Benedict Swingate Calvert

Benedict Swingate Calvert was a planter, politician and a Loyalist in Maryland during the American Revolution. He was the son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, the third Proprietor Governor of Maryland , and may have been the grandson of King George I of Great Britain. His mothers identity is not known, though one source suggests Melusina von der Schulenburg, Countess of Walsingham. As he was illegitimate, he was not able to inherit his fathers title or estates, which passed instead to his half brother Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore . Benedict Calvert spent most of his life as a politician and planter in Maryland, though Frederick, by contrast, never visited the colony. Calvert became wealthy through proprietarial patronage and became an important colonial official, but he would lose his offices and his political power, though not his land and wealth, during the American Revolution.

Calvert was born Benedict Swinket in England on January 27, 1722, the illegitimate son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, proprietary governor of the Province of Maryland. Although his birth year has been variously given as 1724 or 17301732, his own grave marker in the floor of the chancery of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Croom, Maryland shows the 1722 date, and this would appear to be the most reliable evidence available.

Source: Wikipedia