Thomas Stone

The image shows the handwritten text 'Thos. Stone'.
A black-and-white portrait of a man with short hair, wearing a dark suit and a white shirt, facing slightly to the left.

BORN – 1743 at Poynton Manor in Charles County, MD.  Parents (English and Scottish ancestry) - David Stone (b1709–d1773) and Elizabeth Jenifer Stone (b1712-d1773).  Ten Children – Samuel Stone, Jr. (b1730-d1778), Frederick Stone (b1738-d1773), Catherine Stone (b1740-d1801), Grace Stone (b1742-d1809), Thomas Stone (b1743-d1787), Michael Jenifer Stone (b1747-d1812), John Hoskins Stone (b1750-d1804), Walter Stone (b1750-d1791), Daniel Jenifer Stone (b1752-d1772), Betty Ann (Betsy) Stone (b1753-d1791),   

DIED – October 5, 1787 (age 44) in Alexandria, VA, while waiting to board a ship for Europe.  Was very depressed after his wife died in 1787.  He died less than four months later, reportedly of a broken heart.  Religion – Anglican / Episcopalian.  Buried – Family cemetery at Habre-de-Venture Plantation, Port Tobacco, MD.

APPEARANCE – Tall, thin, pale, reserved.  Rarely spoke in Congress.  Preferred the background, rather than the spotlight.  Known more for the quality of his writing, than for his eloquent voice.   

FAMILY – Married - Margaret Eleanor Brown (b1751–d1787) in 1768.  Four Children – John Stone (b1770-d1771, age one), Margaret Eleanor Stone Daniel (b1771–d1809), Mildred Stone Daniel (b1773–d1837), Frederick Stone (b1774–1793).   

OCCUPATION – PLANTER, LAWYER, LEGISLATOR.  Locally schooled in Charles County, MD.  Established law practice in Frederick, MD in 1764.  Member of the Continental Congress representing Maryland from 1775 to 1778 and again in 1784 serving as President of Congress.   

SIGNING – Age 33 at signing.   

AFTER SIGNING – Continued to serve in Congress in Philadelphia until 1778. 

HISTORIC SITES                                                                        

Port Tobacco Home & Gravesite - Thomas Stone National Historic Site, called Habre-de-Venture Plantation (1772).  Located at 6655 Rose Hill Road., (near the junction of  MD Route 225 and 6), Port Tobacco, Maryland, 25 miles south of Washington  D.C., Phone 301-392-1776, Website www.nps.gov/thst.  Plantation home from 1772 until his death in 1787.    

Annapolis Home – Peggy Stewart House, Annapolis, MD (1764).  Located at 207 Hanover Street, Annapolis, MD 21401, Website www.mht.maryland.gov.  Annapolis home of Thomas Stone from 1783 until his death in 1787, (Retained Habre-de Venture).  Privately owned.                                                                                                       

Dr. Brown Home – Rose Hill, Port Tobacco, MD (1784).  Located on Rose Hill Road, north of Port Tobacco, MD.  Home of wife Margaret’s older brother.  The roadside historical marker reads – “ROSE HILL – Home of Dr. Gustavus Richard Brown who lies buried here.  He was a close friend of George Washington and was one of the physicians in attendance at his death.”  Privately owned.    

Brick and white house with a large tree in front, surrounded by green lawn under a clear blue sky.

Home of Thomas Stone, Thomas Stone National Historic Site, Port Tobacco, MD (1771). 

Located at 6655 Rose Hill Road., (near the junction of  MD Route 225 and 6), Port Tobacco, Maryland, 25 miles south of Washington  D.C., Phone 301-392-1776, Website www.nps.gov/thst.

The site also known as Habre-de-Venture, which is a Latin phrase meaning “Dwelling Place of the Winds” or “A Place Possessed by the Winds”.  The plantation is on high ground above the Potomac River and subject to winds from the west.  The house was restored after a fire in 1977.  Thomas Stone is buried in the family cemetery on the property.