the government, he received the thanks of his fellow-citizens of Maryland and ever after possessed their unbounded confidence. The essays which created such unparalleled excitement at the time were respectively signed "First Citizen " and "Antilore," and it was not known until after his antagonist was ignominiously overthrown that Carroll was the author who styled himself "First Citizen." As years rolled on his firm character and clear judgment made him the umpire in many momentous cases, notably when a prominent merchant of Annapolis imported a quantity of the obnoxious tea, and he advised the burning of the vessel in broad daylight in Annapolis harbor. Charles Carroll's letters, such as are preserved, are, considering the period in which they were written, models of elegance in penmanship as well as diction. One addressed to Washington, bearing date September 26, 1775, counseling force if peace cannot be obtained on just terms, we are permitted to reproduce in fac-simile through the never-failing courtesy of the public-spirited collector, Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, to whom also our readers are indebted for the excellent portrait which forms our frontispiece, engraved from the bronze medallion recently executed by Dr. Charles L. Hogeboom. All who are familiar with the work of this emi member . At the request of the bearer Mr They, I have pressomed to trouble you you greatihertiem Annapolis 2. t: Sept? 1775 26 P.J. Idesire my moth respectful compli ments to Generals Lee Gates- I should have done myself the planne ouristinff to the former by this opportunity, but that & knew he has other things to do than to read letters of meer compliment. _ this city Affords nothing new. FAC-SIMILE OF A LETTER FROM CARROLL TO WASHINGTON IN THE COLLECTION OF DR. THOMAS ADDIS EMMET. nent artist a series of studies in bronze, medallion portraits of Washington, Lafayette, Jefferson, Franklin, Lincoln, Grant, Hamilton, and others -and have noticed his skill in giving expression to character and preserving wonderful likenesses of his subjects, will unite in a cordial welcome to this new portrait of the great Maryland signer of the Declaration. When he affixed his well-rounded signature to that immortal document the |