Henry Darnall I

Description

Oil on canvas portrait painting of "Henry Darnall I" (1645-1711), ca. 1800-1900, by an unknown artist. Darnall was born in Clohamon, Ireland and was the son of a London barrister. He immigrated to the Maryland Colony in 1664 and was granted several hundred acres of land in what was then Calvert County, now Prince George's County. During Darnall's first decade in the colony, he became very wealthy and acquired additional land and slaves. He married Eleanor Hatton Brooke Darnall (1642-1725), after the death of her first husband in 1676, and the couple had six children, including Henry Darnall II (1682-1759). Due to his wealth and status, he was able to attain numerous political appointments in the Maryland government, including: Chancellor of Maryland (1683-1689); His Lordship's Agent and Receiver General (1684-1711); Rent Roll Keeper (1689-1699). Darnall also served briefly as Deputy Governor and as a colonel in the militia. During the Maryland Protestant Revolution of 1689, Darnall was stripped of some of his titles and accused of treason against the monarchy, largely due to his Roman Catholic religious beliefs. While he lost some of his positions, he continued to acquire land and wealth as a planter. In 1703, Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron of Baltimore, granted him 7,000 acres, which he called "His Lordship's Kindness," and was later called "Poplar Hill." Darnall also acquired land, which was eventually named "Darnall's Choice." Upon his death in 1711, he owned nearly 30,000 acres in Prince George's County and in several others. He is buried in the Darnall Family Cemetery in Bristol, Anne Arundel County, Maryland.