Brooklyn’s First Settlers: The Cromwells
Sibling Politicians, Merchants, Socialites and Farmers Made an Indelible Mark in Baltimore’s ‘South Patapsco’
The swampy region on the south shore of the Patapsco River known as “South Patapsco” was becoming an important peninsula to Baltimore’s farmers and merchants in 1671. Nearly two hundred years later this wilderness area would become Brooklyn, Fairfield and Curtis Bay, a section of Baltimore that became noted for its industrial prowess.
But long before the era of coal piers and shipyards Baltimore was a wilderness area that England hoped to turn into an agricultural bohemeth. Cecil Calvert, the 2nd Lord Baltimore, was granting large tracts of lands in this area to farmers he hoped would help turn Maryland into the agricultural power that Virginia had become. Yeoman famers like Paul Kinsey and Thomas Sparrow were among the first to received land grants.
These men came from a variety of backgrounds. Kinsey and Sparrow were well-known land owners in Anne Arundel with established plantations in Baltimore and Anne Arundel Counties, and, for the most part, both held onto their lands for farming. But others who received patents for large tracts of lands chose to sell them off to neighboring farms and high bidders. Among the most high-profile acquirers of these properties was the English-borne Cromwell family, which arrived in Baltimore County in 1671.
The Cromwells were a rising middle-gentry family during the reign of King Henry VIII in the 1530s, but they ascended higher in 1649 when Oliver Cromwell, a converted Puritan, helped overthrow and execute King Charles I. England converted briefly to a commonwealth and Cromwell was asked to become Lord Protector, where he ruled the Britains and oversaw the early evolution of the colonies in America. He was a controversial and, among many, unpopular ruler. He died of natural causes in 1658, and soon after his death, Royalists angrily returned and put King Charles II on the English throne. Those loyal to the monarchy held grudges. Cromwell’s remains were dug up from Westminster Abbey and his corpse was chained and beheaded.
By the 1670s, the Cromwell family had lost much of their lands in England and began turning up in the Americas in New England. At least one branch of the Cromwell family tree arrived in Maryland, and three brothers and one sister had an outsized impact on the South Patapsco region: William, John, Richard, and Edith Cromwell. But it’s unclear from which branch of the famed Cromwell tree they descended. While local legends and some family members claimed they were directly descended from Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell, genealogists are not so sure. In his book Anne Arundel Gentry, Henry Wright Newman asserted that there was not a direct lineage. Newman’s detailed family outline reached back to the mid-1500s and, he claimed, showed conclusively that Maryland’s Cromwells were not descended from “Oliver the Puritan,” although he left open the possibility they might have branched from Oliver’s son and namesake, who died at twenty-one years old. Newman noted that by 1675, the descendants of Sir Oliver lost all their lands and, he said, “it is worthy to note that William and John Cromwell landed in Maryland a few years before this date, and that Richard and Edith appeared a few years afterward.”
These names were among the prominent Cromwells in the early days of Maryland. Francis B. Culver, a noted genealogist of the 1930s, said his research found that the Cromwell brood that settled in South Patapsco originated in Malmesbury, a town in Wiltshire, England, and were not direct descendants of Oliver the Puritan. This family’s lineage showed the sons of John Cromwell settled in New England, but the records of several children and grandchildren are missing, so it’s not improbable, Culver asserted, that these broken lines are linked with the members of the Maryland province. Still another theory was that the brood were the offspring of Henry Cromwell, brother of the Lord Protector, though there is little in the genealogical record to support the assertion.
Regardless of the clan’s lineage, a branch of the Cromwell family nonetheless settled into the south bank of the Patapsco River in 1671 by way of Calvert County. John and William were transported into Maryland by a ship captain named Benoni Eaton in 1670, and into the company of Henry Hosier, a merchant from Calvert County. The brothers settled in Calvert for roughly three years before heading north to Anne Arundel County. A deputy surveyor, George Yates, had been granted a warrant of 615 acres on the banks of the Patapsco River on December 12, 1760, and four days later, Yates sold off 300 acres on the north side of Curtis Creek to the Cromwell brothers in a conveyance that was called Cromwell’s Adventure. In the patent, which was finalized July 1, 1671, the tract was described:
These are therefore in a humble manner to certify that I, George Yate, Deputy Surveyor under Jerome White, Esq., Surveyor General, have laid out for the aforesaid Cromwells a parcell of land lying on the south side of Patapsco River, and on the north side of Curteus (Curtis) Creek in Ann Arundell County called the “Cromwells’ Adventure”: Beginning at a bounded white oak standing in a fork of a branch of Curteus (Curtis) Creek, and running by the land of John Browne called “South Canton,” west southwest 160 perches [Ed. note, approximately a half-mile] to a bounded red oake, then north northwest 320 perches [approx. one mile] to a bounded red oak, then east northeast to a bounded white oak of Richard Mascall’s land, then south southeast to the first bounded tree, containing and now laid out for 300 acres of land more or less, To be held of the Mannor of Ann Arundell. — George Yate, D.S.
The patent laid out by Yates placed Cromwell’s Adventure in modern-day Curtis Bay and extending west into what became Fairfield. Shortly after completing the transaction, John and William began clearing land and building their homes. Two years later they would be joined by their younger brother and sister, Richard and Edith. Although new to the area, the family would become prominent in farming, politics, and commerce in Baltimore and Anne Arundel Counties. Their descendants would also leave a lasting impact on Brooklyn and Curtis Bay.
THE POLITICIAN: WILLIAM CROMWELL
The eldest of the South Patapsco Cromwells, William held several important positions under the Lord Proprietor, Cecil Calvert, and was a notable member of the “South Patapsco Hundred,” a Provincial tax-based record of property owners managed by the Lord Proprietor. Although his role was undefined, he contributed in some manner in an expedition against the Nanticoke tribe, and in 1683, he was named to the commission charged with purchasing and laying out towns and ports for the advancement and trade in the Province (Maryland). He died in 1684 or 1685, but he expanded his personal wealth and land holdings considerably before his death. He purchased 100 acres of property called Mascall’s Hope from John Boring that was adjoined to Cromwell’s Adventure. He acquired the 100-acre David’s Fancy from Rowland Thornburgh in the Patapsco’s Middle Branch in 1680, and bought an 84-acre portion of South Canton from his brother Richard that same year. William also acquired 50 acres called Hunting Quarter, which was described as on the south side of the Patapsco River and west of Curtis Creek, from William Ball of Baltimore County. Although the described location of Hunting Quarter is vague, it is probable that parcel eventually became the Curtis Bay community east of Fairfield. Another 34 acres adjacent to Hunting Quarter was acquired from George Holland, also of Anne Arundel County, which made William one of the biggest landowners in the county. He acquired another 61 acres in 1682, which he left to his son William Jr. When he died, he left 100 acres of Cromwell’s Adventure and another 100 acres of Mascall’s Hope to his wife Elizabeth.
THE MERCHANT: RICHARD CROMWELL
Richard, along with his sister, Edith, arrived in Maryland shortly after their brothers, John and William, in 1680. In the spring of 1682, the family’s holdings in Anne Arundel County grew when Robert Clarkson, a real estate speculator, sold the 245-acre South Canton tract to Richard and Edith’s husband, Christopher Gist. South Canton was one of the original grants in the region given to Thomas Sparrow. Some years after Sparrow’s death, his widow and her new husband, Thomas Taillor, conveyed the property to Clarkson, who, in turn, sold it to Cromwell and Gist. Roughly two years after acquiring the tract, Richard and Gist then conveyed 84 acres of it to Cromwell’s brother, William. Over the ensuing years, Richard became one of the most wealthy farmers and merchants in Maryland. He traded exclusively with English commercial interests. He was aggressive in expanding his real estate holdings and increased his domain with several large purchases. He patented Cromwell’s Addition in South Patapsco in 1686, and in 1695, he acquired a 200-acre tract on the north side of the Patapsco River called Cromwell’s Range. He also added Maiden Dairy (248 acres), Cordwainer’s Hall (300 acres), Welcome (100 acres), and Content (150 acres). Hay Meadow, Pleasant Prospect, and Utopia the Third are also parcels that may have been acquired by Richard and later conveyed to his brother John in what became Fairfield. But all three brothers had land holdings north of the Patapsco River, and their children settled south of Curtis Bay in what became Pasadena, especially near Gibson Island. Richard’s stature in Maryland grew along with his real estate holdings. He was appointed justice in Baltimore County in 1696, which no doubt played a role in him being appointed to help settle the boundary issue between Baltimore and Anne Arundel Counties in 1698, a process that resulted in the South Patapsco, where he owned considerable land holdings, being returned to Anne Arundel.
THE FARMER: JOHN CROMWELL
While brothers William and Richard quickly made their high-profile marks in Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties, John Cromwell seems to have chosen a lower-profile path. John was included on the conveyance for Cromwell’s Adventure, but one of John’s earliest acquisitions was land in present-day Cherry Hill, east of the South Patapsco peninsula, directly across from the South Branch of the Patapsco River. John’s offspring, notably his son, Joshua, would later consolidate his real estate holdings in South Patapsco by acquiring much of the land in present-day Fairfield, which by the early 1800s became known as “Cromwell’s Marsh” or “Romney Marsh” before finally being dubbed “Fairfield.” The most prominent of Joshua’s sons, John, was born in Fairfield and became a regionally renowned doctor in Pikesville and Towson, Maryland, and assisted with exterminating a smallpox epidemic in Baltimore in 1810. He later went on to become a physician at City Hospital and managed the Vaccine Lottery for the Vaccine Institute.
THE SOCIALITE: EDITH CROMWELL
Edith and her brother, Richard, arrived in South Patapsco in about 1680. The customs of the day prevented her from ascending to the political heights of her brothers, but Edith did quite well despite those limitations. Born about 1660, Edith was in her early 20s when she arrived in Maryland. Newman, in his book Anne Arundel Gentry, estimated that she “must have possessed much charm and poise, because she soon became the bride of Christopher Gist.” A wealthy Baltimore socialite, Gist came from an illustrious Baltimore family with connections to George Washington and frontiersman Daniel Boone. Edith and Christopher had a son, Richard, who was raised by his uncle, Richard Cromwell, after they both died relatively young. Edith died in 1694, and never met her famous grandson, Revolutionary War hero Mordecai Gist. Gist led the legendary Maryland 400 in defending Brooklyn, New York, from British forces in the Battle of Long Island. The fight, which Gist survived, was a desperate battle that allowed General Washington and the Continental Army to escape from Brooklyn to Manhattan in a line-in-the-sand moment that ultimately saved the American Revolution.
THE DESCENDANTS
Long after the first Cromwells arrived in South Patapsco, the family continued having an impact on the region’s farming and commerce. As the region evolved through the mid-1800s, they developed a farming empire in Anne Arundel County. Using a combination of horse-drawn wagons and sloops to alternatively haul or sail their harvests into Baltimore and Annapolis, they became one of the dominant farming families in the region. Although the properties were all owned by Cromwells, they were not considered community-family property. Each family member owned their own tracts and left those parcels to their respective heirs.
Farming was the common denominator in the Cromwell clan through the 1850s, and a common sore spot for them was shipping. Baltimore was becoming a leader in trade and commerce nationally. Driven by a fast-growing city population, the produce markets there were also becoming far more lucrative to farmers than the markets in Annapolis. But the area was still a swamp, and dirt roads would turn into muddy quagmires in even the slightest rain. Getting produce to markets was a challenge in any bad weather, whether it was snow, extreme cold, or rain.
One Cromwell changed that in the early 1850s and, in the process, forever changed Maryland commerce. Richard Cromwell, the fifth great grandson of William Cromwell, according to a family lineage tree on Ancestry.com, understood the issues with getting harvests to market. He financed a steam ferry to shuttle people and cargo across the Patapsco River at Ferry Bar in the early 1850s. It was a noble effort to resolve a shipping problem, but likely suffered from traffic, weight, schedule, and, more prominently, cost limitations. A better solution was necessary, and the politically connected Richard soon found it. Along with fellow farmer Richard O. Crisp, Cromwell built the Long Bridge over the Pataspsco River between Baltimore’s Light Street and the southern shore of the Patapsco River. That private enterprise bridge was arguably the most important state-endorsed commercial project in pre-turn-of-the-century Baltimore, giving farmers in Anne Arundel a more direct path to Baltimore’s city markets and opening a path for city residents to explore the sandy beaches and resorts that county life offered.
Life in South Patapsco would change for the Cromwells in the 1800s. One feature of Curtis Bay, Brooklyn, and Fairfield that many industrialists found attractive was the deep channels of the Patapsco River. The fertile lands had certainly met the expectations of Lord Baltimore in the days before the Revolutionary War, but as the industrial revolution took hold in Baltimore, the Cromwell family began to see demand for their lands that was not agriculturally driven. Some small chemical companies bought tracts near Curtis Creek and soon larger companies were following suit in Fairfield. By the early 1900s, the lands pioneered by the original 1671 Cromwells had been sold off to the Crisp family who, in turn, sold them to industries like the U.S. Industrial Alcohol Company, Davison Chemical, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the South Baltimore Car Wheel Company. It would spark an industrial transformation that would forever alter the landscape of what was South Patapsco.
Much of the Cromwell family remained in Baltimore and Anne Arundel Counties and continued farming and land speculating. Many branches of the Cromwell family tree settled in northeast Baltimore and others stayed close to original Cromwell properties like Point Pleasant in the Pasadena area of Anne Arundel. Brooklyn and Curtis Bay look far different than the yeoman farmer days in the late 15th century, but the evolution of the community would have been very different if two brothers, William and John, had not decided to settle in South Patapsco.
Citations:
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