Charles Carroll, The Settler

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Carroll_the_Settler

Charles Carroll I (1661–1720), sometimes called Charles Carroll the Settler to differentiate him from his son and grandson and great grandson of the same name,[1] was a wealthy lawyer and planter in colonial Maryland. Carroll, a Catholic, is best known because his efforts to hold office in the Protestant-dominated colony resulted in the disenfranchisement of Maryland Catholics, though he would eventually renounce his Catholic faith in favor of the Church of England.

The second son of Irish Catholic parents, Carroll was educated in France as a lawyer before returning to England, where he pursued the first steps in a legal career. Before that career developed, he secured a position as Attorney General of the young colony of Maryland, which was intended by its founder George Calvert and his descendants as a refuge for Catholics.

Carroll supported Charles Calvert, the colony's Catholic proprietor, in an unsuccessful effort to prevent the Protestant majority from gaining political control over Maryland. Following the overthrow of the Calvert proprietorship and the subsequent exclusion of Catholics from colonial government, Carroll turned his attention to planting, law, business, and various offices in the proprietor's remnant organization. He was the wealthiest man in the colony by the time of his death. In the last years of his life, Carroll's attempts to regain some vestige of political power for Catholics in the colony resulted in their disenfranchisement at the hands of the Protestant colonial assembly and Governor John Hart. His son, Charles Carroll of Annapolis, was a wealthy planter and his grandson, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, was the only Catholic signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.

Early life and emigration

Carroll was the second of four sons born to Daniel Carroll of Aghagurty and Littermurna (c. 1642–1688), a Catholic Irishman whose family lost much of their land and wealth in the English Civil War. The exact place of his birth is unclear, though it likely occurred near the small town of Aghagurty that Carroll's father took as part of his name.[1] Some of the family property near Aghagurty was obtained by a friend, Richard Grace, who made Daniel Carroll the head tenant. This action gave the family a livelihood, but the family continued to have limited means compared to their former status.[2] It is likely that Charles Carroll was fostered by the wealthier Grace, who had no son and greater resources to provide for the child's education.[3]

With Grace's support, Carroll was able to attend school in France—at Lille and at the University of Douai—where he studied the humanities, philosophy, and civil and canon law.[4] By May 1685, he had moved to London where he registered to study English common law and was accepted into the Inner Temple, one of the four Inns of Court that are able to call members to the bar and thereby enable them to practice law.[5] There, according to family tradition, Carroll secured a position as clerk to William Herbert, 1st Marquess of Powis, an Englishman who was one of two Catholic peers in the court of James II.[6]

According to Carroll family tradition, Powis told his new clerk that he believed King James was receiving bad advice related to the religious turmoil in England. Powis was concerned about the consequences of this bad advice for English Catholics. As a result, Powis supposedly spoke on Carroll’s behalf to an associate of his, Charles Calvert, proprietor of the Maryland colony.[7] Charles Calvert's grandfather, George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, was a former member of Parliament and Secretary of State to James I, whose Catholicism had effectively ended his political career. Intense lobbying by George Calvert had led to the granting of a hereditary charter to the Calvert family. The Maryland colony was established in the 1630s on land granted by this charter. It was intended as a haven for English Catholics and other religious minorities.[8] Powis may have encouraged Carroll to emigrate to Maryland with the hope that the younger man's career would come to greater fulfillment in a place with less religious conflict than England at the time.[6]

Regardless of whether this family story concerning Powis' advice is true, Carroll received a commission from Calvert as the colony's Attorney General on July 18, 1688, and arrived in the colony in October 1688. En route, Carroll changed his family motto from In fide et in bello forte (strong in faith and war) to Ubicumque cum libertate (anywhere so long as there be freedom).[7] Soon after he left, the Protestant William of Orange invaded England, James II fled, and Parliament—which had been leery of James' Catholicism—recognized William and his wife Mary as the new King and Queen two weeks after Carroll's arrival in Maryland. This event, known as the Glorious Revolution, had profound implications for the future of the Maryland colony and for Carroll himself.[9]

[edit] Career and rise to wealth in Maryland

Soon after his arrival in Maryland, Carroll presented his commission to the colony's council and was recognized as the new Attorney General of the colony. He arrived in a place already riven by religious and class differences. Carroll and nearly the entire governing structure of the colony, with the exception of the lower house of the proprietary assembly, were appointed by Calvert. Most of the appointees were Catholic and wealthy, whereas the majority of the population and the lower house of the assembly were Protestant and less wealthy.[10] Carroll arrived in Maryland just as long-standing economic, religious, and political tensions between the poorer Protestant majority and the wealthier and more powerful Catholic minority were reaching a head.[11]

By the late 17th century, Maryland's economy was suffering from the effects of price fluctuations on the world market of its main cash crop, tobacco. Often in those years, the price on world markets was barely above the cost of production, leaving planters with little to show for their efforts. This affected small Protestant planters disproportionately, as many of the larger Catholic landowners had diversified economically. This growing socioeconomic inequality exacerbated underlying religious tensions.[11] Furthermore, the new Governor, William Joseph, who arrived in the colony just before Carroll, immediately entered into an adversarial relationship with the Protestant-dominated lower house of the assembly. Into this powder keg came the news that England's Glorious Revolution had taken place; the Catholic King James II had been deposed and replaced with the Protestant William of Orange. In an attempt to maintain control in the colony, Governor Joseph quickly canceled the session of the colonial assembly scheduled for April 1689.[12]

In response to this cancellation and rumors of an anti-Protestant alliance between Catholics and Native Americans, Protestant settlers formed an association to defend themselves. In July 1689, they marched on the colonial capital, St. Mary's City. Led by John Coode, the Protestant associators were quickly able to capture St. Mary's and the other major towns of the colony. The Governor and a number of other Calvert allies fled to Virignia.[13] Charles Calvert turned for relief to the Lords of Trade and eventually to the Privy Council, but these groups sided with the Protestants and took away the power of the Calvert family to govern the colony.[14] Soon thereafter, the new leaders of the colony barred Catholics from holding office, bearing arms, or serving on juries.[15]

During the rebellion, Carroll was recovering from the "hard seasoning" often experienced by immigrants whose bodies were acclimatizing to local conditions.[16] Perhaps due to this illness, he chose not to flee the colony. Instead, Carroll offered support and legal advice to Calvert and became an outspoken critic of the Protestant government. He was jailed twice for insulting the new colonial leaders, including Governor Lionel Copley, who accused Carroll of, "uttering several mutinous and seditious speeches".[17] Losing his position in the colonial government and the £50 annual salary it entailed was a blow to Carroll. However, his support for Calvert earned him various positions in the private Calvert family organization, which would benefit him throughout his life.[18]

[edit] Marriage

Carroll was also able to improve his fortunes through judicious marriage. In November 1689, he wed Martha Ridgely Underwood, a widow whose two former husbands had left her a small fortune. Carroll inherited a portion of this fortune after Martha's 1690 death in childbirth.[19] The child, named Anthony in honor of Carroll's brother, also died.[20] Restricted in his law practice by the new Protestant government, Carroll used the inheritance to begin importing goods to the colony.[21] He also purchased a store in the town of Annapolis.[22]

In February of 1693 or 1694, Carroll remarried, this time to the 15-year-old daughter of Colonel Henry Darnall, Charles Calvert's chief agent in the colony.[23] The marriage to Mary Darnall secured Carroll a tract of land in Prince George's County, a position in the colony's land office with a £100 annual salary, and a lifelong alliance with Henry Darnall. This tract of land was the first part of what would become a vast empire of nearly 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) by the time of Carroll's death, worth approximately £20,000.[24] Some of these lands were worked by the 112 slaves he accumulated during his lifetime. This was an immense number of slaves for a Maryland plantation owner in the early colonial period.[25] After 1706, Carroll and his family resided on two properties, a town house built in the new colonial capital of Annapolis and the plantation called Dougheregan in modern-day Howard County.[26]

[edit] Children

As successful as Carroll was in business, however, he and his wife experienced many personal losses throughout this period. Of the ten children born to Charles and Mary Carroll, five died within a year of their birth. Henry, their eldest son, died the year before his father in 1719, at the age of 21 or 22. Only the third child, named Charles and later known as Charles Carroll of Annapolis, and his next son Daniel, would marry and have children of their own.[20]

Henry Darnall died in 1711. Carroll took over Darnall's positions as agent and receiver general for the Calvert family in the colony, both posts with significant additional salaries. Among the many uses to which he put this money was lending. After 1713, he became the largest mortgage lender in the colony, and made a number of large personal loans to other planters.[27] Carroll continued to practice law, making a small income from cases argued in the two courts where Catholics were still allowed to practice law, the chancery and prerogative courts.[28] His speculation in mercantile enterprises also continued. Together, these made Carroll the wealthiest man in the colony by 1715, and its most prominent Catholic.[29]

[edit] Final attempt at political power and death.

In 1715, political power over the Maryland colony was restored to the Calvert family after the conversion of Benedict Calvert to Protestantism. Emboldened by this turn of events, and with support from a number of prominent Maryland Catholic families, Carroll attempted to gain government office in the state. This would have been a profound departure from the policy of excluding Catholics from government, which had existed since the Protestant takeover in 1689. Carroll's chief antagonist in this effort was the Governor, John Hart.[30] In 1716, Hart discovered that Carroll was planning to travel to England to lobby Calvert's officials for restoration of office-holding rights for Catholics, something Hart vehemently opposed. Carroll did just that, although Hart later claimed that he had been promised no such lobbying would take place. In fact, Carroll managed to convince the proprietor's officials to appoint him as the proprietor's chief agent in the colony.[31] He was further appointed to the positions of receiver general, escheator, and naval officer. These positions together effectively gave Carroll the power to oversee all money in the colony that was collected by the government or by Calvert's private organization.[32]

Upon Carroll's return to Maryland, Hart was incensed both at the threat to his own power and the idea of a Catholic officeholder in the colony. Hart immediately demanded that Carroll take the oath of allegiance, which Carroll was willing to do, and the oath of abjuration confirming the Protestant succession to the English throne, which Carroll was not willing to do. Despite his refusal, Carroll began to act in the capacity authorized by the proprietor's commission, and Hart turned to the upper house of the colonial legislature for relief.[33] Rejecting Carroll's arguments in support of his right to hold government offices, the assembly resisted his attempts to exercise the commission and, near the end of 1716, passed a series of laws confirming and further restricting the anti-Catholic oath requirements for officeholders.[34] Carroll's case may have been undermined when he came to the defense of his nephew, who had raised a toast to the Catholic James Stuart. Stuart had tried to take the British throne during a rebellion in 1715 and was extremely unpopular with Protestants in the colony.[35] The proprietor, whose position had been so recently restored and who did not want to risk the loss of the colony, confirmed the decision of the assembly. Carroll's commission was formally revoked on February 20, 1717.[34] According to a later account Hart gave to the assembly, Carroll then began a campaign to undermine the Governor. There is no evidence this accusation was correct, but it convinced the assembly to pass even stricter anti-Catholic laws in 1718, including stripping Catholics of the right to vote.[36]

Carroll died only two years later, with his wealth intact but having failed to regain any political rights for Catholics in Maryland. Carroll's eldest son Henry had died a year before, and the family fortune and burden of heading a Catholic family in Protestant-dominated Maryland were passed on to his younger sons Charles and Daniel.[37] Carroll's descendants continued to play a prominent role in the colony. His son Charles, known as Charles Carroll of Annapolis, maintained and expanded the family fortune. His grandson, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, achieved the restoration of political rights his grandfather had desired, becoming the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence.[38]

Charles Carroll the Settler

Attorney General of the Maryland Colony

In office

1688–1689

Attorney General for the Calvert Proprietorship

In office

1689–1717

Attorney General of the Maryland Colony

In office

1716–1717

Born 1661

Ireland

Died 1720

Maryland colony

Spouse(s) Martha Ridgely Underwood, Mary Darnall

Children Anthony, Charles, Charles, Henry, Eleanor, Bridget, Charles (of Annapolis), Anthony, Daniel, Mary, Eleanor

Occupation Planter, Lawyer, Businessman

Religion Roman Catholic

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=mrmarsha&...

Charles [Settler] Carroll 1

Sex: M

Birth: 1661 in Litterluna, Kings County, Ireland

Death: 1 JUL 1720 in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland

Probate: 29 JUL 1720 Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland - Probate

1. Note:

   ===

   Carroll, Charles, A. A. County, 1st Dec., 1718;

   29th July, 1720,

   To the poor, 5000 lbs. tobacco.

   To the poor of this town., £10.

   To Exs., 10,000 lbs. tob. and 220 to be disposed of to charitable purposes.

   To 2 daus., Mary and Eleanor, a share of 20,000 A. on Potomac R., 5000 A. to each; shd. either die without issue., survivor to inherit portion of dec'd; Sd. both. die without issue, or enter into religion, remainder to descend to hrs. at law. (Mss. defaced.) Also £1000 each at age of 16 or marriage. 2 sons., Charles and Daniel, all real estate in Baltimore Co. except that herein expressed.

   To 4 kinswen, Elinor Boyd, Margaret Macknamara, Joyce Bradford and <nowiki>-----</nowiki> Maccoy, "Uncle's Goodwill in Baltimore County, equally.

   To Kinswoman Johanna Crocksdelll, £5 and to cousin Maj. John Bradford, £6.

   To wife Mary, personalty at house in Annapolis (excepting plate, which is to be divided among 3 sons., equally, as they come of age, excepting altar plate, which is bequeathed to son Henry); 1600 A. "Enfield Chase," Pr. Geo. County, and dwelling house in Annapolis, during life; £1000 absolutely; the rents of houses and lots in Annapolis, during widowhood; except lot bou. of Mr. Wornell Hunt, which is bequeathed to son Charles; market-house lot to son Daniel; lot bou. of Wm. Taylord to dau. Mary, and lot whereon Edward Smith lives to dau. Eleanor.

   To kinsmen Thos. Macnemera, James Carroll., William Fitzredmond,, Charles and Dominick Carroll, Michael Taylor and Daniel Carroll, £6 each.

   Overseers: Bros.-in-law Henry Darnall, and Benj. Hall, kinsmen James and Daniel Carroll.

   Test: Luke Gardner, Rev. Jacob Henderson, D. Dulany, Jno. Gresham., Thos. Stewart. 16.176.

   ===

   Darnell, Henry,, A. A. County, 28th Apr., 1711;

   17th July, 1711.

   To wife - dwelling plantation and 1/3 personalty during life.

   son-in-law Charles Carroll and hrs,, 3 tracts in Prince George's County, viz., 1726 A., "The Girl's Portion,"' 925 A., "The Outlet"' at head of Western Brack of Patuxent R. and 406 A., "The Concord," also 400 A., on Patuxent R.., purchased from Philip Gitting, having been purchased by him from Cuthbert Fenwick.

   To son-in-law Clement Hill, tracts, each of 400 A. in Prince George's Go., one on lower side of Clement Brooks' land on east side of Piscataway Branch, and the other lying below afsd. tract but separated by- land taken up by Thomas Brook; also such estate as was agreed upon between testator and Clement Hill, Sr., upon his marriage with dau. Anne.

   To son-in-law Edward Diggs and hrs., 1000 A., in Cecil County, conveyed to testator by exs. of Col. Vincent Low; also 2 tracts in Prince George's County, viz., 250 A., "Kingstone." purchased from Peter Joy., and where sd. Diggs now lives, and 125 A. adjoining,. purchased from Nathan Veitch, these tracts being given in lien of 1000 A., " The Reserve" and 400 A., " Conveniency, " which were promised to him at his marriage with dau. Elizabeth.

   Sales Ratified.

   To Arnold Levet of 200 A., Jno. Miller 194 A., the sons of John Summers 130 A., and to Henry Calvert

   150 A., tracts in Prince George's Co

   To son-in-law Clement Brooks, 46 A., adjoining his quarter, about 2 miles from former dwelling place, "WoodYard,"

   To grandson, eld. son of son Henry (Darnall) and hrs., 200 A., "Knot's Neck," also " Burroughs" in Calvert County, 2000 A., "Land of Promise" in Balto. County, 500 A., " St. Jerom" in A. A. Co.? all that land part of "Portland Manor" where his father, testator's son Philip, lived, on east side Cabin Branch.

   To grandson Philip, young son of afsd. son Philip, and hrs., lands bequeathed his brother Henry should he die without issue, also 3 tracts in Balto. County, "The Reserve" and "Conveniency" afsd., 800 A.;, "Rich Levels" 250 A., "Portland Landing" and that part of "Portland Manor" on West side Cabin Branch where his father Philip lived. Should son Philip die without issue, his brother Henry, afsd., is made reversionary legatee; and to grandsons at 15 yrs., personalty.

   To granddau. Eleanor Darnall, eld. dau. of son Philip, and to Sarah, his young. dau., personalty at 15 yrs. of age.

   To grandson John (Darnall), 2nd son of son Henry and hrs., dwelling place, 1000 A., "Portland Manor" in A, A, County, at decease of wife.

   To daus. Mary Carroll and Anne Hill, personalty, and to Robt. Brooke, Wm. Hunter, Thos. Mansell and Leo Thorould., Personalty.

   ===

   Emmanuel Pitcher 138.109 A SM Jun 8 1696

   Payments to: Capt. Thomas Meech, Mr. Robert Mason, Mr. Robert Mason for Mr. Watkins, Cheseldyne Kenelm, Esq., Mr. Phill. Clarke for Mr. Masson, Mr. Mason fees for Mr. Watkins vs. Harrison, Mr. Mason for Mr. Denton, Mr. Anthony Lambrecky, John Savage, Mr. Gilbert Turbervile, Mr. Charles Carroll, John Tant, Richard Attwood, William Harbert, Mr. James Pattison, Thomas Beale.

   Mentions: Walton, Edward Miller.

   Administratrix: Jane Rose, wife of Thomas Rose.

   ===

   Contributed by: James Hughes

   URL: http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/refserv/quickref/html/carroll...

   URL title: A Guide to the Microfilm Edition of the Charles Carroll of Carrollton Family Papers

   Note:

   DUVALL, JOHN, to CHARLES CARROLL THE SETTLER. 1709, April 6. Mortgage of Duvall's Delight, Anne Arundel County, and slaves and cattle. MdHi, MS 219, box 1. Film No.: MSA M 4207-3246 Item No. [3246]

   ===

   Prince George's County Land Records, Folio 246: Indenture, I Jan 1708

   From: Charles Carroll of Anne Arundel County, Esq'r and Mary his wife

   To: Col. Henry Ridgely of Prince George's County, Gent.

   For 55L a 100 acre tract of land called Enfield Chase originally granted 1 Oct 1683 to John Lewellin for 1,600 acres in Prince George's County; bounded by Cotton owned by Henry Land

   Signed: Charles Carroll and Mary Carroll

   Witnessed: Fitz Redmond and Edw'd Carroll

   Alienation: 23 Mar 1709 Henry Ridgly paid the sum of 4s

   Acknowledgement: 9 Mar 1709 Charles and Mary Carroll acknowledged deed before Philemon Loyd

   ===

   Prince George's Land Records 1726-1730 - Liber M, Page 212

   Petition of Mary Carroll & Charles Carroll of Annapolis to the Justices 4th Tues. in June last

   Charles, Lord Baron of Baltimore to John Magruder, Richard Keene, Archibald Edmonston and John Hasewell; regarding boundaries of Enfield's Chance; depositions regarding boundaries:

   Deposition of Marreen Duvall, Sr., planter, age ca 65; mentions 2 tracts called Wilson's Plaines and Howerton's Range; mentions deponent's father, also George Yates, Henry Hanslop, John Duvall, Robert Proctor, etc.; 4 Oct 1726

   Deposition of Marreen Duvall, Sr., planter, age ca 65; mentions John Boyd and Robert Anderson; 4 Oct 1726

   Deposition of Mareen Duvall of the Great Marsh, age ca 46; mentions his brothers John, Mareen and Samuel; mentions Parrotts Thickets; 4 Oct 1726

   Deposition of Robert Tyler, Gent,. age ca 55; mentions Patuxent River, Robt. Anderson, Sr., mentions Enfield's Chance, land in possession of Madam Mary Carroll and land of George Yates, James White's Eglington, John Boyd, Sr. and David Fry; 4 Oct 1726

   Deposition of Samuel Duvall, planter, age ca 58; mentions the Great Marsh, Parrotts Thickett, deponent's father's land called Howerton's Range

   22 Jun 1727; Deposition of Clement Hill, Gent., age ca 56; mentions Eglington now in possession of Henry Hall formerly laid out for James White of Anne Arundel County, Capt. John Hyde of London who resurveyed Enfield's Chance, Gabriel Parrott's land called Parrott's Thickets, Col. Ridglie's clear ground, Charles Carroll, etc.

   23 Jun 1727; Deposition of Robert Tyler, Gent., age ca 55; mentions Eglington, Enfield's Chance, John Hyde of London, Howerton's Range, etc.

   27 Jun 1727; Deposition of James Carroll, age ca 48; mentions Charles Carroll, decd, Col. Henry Ridgley; Enfield's Chance of 100 acres, Richard Clark, land called Chatton, etc.

   27 Jun 1727; Deposition of Col. Ninian Beall, age ca 79; mentions George Yates of Anne Arundel County, Charles Buttler told Ninian "thou art a brave boy for thou hast taken up 300 acres of land for my son Nedd meaning Edward Butler in Calvert Co."; [Beall recounts his memory of conversation regarding surveying on west side of the Patuxent]; mentions Essington [?Eglington], James White, Padaway Farm, etc.

   4 Oct 1726; Deposition of Richard Keene, age ca 37; mentions Major Josiah Wilson, lately dec'd

   1 Jul 1727; Deposition of Lingan Wilson, age ca 23; mentions Josiah Wilson

   Enrolled 1 Jul 1727

   ===

   Prince George's Land Records 1730-1733 - Liber Q, Page 176

   Enrolled at request of Daniel Carroll, mortgage, 28 Nov 1730:

   Indenture, 25 Nov 1730; Between Thomas Brooke, Esq. of one part and Charles Carroll, Esq. and Daniel Carroll, Gent., exs. of Charles Carroll, Esq., dec'd; for £450.7.11 paid by Charles and Daniel Carroll; discharge of several tracts, viz. remaining part of Brooke Chance of 700 acres, remaining part of The Vineyard of 300 acres, one water or grist mill; also Negro slaves: man called Will age ca 22, Frank or Francis, carpenter, age ca 45, Nathaniel age ca 24, Darby age ca 50, Joseph age ca 40, Sam age ca 30, Andrew age ca 35; also women: Rebecca age ca 23, Margaret age ca 21, Elizabeth age ca 35, Elizabeth age ca 20, Catherine age ca 33, girl Susanna age ca 13, Rebecca age ca 29, Fido age 35; boy Aaron age ca 13, girl Rachel age ca 9, girl Jane age ca 5; /s/ Thomas Brooke; wit. Jno. Magruder, Edw. Sprigg, Thos. Brooke, Jr.; 25 Nov 1730 ack. by Thomas Brooke

   ===

   Prince George's County, Maryland - Land Owners at Time PGCo Was Formed - 1696: Tract Name: CARROLLS FORREST; Owner: Carroll, Charles (Esq): Orig County = C {Charles = C, Calvert = V}; Patent Date: May 3, 1689 : Ref: Liber B#23, f 17: Map Location: N-02

Charles Carroll, the Settler, was the grandfather of Charles Carroll of Carrolton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. During the Church Reformation in the 1600's, the Carroll's had to evacuate the Birr Castle, Offley, Ireland. Charles Carroll, the Settler, migrated to the States (through England). Due to his connections with King James II of England (the last Catholic King of England), he purchased land in Maryland. He was the first link of the Carroll's who migrated to the States. His grandson, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, would become one of the founding fathers of our Country who signs "The Declaration of Independence."

The second son of Irish Catholic parents, Carroll was educated in France as a lawyer before returning to England, where he pursued the first steps in a legal career. Before that career developed, he secured a position as Attorney General of the young colony of Maryland. Its founder George Calvert and his descendants intended it as a refuge for Catholics.

Carroll supported Charles Calvert, the colony's Catholic proprietor, in an unsuccessful effort to prevent the Protestant majority from gaining political control over Maryland. Following the overthrow of the Calvert proprietorship and the subsequent exclusion of Catholics from colonial government, Carroll turned his attention to planting, law, business, and various offices in the proprietor's remnant organization. He was the wealthiest man in the colony by the time of his death. In the last years of his life, Carroll attempted to regain some vestige of political power for Catholics in the colony, but the Protestant colonial assembly and Governor John Hart disfranchised them. His son, Charles Carroll of Annapolis, became a wealthy planter and his grandson, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, also wealthy, was the only Catholic signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.

Carroll was the second of four sons born to Daniel Carroll of Aghagurty and Littermurna (c. 1642–1688), a Catholic Irishman whose family lost much of their land and wealth in the English Civil War. The exact place of his birth is unclear, though it likely occurred near the small town of Aghagurty that Carroll's father took as part of his name. Some of the family property near Aghagurty was obtained by a friend, Richard Grace, who made Daniel Carroll the head tenant. This action gave the family a livelihood, but the family continued to have limited means compared to their former status. It is likely that Charles Carroll was fostered by the wealthier Grace, who had no son; his greater resources could provide for the child's education.

With Grace's support, Carroll was able to attend school in France—at Lille and at the University of Douai—where he studied the humanities, philosophy, and civil and canon law. By May 1685, Carroll had moved to London, where he registered to study English common law and was accepted into the Inner Temple, one of the four Inns of Court that are able to call members to the bar and enable them to practice law. According to family tradition, Carroll secured a position as clerk to William Herbert, 1st Marquess of Powis, an Englishman who was one of two Catholic peers in the court of James II.

According to Carroll family tradition, Powis told his new clerk that he believed King James was receiving bad advice related to the religious turmoil in England. Powis was concerned about the consequences for English Catholics. He supposedly spoke on Carroll's behalf to an associate of his, Charles Calvert, proprietor of the Maryland colony. Charles Calvert's grandfather, George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, was a former member of Parliament and Secretary of State to James I, whose Catholicism had effectively ended his political career. Intense lobbying by George Calvert had led to the granting of a hereditary charter to the Calvert family. The Maryland colony was established in the 1630s on land granted by this charter. It was intended as a haven for English Catholics and other religious minorities. Powis may have encouraged Carroll to emigrate to Maryland with the hope that the younger man's career would come to greater fulfillment in a place with less religious conflict than England at the time.

Carroll received a commission from Calvert as the colony's Attorney General on July 18, 1688, and arrived in the colony in October 1688. En route, Carroll changed his family motto from In fide et in bello forte (strong in faith and war) to Ubicumque cum libertate (anywhere so long as there be freedom). Soon after he left, the Protestant William of Orange invaded England, James II fled, and Parliament—which had been leery of James' Catholicism—recognized William and his wife Mary as the new King and Queen two weeks after Carroll's arrival in Maryland. This event, known as the Glorious Revolution, had profound implications for the future of the Maryland colony and for Carroll.

Doughoregan Manor, one of the Carroll family homes in Maryland Soon after his arrival in Maryland, Carroll presented his commission to the colony's council and was recognized as the new Attorney General of the colony. He arrived in a place already riven by religious and class differences. Carroll and nearly the entire governing structure of the colony, with the exception of the lower house of the proprietary assembly, were appointed by Calvert. Most of the appointees were Catholic and wealthy, whereas the majority of the population and the lower house of the assembly were Protestant and less wealthy. Carroll arrived in Maryland just as long-standing economic, religious, and political tensions between the poorer Protestant majority and the wealthier and more powerful Catholic minority were reaching a head.

By the late 17th century, Maryland's economy was suffering from the effects of price fluctuations on the world market of its main cash crop, tobacco. Often in those years, the price on world markets was barely above the cost of production, leaving planters with little to show for their efforts. This affected small Protestant planters disproportionately, as many of the larger Catholic landowners had diversified economically. This growing socioeconomic inequality exacerbated underlying religious tensions. Furthermore, the new Governor, William Joseph, who arrived in the colony just before Carroll, immediately entered into an adversarial relationship with the Protestant-dominated lower house of the assembly. Into this powder keg came the news that England's Glorious Revolution had taken place; the Catholic King James II had been deposed and replaced with the Protestant William of Orange. In an attempt to maintain control in the colony, Governor Joseph quickly canceled the session of the colonial assembly scheduled for April 1689.

In response to this cancellation and rumors of an anti-Protestant alliance between Catholics and Native Americans, Protestant settlers formed an association to defend themselves. In July 1689, they marched on the colonial capital, St. Mary's City. Led by John Coode, the Protestant associators were quickly able to capture St. Mary's and the other major towns of the colony. The Governor and a number of other Calvert allies fled to Virginia. Charles Calvert turned for relief to the Lords of Trade and eventually to the Privy Council, but these groups sided with the Protestants and took away the power of the Calvert family to govern the colony. Soon thereafter, the new leaders of the colony barred Catholics from holding office, bearing arms, or serving on juries.

During the rebellion, Carroll was recovering from the "hard seasoning" often experienced by immigrants whose bodies were acclimatizing to local conditions. Perhaps due to illness, he chose not to flee the colony. Instead, Carroll offered support and legal advice to Calvert and became an outspoken critic of the Protestant government. He was jailed twice for insulting the new colonial leaders, including Governor Lionel Copley, who accused Carroll of, "uttering several mutinous and seditious speeches". Losing his position in the colonial government and the £50 annual salary it entailed was a blow to Carroll. His support for Calvert earned him various positions in the private Calvert family organization, which would benefit him throughout his life.

Carroll improved his fortunes through a judicious marriage. In November 1689, he wed Martha Ridgely Underwood, a widow whose two former husbands had left her a small fortune. Carroll inherited a portion of this fortune after Martha's death in 1690 in childbirth. The child, named Anthony in honor of Carroll's brother, also died. Restricted in his law practice by the new Protestant government, Carroll used the inheritance to begin importing goods to the colony. He also purchased a store in the town of Annapolis.

Mary Darnall Carroll, second wife of Charles Carroll and one means to his fortune In February 1693 or 1694, Carroll remarried, this time to the 15-year-old daughter of Colonel Henry Darnall, Charles Calvert's chief agent in the colony. The marriage to Mary Darnall secured Carroll a tract of land in Prince George's County, a position in the colony's land office with a £100 annual salary, and a lifelong alliance with Henry Darnall. This tract of land was the first part of what would become a vast empire of nearly 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) by the time of Carroll's death, worth approximately £20,000. Some of these lands were worked by the 112 slaves he acquired during his lifetime. This was a very large number of slaves for a Maryland planter in the early colonial period. After 1706, Carroll and his family resided on two properties, a town house built in the new colonial capital of Annapolis and the plantation called Dougheregan in modern-day Howard County.

As successful as Carroll was in business, however, he and his wife experienced many personal losses throughout this period. Of the ten children born to Charles and Mary Carroll, five died within a year of their birth. Henry, their eldest son, died the year before his father in 1719, at the age of 21 or 22. Only the third child, named Charles and later known as Charles Carroll of Annapolis, and their next son Daniel would marry and have children of their own.

Henry Darnall died in 1711. Carroll took over Darnall's positions as agent and receiver general for the Calvert family in the colony, both posts with significant additional salaries. Among the many uses to which he put this money was lending. After 1713, he became the largest mortgage lender in the colony, and made a number of large personal loans to other planters. Carroll continued to practice law, making a small income from cases argued in the two courts where Catholics were still allowed to practice law, the chancery and prerogative courts. His speculation in mercantile enterprises also continued. Together, these made Carroll the wealthiest man in the colony by 1715, and its most prominent Catholic.

Benedict Calvert, whose restored proprietorship over Maryland did not bring the religious tolerance for which Charles Carroll had hoped In 1715, political power over the Maryland colony was restored to the Calvert family after the conversion of Benedict Calvert to Protestantism. Emboldened by this turn of events, and with support from a number of prominent Maryland Catholic families, Carroll attempted to gain government office in the state. This would have been a profound departure from the policy of excluding Catholics from government, which had existed since the Protestant takeover in 1689. Carroll's chief antagonist in this effort was the Governor, John Hart. In 1716, Hart discovered that Carroll was planning to travel to England to lobby Calvert's officials for restoration of office-holding rights for Catholics, something Hart vehemently opposed. Hart described Carroll as:

"a professed Papist, and the first fomentor of our late Disturbances, who having acquired a large estate in the Province by the offices he formerly employed, and his practice in Law...must needs add the Ambition of Rule to his former Felicity". Carroll travelled to England to press his case, although Hart later claimed that he had been promised no such lobbying would take place. Carroll convinced the proprietor's officials to appoint him as the proprietor's chief agent in the colony. He was further appointed to the positions of receiver general, escheator, and naval officer. These positions together effectively gave Carroll the power to oversee all money in the colony that was collected by the government or by Calvert's private organization.

Upon Carroll's return to Maryland, Hart was incensed both at the threat to his own power and the idea of a Catholic officeholder in the colony. Hart demanded that Carroll take the oath of allegiance, which he was willing to do, and the oath of abjuration confirming the Protestant succession to the English throne, which Carroll was not willing to do. Carroll began to act in the capacity authorized by the proprietor's commission, and Hart turned to the upper house of the colonial legislature for relief. Rejecting Carroll's arguments in support of his right to hold government offices, the assembly resisted his attempts to exercise the commission and, near the end of 1716, passed a series of laws confirming and restricting the oath requirements for officeholders, which were anti-Catholic by intent. Carroll's case may have been undermined when he came to the defense of his nephew, who had raised a toast to the Catholic James Stuart. Stuart had tried to take the British throne during a rebellion in 1715 and was extremely unpopular with Protestants in the colony. The proprietor, whose position had been so recently restored and who did not want to risk the loss of the colony, confirmed the decision of the assembly. Carroll's commission was formally revoked on 20 February 1717. According to a later account Hart gave to the assembly, Carroll began a campaign to undermine the Governor. There is no evidence that Hart was accurate, but the assembly passed stricter anti-Catholic laws in 1718, including disfranchisement, stripping Catholic males of the right to vote.

Carroll died only two years later, with his wealth intact but having failed to regain any political rights for Catholics in Maryland. Carroll's eldest son Henry had died a year before; the family fortune and burden of heading a Catholic family in Protestant-dominated Maryland were passed on to his younger sons Charles and Daniel.

Carroll's descendants continued to play a prominent role in the colony. His son Charles, known as Charles Carroll of Annapolis, maintained and expanded the family fortune. His grandson, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, achieved the restoration of political rights his grandfather had desired. He became the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence.