Samuel Chase

Painting of a man with white hair wearing black robes, sitting in a red armchair in a room with a patterned rug and draped curtain.

BORN - April 11, 1741, in Princess Anne, Somerset County, MD. Parents (English ancestry) – Thomas Chase (b1703–d1779) and Matilda Walker Chase (b___-d1741, in childbirth with Samuel). One Child - Samuel Chase (b1741-d1811).

DIED - June 19, 1811 (age 70), in Baltimore, MD of a heart attack. Religion – Anglican / Episcopalian. Buried - Old St. Paul’s Cemetery, Baltimore, MD.

APPEARANCE – The picture above is the portrait of Samuel Chase (age __) painted by John Beale Bordley in 1836. Imposing figure, more than six feet tall, broadly built, weighing two hundred forty pounds. Brownish red complexion with the nickname of “Old Bacon Face.”

FAMILY - Married - Ann (Nancy) Baldwin (b1741-d1776) in 1762. Seven Children (four surviving to adulthood) – Matilda Chase Ridgely (b1763-d1835), Daughter (b1763-___), Thomas Chase #1 (___, died young), Nancy Chase (___), Fanny Chase (___, died young), Ann Chase (___), Samuel Chase (___), Thomas Chase #2 (b1774-d1826). Wife Ann died in 1776. Married - Hannah Kitty Giles (b1759-d1848) in 1784. Two Children – Mary Chase Barney (b1785-d1872), Elisa Chase Coale (b1788-d1853).

OCCUPATION – LAWYER, LEGISLATOR, JUDGE. Home schooled by his father. Joined a law practice in Annapolis in 1759. Member of the Continental Congress representing Maryland from 1774 to 1778. Moved from Annapolis to Baltimore in 1786. U.S. Supreme Court Justice from 1796 until his death in 1811. Best known for his interpretation of the Sedition Act of 1798 and his impeachment trial in 1804.

AT SIGNING – Age 35 at signing. Was instrumental in obtaining Maryland support for the Declaration. First to sign the Declaration of the four member delegation from Maryland.

AFTER SIGNING – Continued to serve in Congress in Philadelphia until 1778. Helped supply the Colonial Army. Helped write Maryland’s Constitution and the Articles of Confederation.

HISORIC SITES

Annapolis Home – Chase-Lloyd House (1774). Located at 22 Maryland Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21401, Phone 410-263-2723, Website www.nps.gov/history. Samuel Chase started construction of the house. He sold it to Edward Lloyd IV before it was finished and never lived in it.

Gravesite – Old Saint Paul’s Cemetery, Baltimore, MD (1799). Located in south central Baltimore, west Baltimore and is bound by Redwood Street to the north, Lombard Street to the south and Martin Luther King Boulevard to the west and the University of Maryland campus to the east.

Church - Saint Anne’s Episcopal Church (1859). Located at 199 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis, MD 21401, Phone 410-267-9333, Website www.stannes-annapolis.org. The first Saint Anne's Church was built between 1696 and 1704. A new and larger church was completed in 1792, and burned in 1858. The current church was completed in 1859

State House – Maryland State House, Annapolis, MD (1779). Located at 100 State Circle, Annapolis, MD 21401, Phone 410-260-2900, Website www.statehouse.md.gov. Oldest state capitol in continuous legislative use and only state house to have served as the Nation’s Capital – 1783 to 1784.

Tavern - Rams Head Tavern, Annapolis, MD. Located at 33 West Street, Annapolis, MD 21401, Phone 410-268-4545, Website www.ramsheadtavern.com. Samuel Chase moved to this site which he had leased in 1769, after he sold the Chase-Lloyd House in 1771.

A large three-story brick building with white window frames, white decorative trim, and a white porch with steps. The building has an American flag hanging near the entrance, and is surrounded by a white picket fence and greenery. Tall trees are visible around it under a clear blue sky.

Chase-Lloyd House, Annapolis, MD (1774).

Located at 22 Maryland Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21401, Phone 410-263-2723, Website www.nps.gov/history.

Samuel Chase started construction of the mansion in 1769. He sold the house to Edward Lloyd IV in 1771, before it was finished and never lived in it. Lloyd completed the construction in 1774. Today, the house serves as a home for elderly women. The first floor and gardens are open to the public.