Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Claire Doll
MSMU Class of 2024

(7/2023) I live in Carroll County, Maryland, not far from Emmitsburg. I love where I live because of the rolling farm fields, the seemingly endless space, and the long, country backroads. Only recently, while researching the forgotten signers of the Declaration of Independence, did I realize that my home county was named after Charles Carroll of Carrollton. Not only was he a Marylander; this signer was the last surviving contributor to the Declaration of Independence, and is from Annapolis, where my sister lives. I had no idea that this person was so relevant to the places I loved the most.

All these facts compelled me to know more about Charles Carroll. In fact, my county just recently created a Charles Carroll Community Center last year, at the site of the former Charles Carroll Elementary School in Westminster, Maryland. The center will include a full-size gymnasium, multipurpose rooms, and a technology room, all with Wi-Fi access.

So, who was Charles Carroll? Would he even care about any of this?

Born in Annapolis on September 19th, 1737, Carroll attended the Academy of Jesuits at Bohemia Manor and attended a Jesuit College at St. Omer, continuing his education until the age of 28. Carroll’s father hoped that his Catholic education would prepare him for the world and develop him into a thoughtful, insightful citizen. Carroll took on multiple occupations throughout his life: a planter, managing his estate; a subscriber to the Potamac Company; a partner to the Baltimore Ironworks Company; a proprietor of the Susquehanna Canal; a member of the Board of Directors for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company; and a landlord. Carroll was also elected to the Senate of Maryland and U.S. Senator from Maryland.

Carroll participated in framing and designing a constitution for Maryland. Being the last surviving member who signed the Declaration, Carroll was also the only Roman Catholic to do so.

Through research and information offered from catholiceducation.org, I learned that Catholics weren’t even allowed to vote at the time of the Declaration signing. "Catholics could no longer hold office, exercise the franchise, educate their children in their faith, or worship in public." However, through Carroll’s perspectives on defending freedom, he supported the war with his private funds. He fought against the bigotry of anti-Catholic laws and argued for the separation of church and state. According to thehistorylist.com, "Faced with both persecution and restrictions for his faith, Charles Carroll of Carrollton secured his family’s vision of personal, political, and religious freedom for all citizens when he became the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence in 1776."

After spending his life in France to pursue higher education, Carroll moved to London, continuing his legal studies and observing the British parliamentary system. This inspired a motivation to resist the British constitutional monarchy and use his philosophical and theological studies to enforce the culture of independence so relevant in Maryland. Carroll recognized the tensions between the colonies and the motherland and "returned from Europe filled with the great spirit into the controversy between the colonies and Great Britain" (Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence).

The "Of Carrollton" at the end of Carroll’s name on the Declaration of Independence serves as a distinction, since John Hancock does say that "Charles Carroll" itself is a quite common name, and he could be mistaken for a false identity. Carroll’s father supported Carroll in building his own Maryland Manor, named Carrollton, which he never used as a full-time residence. Established within Maryland’s society, Carroll prepared his son to develop and manage Carrollton, which had orchards, livestock, a cedar mill, and a small factory for making clothes.

The manor was also used to employ over three hundred slaves, which caused Carroll to feel immense discomfort, as his values did not align with slavery. Carroll would avoid breaking up families, and he provided religious and spiritual instruction to his slaves. He finally proposed a bill to abolish slavery altogether. Upon reading this, I found is disappointing yet unsurprising that Carroll owned slaves. While normalized for white men in the 1700s, one’s character is truly judged based on their perspective and participation in slavery. For Carroll, while he did vouch for abolition, he also owned slaves in the first place and used his manor with these intentions. I did not want to neglect this idea nor only list the positive facts about Carroll. This research also shows a different side of him, one painted by the conditions of our country at the time.

Our country has grown a lot, however. The same Declaration that Carroll signed in 1776 serves to remind us today that all men and women are created equal, that we are given rights that cannot be taken away from us. No matter his beliefs or dispositions, Carroll maintained that this document would secure the rights to all people in the present and future of the U.S. Our nation, shaped and challenged by significant historical events, stands today as a reminder of what we can accomplish.

Today, Charles Carroll’s manor remains as a historical landmark in Frederick County. The manor was a 17,000-acre tract of land, extending to the Potamac River, Catoctin Mountains, Monocacy River, and Ballenger Creek. When Charles Carroll died in 1832, the estate was given to his descendants, and the manor was eventually sold. Today, the manor serves as a guest house and meeting center.

As for my own county, Carroll County, it is fulfilling to research its history and namesake. Charles Carroll of Carrollton is known for being the only Catholic to sign the Declaration, for having his property as part of his name, and for being the longest surviving signer of the document. So, would Carroll care about having a new community center named after him? Or an elementary school? Or even an entire county? I believe he would. Carroll’s legacy invites us to define the meaning of independence and question the standards that might prevent us from following what is right. His name represents so much from where I live, and perhaps this is why his manor is so relevant to who he is. Just like his large and expansive estate, Charles Carroll still leaves a legacy today as a patriotic and ambitious American citizen.

Read other articles by Claire Doll