William Stone, Maryland governor, and a Walter
Ancestor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Stone, 3rd Proprietary Governor of Maryland (c. 1603 – c. 1660) was an English
pioneer and an early settler in Maryland. He was governor of the colony of Maryland from 1649
to 1655.
Early life
Stone was born in Northamptonshire, England.[1]
On 15 Sept 1619 William Stone set sail for Virginia on the Margaret of Bristol, and was one of
the people being sent to Berkeley Hundred to work under Captain John Woodlief's supervision.
William was supposed to serve the Society of Berkeley Hundred's investors for six years in
exchange for 30 acres of land. Sometime prior to 9 February 1629, he received a tobacco bill
from Richard Wheeler. By 4 June 1635, William had patented 1,800 acres in Accomack. Local
court records reveal that he was the brother to Andrew Stone and Captain John Stone, who had
been trading on the Eastern Shore since 1626. By 1634 William Stone had become a
commissioner of the county court. Some time prior to February 1636, he married Verlinda, the
daughter of Thomas Graves. William went on to become sheriff and vestryman. In 1645 he was
residing on the Eastern Shore, in what had become Northampton County. By 1648 he had
become the third proprietary governor of Maryland. [2]
Governor of the Maryland colony
On August 8, 1648, Lord Baltimore named Stone the Governor of his colony. He was the first
Protestant Governor.. The Assembly sought a confirmation of their religious liberty and in 1649
Governor Stone signed the Religious Toleration Act, which permitted liberty to all Christian
denominations.
In 1649, Stone and Puritan exiles from Virginia founded the town of Providence on the north
shore of the Severn River and across from what is today the Maryland state capital of Annapolis.
In 1654, after the Third English Civil War (1649–51), Parliamentary forces assumed control of
Maryland and Stone went into exile in Virginia. Per orders from Lord Baltimore, Stone returned
the following spring at the head of a Cavalier force. But, in what is known as the Battle of the
Severn (March 25, 1655), Stone was defeated and taken prisoner. Stone was replaced as
Governor by Josias Fendall (1628–87), and took no further part in public affairs.
Restoration and land grant
In 1660, the monarchy in England and the proprietor's government in Maryland were restored.
Lord Baltimore granted Stone as much land as he could ride around in a day, as a reward for
Stone's faithful service. Stone concentrated on developing his plantation at Poynton Manor in
what is now Charles County, Maryland, where he died in about 1660.[1]
Legacy
Stone's great-grandson, David (born 1709), greatly expanded the value of the estate at Poynton
and returned the family to prominence.[4] William Stone's great-great-grandsons made major
contributions to the foundation of Maryland as an American state: Thomas Stone signed the
Declaration of Independence, Michael Jenifer Stone represented Maryland in the First United
States Congress, John Hoskins Stone was Governor of Maryland 1794–97, and William Murray
Stone was the Episcopal Bishop of Baltimore.
References
1. ^ a b Concise Dictionary of American Biography, p. 1018. New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons/London: Oxford University Press, 1964.
2. ^ Virginia Immigrants & Adventurers 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary, Martha W.
McCartney, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2007, p. 672
3. ^ The Maryland Calendar of Wills, Vol. I, Jane Baldwin, Westminster MD: Family LIne
Publications, 1988, p. 12, 111.
4. ^ David Stone died intestate on March 18, 1773, at the age of 64.[1]
[edit] See also
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List of colonial governors of Maryland
Proprietary Governor
Province of Maryland
English Interregnum
English Civil War
The Protectorate
[edit] Further reading
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Battle of the Severn
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