Charles Carroll I (1661-1720)

He was born in Ireland at Aghagurty, Co. Offaly, and studied in France and then at the Inner Temple in London. In 1688, the Catholic Lord Baltimore appointed him Attorney-General to the Colony of Maryland and he arrived there in October of that year. But, soon after his arrival he was stripped of his position following the Glorious Revolution (1689) that saw the Protestant King William III take the English throne. In Maryland too, Catholics were no longer able to hold office, serve on juries, bear arms nor even vote. Charles instead turned his attention to business and accumulated a fortune, making him the wealthiest man in Maryland by the time of his death in 1720. Only two of his eleven children (Charles II and Daniel) married and had children.