The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-01-11
PLANS LEGAL BATTLE
TO ESTABLISH CLAIM

whole Of Maryland. When Penn ar
rived ia America he proceeded to set
al defiance all Lord Baltimore's rights
as Lord Proprietary of Maryland, an"
a conflict ensued which lasted untti
long after both the second and third
Lords Baltimore. as we'll as William
Penn were under the sod
Then another difficulty occurred, ow-
ing to the fact that the third Lord
Baltimore was in Europe at the time
of the revolution and tn accession TO
the throne of William III and Queen
Mary Lord Baltimore hastily sent a
messenger TO Maryland 10 order the
proclamation OF william and Mary.
But the messenger died en- route. and
whereas the new sOvereigns were duly
proclaimed In virginia and New Eng
land. they were not proclaimed In
Maryland. This was construed by
King william as d.sloyaity on the part
OF Lord Baltimore. due TO t-e latters
attachment TO the cause OF the stu
arts. and he dispatched Sir Lionel
Copley to administer the government
of MARYLAND in behalf OF the crown,
without. however. making any attempt
10 confiscate Lord Baltimore's prop
erty
Raltinore. who had married Lady Eliz-
abeth Lee. a granddaughter OF Charles
IL. and of Barbara Farmer, recovered
some twenty years later, the full
petty sovereign rights OF his father
and grandfather as rulers and as Lords
Proprietary of Maryland The hfth
Lord Baltimore was the boon oompan-
ion of that dissolute Prince Of Wales
Of whom his parents, George II. ana
Queen Caroline spoke with such scath-
ing contempt and whose whole
career was a source of shame 10 the
English nation.
The sixth and last Lord Baltimore
was a man Of much the same stamp as
his immediate predecessor. He COW
cred himself with ridicuie by MS pre-
tensions as "A poet and was AFTER 1910
obliged 10 live outside England. owing
TO his Indictment for felony at
Kingston. He bequeathed his rights
as Lord Proprietary Of Maryland and
all his vast estates there to his ille-
Ultimate child by an Irish girl OF the
mann of Hester whelan. when he died
at Naples in f771. He left no legiu-
mate issue The will was contested by
his brother-in-law. Sir Robert Eden.
who had been acting as Governor OF
MARYLAND. and who had married MS
thar is. Lord BaltimOre's sister, the
Hon. Caroline Calvert
While the petty sovereign rights OF
the last Lord Baltimore over Mary
land would undoubtedly have been re-
garded as having lapsed on his demise
without legitimate Issue. IL Is more
than probable that his estates in
MARYLAND would have been awarded by
the courts TO his sister. Lady Eden. as
his next heir, had - not been for the
fact that her husband. SIR Robert
Eden. sided with the Royalists in the
war of Independence. owing TO which
whatever rights he and his wife pos
sessed were regarded by the newly de-
clared republic as forfeited to. the State.
-hus extin gushing all previous rights.
1t is difficult. under the circum-
stances. to understand how any heirs
in the female line from earlier Lords
of Baltimore can possibly have any
lawful claim to property in Baltimore
For when the sixth Lord Baltimore
died and Sir Robert Eden OF Maryla
that is the title Of his baronetcy-
brought suit to upset his brother-in-
laws invalid will in favor of his ille-
ultimate child, IL was definitely shown
at the time that there were no heirs
i'm the male line direct remaining or
any of the six successive Lords Baltl-
more. Had there been any. the Barony
of Baltimore would have been ciaimeu
long ere this by Calvert.
That many in Maryland regard the
present Sir William Eden. the nftn
Eden Baronet "of Maryland as the
only lawful successor OF the last ana
sixth Lord Baltimore. through the lat
ter's sister. is perhaps best shown by
the fact that when Sir Williams only
daughter, Marjorie Eden. married four
years ago Colonel Lord Brooke. the
eldest son and heir of the Earl anu
Countess Of Warwick. one of the most
interesting wedding presents which he
received was magnificent bowl or
silver repousse' from the people OF
Maryland
copyright. 1913. by the Brentwood
Company