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Individual:
From "A Chesapeake family their slaves, A study in historical archaeology" Anne Elizabeth Yentsch, Cambridge University Press. pp53-66
"In 1709 at age 21 (if his birth date was 1688 as written on the back of his portrait by his daughter), young Charles Calvert Lazenby dropped his surname and entered the British military as an ensign in the prestigious Grenadier Guards. He purchased the position with funds obtained by selling Maryland lands given him by an older relative, Charles Calvert, the third Lord Baltimore. ...Charles Calvert Lazenby may have been illegitimate, but even so his family took steps to ensure his well being. Baltimore knew the advantages and disadvantages of military service, knew that many British officers later assumed positions of power in the colonies, and knew that with training the young man could usefully assist the Calvert family. Further, command was a family tradition......In 1715, the third Lord Baltimore died at age 76, his son and heir, Benedict Calvert, Sr. died within a few short months. Charles Calvert, the fifth Lord Baltimore was but 15 years old at the time. His older cousin, who shared his name, was serving in the Grenadier Guards, Frances North, Lord Guilford, was appointed guardian of the Calvert children....In February 1719/20, Captain Charles Calvert was appointed Governor by his twenty-year-old cousin on the advice of Lord Guilford and the privy council......Genealogists have not identified Captain Calvert's parents; some have assumed he was an illegitimate son of the third Lord Baltimore. A careful reading of the Lowe correspondence reveals that his mother was the Countess Henrietta who died c 1728. She is also called "Mother Calvert." It is possible that a further search of English records would clarify the relationship to the grandchildren of the third Lord Baltimore and to the Lazenby family. Like the Calverts, the Lowers, and the Bordley's, the Lazenbys were a Yorkshire family, but until English records can be mined for the maiden names of Margaret Lazenby (wife of Henry) and that of the Countess Henrietta, their kinship remains elusive. When Charles Calvert Lazenby dropped his surname, he was neither behaving unusually nor reaching for fame....Thus Charles Calvert Lazenby was simply following tradition. His possession of a middle name was not, however, customary for most children born in the 1600's, but it was traditional among the Calverts.....Positions in the prestigious Guards were most expensive. In 1718, after serving in the war agains France and Spain, Charles Calvert purchased the office of lieutenant and soon thereafter that of a captain....The reasons for sending Captain Calvert, however, were phrased in terms of his faithful, loyal service to the king, his ability to make the interests of Province and Proprietary one, and his intention to live permanently in Maryland....Initially, Captain Calvert's appointment blocked the "malicious designs" of Col. Thomas Brooke II, a converted Protestant then serving as President of the Council, whose activities were seen by Calvert allies and loyal Council members as detrimental to the Proprietor.....One has only to read carefully the Calvert correspondence to realize that financial assets were always of consideration when evaluating the marital merits of young eligible women. Captain Calvert knew that a good marriage was to his advantage. On November 21, 1722, the rector of Queen's Anne's Parish married Captain Calvert to Maryland-born Rebecca Gerard for love, perhaps for money, or for other considerations. Miss Gerard, an only child, inherited her father John Gerard's estate when he died in 1715. She lived with her mother, Elizabeth Gerard, on a plantation near Queen Anne's Town in Prince George's County. Although her mother was sitll alive, control of John Gerard's estate went to Captain Charles Calvert upon the marriage. Aubrey Land wrote that the Calvert's marriage in 1722 "enlivened the whole winter season with entertainment for the new first lady' The next autumn, his mother (the Countess Henrietta) accompanied by Mrs. John Ross (Alicia) made preparations to sail for Maryland where the family hoped "they will find the Governor and his Lady well."
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