Mary Dawson

From All of the Above I by Richard Baldwin Cook

Into This Province to Inhabit

• Mary Stone
• Robert Doyne
  • 1. Mary Doyne Dawson (d. 1734)
  • 2. George Dawson...

Mary Doyne (not to be confused with Rebecca Doyne, her mother-in-law) was the daughter of Mary Stone (d. 1683/86) and Robert Doyne (d. 1689). Robert arrived in Maryland Province in 1669-70, probably from Ireland, possibly by way of Barbados. A report has been given that Robert was born in Charles County, Maryland, between 1647 and 1657. This may be correct. Robert and his brother Joshua (about 1634-1698) were the sons of Sarah Wharton and immigrant William Doyne (b. 1610). William, of Carrichfergus, Ireland, died in Charles County, Maryland. Placing William, the father, in Charles County may account for the speculation that Robert was born in Maryland. His brother Joshua was born in County Wexford, Ireland. Possibly, Robert was born in Maryland, but was raised elsewhere, returning (from Ireland? Barbados?) when both brothers were brought in to Maryland Colony by Jesse Wharton in 1669-70.

On Feb. 16, 1670, Jesse Wharton petitioned "the County of St. Maries" for the right to take ownership of 1050 acres of land "for Transporting himself and these persons into this Province to inhabit (vis)" [20 individuals including] "Joshua Doyne" [and] "Robert Doyne." The language of the petition - "to inhabit" - implies that the Doyne brothers arrived for the first time. Of course, the petition is meant to imply that very fact, so as to strengthen Wharton's demand for the land. Thus it is possible that Robert Doyne was born in Maryland and also arrived (again) in Maryland as a young man, "to inhabit." Sarah Wharton, mother of Joshua and Robert Doyne may have been a sibling of Jesse Wharton. The names Jesse as well as Wharton have come down the Doyne lines.

The name Doyne has been said to be an Irish derivative of the English Dunn. Perhaps. Perhaps not. O Doyne has been connected to O Duinn and O Doinn. Each one, or one or another may derive from donn (brown) or hill (dun). According to the name counters, O Doyne is rare in Ireland today, while Dunn and O Duinn are more common.

Both Robert and Joshua Doyne may have been Catholic. Or perhaps Joshua was Catholic and Robert was Anglican. Mary Stone, Robert Doyne's wife, is believed to have been Anglican, which may have been Robert's church by his own choice and not just his wife's. It is conceivable that these two brothers, arriving in Maryland together, strategically divided their religious affiliations so as to avoid making the family's fortunes too dependent on only one allegiance.

The volatility of religious identity in early Maryland would have invited a cautious approach. In 1664, William Stone, the first Protestant Governor of Maryland (appointed by Lord Baltimore) was removed by Commissioners sent from London by Oliver Cromwell. Lord Protector Cromwell thought he could rule Maryland personally from across the wide ocean. He and his minions, victorious in civil war and vindictive in civil peace, wanted to decrease the power of the Catholic Calvert family. They dismissed the Calvert's agent, William Stone, though Stone was himself a Protestant from neighboring Virginia. Governor Stone accepted his removal until the arrival from the Calverts of a small, armed contingent sent to restore Stone's authority. That didn't work. In 1655, Virginia Puritans, whom Stone himself had invited to settle in Maryland, won a bloody battle that defeated Stone for good. In 1692, the pendulum swung again as the fledgling legislature decreed the establishment of the Church of England in Maryland, supported by taxes on the public and fines against non-adherents.

There is strong evidence for brother Joshua Doyne's Catholicism. In his will, he left a bequest of 1,000 pounds of tobacco for the benefit of "ye poor Catholiques." Joshua also made another, odd stipulation, gifting a daughter two of his slaves should she wed a "Catholick" if she marries at all. In his Aug. 16, 1698, will, this is what Joshua specified: "I Give and Bequeath unto my Daughter Jane Doyne one Mallattoe boy called Lewis and a Negroe called Mary provided she marieth a Roman Catholick if she betake herselfe to ye State of Mattrimony." The wealthy Joshua distributed half a dozen additional slaves among his children, leaving the nameless and unspecified balance of slaves to his wife. Joshua could have done none of this - owned human beings or disposed of them by devise - had he remained in Ireland or England.

Though newcomers, the Doyne brothers were accepted as persons of social position. Joshua married the stepdaughter of Lord Baltimore; Robert married the daughter of the former Governor William Stone (1603-1660), that is the widow, Mary Stone (Thomas). A further sign of his status is Robert Doyne's appointment as one of the Justices of Charles County and shortly thereafter, High Sheriff, a position he held until his death on July 23, 1689.

Robert Doyne and Mary Stone were married by March 3, 1674; by that date, Mary is referred to in her mother's will as "daughter Doyne." The children of Mary and Robert Doyne are:

• Wharton
• Sarah
• Verlinda
• Elinor
• William, and
• their youngest child, namesake Mary (d. 1734), who became the wife of the first Nicholas Dawson (d. 1728).

Robert Doyne married a second wife, though she bore him no children. The absence of issue is known from Robert's will, which named all of his children "from a single venture" but then also named a second wife, Ann(e) Burford. Ann(e), daughter of Anne and Thomas Burford, Maryland Attorney General, subsequently married George Plater, also Province Attorney General; on Plater's death, Anne married John Rousby, of Calvert County. By my count, the orphaned children of Mary Stone and Robert Doyne had a stepmother and two stepfathers, giving an early occasion in colonial Maryland for the playground taunt: "Who's your daddy now?"

We turn aside from a weak attempt at humor in the face of rampant death, so as to acknowledge the maternal care shown to an ancestor, the little orphan, Mary Doyne (d. 1734), who was cared for in the home of stepparents. These goodhearted (we presume) individuals did not obstruct Mary in her inheritance or in her marriage to Nicholas Dawson (d. 1728). Their progeny survive to offer gratitude to ancient, early Americans, who raised, as their own, the children of others.

Robert Doyne acquired many thousands of acres of Maryland land, including holdings on the Eastern Shore (Somerset County). A year before his death, Robert Doyne, purchased in Charles County (later Prince George's County) a 500-acre parcel called "Saturday's Work."

Robert Doyne died suddenly in July 1689. Struck down quickly of some unremembered cause, Robert knew of his impending death and called for a secretary to make his will. Richard Boughton, who was present on July 20, wrote down Robert's intentions. On July 23, Robert told his brother Joshua he had dictated a will and expressed the hope it would be sufficient "though it might not be informe." Robert died before the will was signed. His nuncupative (oral)will was presented in court, on July 28, 1689. The grieving family, including brother Joshua, Anne the new second wife/widow, and former brother-in-law, John Stone hurried into court with Richard Boughton, to preclude any outliers from getting their chance at intestate property. The St. Mary's County Court accepted the will as proved and ordered its terms implemented...

Sources:

• For Dawson, Doyne, Moore, Baldwin lineages: the unpublished genealogy book and notes of Betty Taylor Cook (1918-2000).
• For Robert and Joshua Doyne and Jesse Wharton in Maryland: Hester Dorsey Richardson's 125-page report, based on original document research conducted from 1921-27, copies formerly in the possession of Betty Taylor Cook as well as Anne Moffett Gibbs, who shared this and much other information with the writer.
• Into this Province to Inhabit - Jesse Wharton's 1670 petition for an award of land. Taken from Hester Dorsey Richardson research paper.
• Doyne etymology: Irish Families, Edward MacLysaght, Irish Academic Press (1991) on the web at the excellent spaldinggenealogy.com/dawson, which also links to Mike Bailey's information on the Dawson family, including his directions to the Dawson Monument in Prince George's County, Maryland.

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• Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Apr 3 2023, 15:01:29 UTC