George Plater
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George Plater III | |
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6th Governor of Maryland | |
In office November 14, 1791 – February 10, 1792 | |
Preceded by | John E. Howard |
Succeeded by | James Brice |
Member of the Maryland State Senate | |
In office 1777–1790 | |
Delegate to the Continental Congress from Maryland | |
In office 1778–1780 | |
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates | |
In office 1757–1766 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Sotterley Plantation, Province of Maryland, British America (located in modern Hollywood, Maryland) | November 8, 1735
Died | February 10, 1792 Annapolis, Maryland, U.S. | (aged 56)
Resting place | Sotterley Plantation |
Spouse(s) | Hannah Lee; Elizabeth Ann Rousby |
George Plater III (November 8, 1735 – February 10, 1792) was an American planter, lawyer, and statesman from Saint Mary's County, Maryland. He represented Maryland in the Continental Congress from 1778 to 1780, and briefly served as the sixth Governor of Maryland in 1791 and 1792.
Early life and education[]
George Plater III was born at Sotterley, the family plantation near Leonards Town, Province of Maryland.[1]
His father, George II, had married Rebecca Addison Bowles, the widow of the plantation's founder, in 1729. His grandfather, George Plater I, was the acting Attorney General, 1691–1692; Receiver for Patuxent 1691-1707; Collector of Patuxent, 1691–1696; Receiver for Pocomoke, 1696–1697; Receiver General for Maryland, 1693–1696; and naval officer at Patuxent, 1693–1707.[2][3][4]
His siblings included Rebecca Plater Tayloe (born August 8, 1731, at Leonards Town, St. Mary's County), wife of John Tayloe II; Anne (born October 31, 1732, at Leonards Town, St. Mary's County), wife of Edward Lloyd (married 1767); Thomas Addison (born October 27, 1738, at Sotterley, St. Mary's County; died in infancy); and Elizabeth Norton (born August 7, 1742 in St. Mary's County), wife of Rodham Kenner and later, wife of Thomas Davis.[5]
Political career[]
After receiving his early schooling at home, he attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, graduating in 1752. In 1753, he studied law in England and was admitted to the bar in Maryland. During 1757-1759, he was a delegate in the Maryland Lower House of Assembly. In 1767-77, he was a naval officer of the Patuxent District, and in 1771-74, he was a member of the Governor's Council. As the Revolution neared, he represented St. Mary's County in the Annapolis Convention, which became a revolutionary government. He was appointed by the Maryland Council of Safety to collect funds for the attack on Quebec. On August 14, 1776, he was appointed to the ninth convention to draft Maryland's first Constitution.
Under the new constitution, Plater served as President of the Maryland State Senate from 1781 until 1790.[6] Maryland sent him as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1778, and he represented his state until 1781.
When Maryland held a convention to consider the U.S. Constitution, Plater attended and was the president of the convention when they voted for ratification on April 28, 1788. The following year, he was chosen as a Presidential elector. However, he did not vote.[7]
In late 1791, Plater was elected Governor, and took office in December. However, his term was short; he died after less than three months in office. He was buried at Sotterley, Maryland, but the site of his grave is unknown.
Personal life[]
Plater was an active Protestant who served twenty-eight years as a vestryman of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (which he helped to found and build).
He was first married to Hannah Lee and their only child was Charlotte (born circa 9/1763; died young). He later married Elizabeth Ann Rousby, and they had six children: Rebecca, George, John, Thomas, Edward, and Ann. Rebecca Plater (born 3/8/1765) married General Uriah Forrest, a statesman and military leader. She was the grandmother of Alice Green, wife of Prince Don Angel Maria de Iturbide y Huarte, who were in turn the parents of Prince Don Agustín de Iturbide y Green- Head of the Imperial House of Mexico. George Plater IV (born 9/21/1766 in St. Mary's Co, Maryland, died 4/10/1802 at Sotterley) married Cecelia Brown Bond (on 3/22/1798), and later married Elizabeth Somerville. John Rousby Plater (born 10/15/1767 at Annapolis, Anne Arundel, Maryland) married Elizabeth Tuttle and was a lawyer and judge. Thomas Plater (born 5/5/1769 at Annapolis, Anne Arundel, Maryland) married Ann Lingan and later married Evelina Hite Buchanan. He was a lawyer and would go on to represent Maryland in the United States House of Representatives. Ann Plater (born 9/23/1770 at Sotterley, St. Marys Co, Maryland) married Philip Barton Key. Their daughter Elizabeth Rousby Key was the wife of Louisiana's fifth governor, Henry Johnson and a first cousin to Francis Scott Key. Their son, , served prior to the American Civil War as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. He was educated in the law by his cousin Francis Scott Key.
When Plater died on February 10, 1792 in the capital city of Annapolis, Maryland, his body was returned home and buried at Sotterley, on the banks of the Patuxent River in St. Mary's County. At least 93 slaves lived on the plantation at the time of the subject's death.[8] The house is maintained and operated as a museum by a foundation created for that purpose. The property is on Route 245, just outside Hollywood, Maryland, and is open to visitors during the summer.
Notes[]
- ^ Lloyd, Richard (2004). The Satterlees & Playters in England and North America. Sotterley Charitable Trust, Sotterley, Suffolk, England.
- ^ "Archives of Maryland Historical List Collectors, 1673–1776". from Edward C. Papenfuse, et al., (1990). Archives of Maryland, Historical List, new series, Vol. 1. Annapolis, Maryland: Maryland State Archives. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ "Plater, George (1664–1707)". St. Mary's City Men's Career Files MSA SC 5094. Maryland State Archives. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ "British History Online America and West Indies: October 1702, 6–10". Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies. Volume 20. 1702. Ed. Cecil Headlam. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1912. 650–653. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ Lloyd, Richard (2004). The Satterlees & Playters in England and North America. Sotterley Charitable Trust, Sotterley, Suffolk, England.
- ^ Lloyd, 2004)
- ^ Gordon DeBoer, 'The Documentary history of the first Federal elections, 1788–1790', Volume 2 page xix
- ^ "Our History-Sotterley:Federal Time Period." Historic Sotterley website Retrieved 9 March 2019.
External links[]
- United States Congress. "George Plater (id: P000377)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Sotterly Plantation website
- 1735 births
- 1792 deaths
- Continental Congressmen from Maryland
- 18th-century American politicians
- Governors of Maryland
- Presidents of the Maryland State Senate
- People from Hollywood, Maryland
- People of Maryland in the American Revolution
- College of William & Mary alumni
- American planters
- American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law
- Maryland lawyers