Background
Thomas was born probably in 1743 on "Poynton Manor, " Charles County, Maryland, United States, the eldest son of David and Elizabeth (Jenifer) Stone and the great-great-grandson of William Stone, 1603-1660.
Thomas was born probably in 1743 on "Poynton Manor, " Charles County, Maryland, United States, the eldest son of David and Elizabeth (Jenifer) Stone and the great-great-grandson of William Stone, 1603-1660.
He received a classical education from a Scotch school-master and then went to Annapolis, where he studied law in the office of Thomas Johnson.
After his admission to the bar in 1764, he went to Frederick to practise. Perhaps some of the $1, 000 dowry was used to buy land near Port Tobacco, Charles County, where the family removed about 1771 and built "Habre-de-Venture, " one of the most beautiful examples of colonial architecture in Maryland.
In 1774, when the legality of the poll tax for the support of the clergy was tested, he was one of the sheriff's lawyers against Thomas Johnson, Samuel Chase, and William Paca, who were later to be his colleagues in Congress. Although his sympathies were entirely with the colonists when the break with England came, he always seems to have favored a milder course than many of his fellow representatives. He took his seat in the Continental Congress on May 13, 1775, and, except for a part of the year 1777 when he declined reelection, he served until October 1778.
His most important work was on the committee that framed the Articles of Confederation. Since, just a few days before the Declaration of Independence was voted upon, permission was given by Maryland to her delegates to vote as they thought best, he voted for the Declaration and signed it.
He is the least known of the Maryland signers partly because he seldom spoke either in Congress or the Maryland Senate, and few of his letters have been preserved.
He appeared, however, to have hated the thought of war and in September 1776 spoke in favor of treating with Lord Howe for peace. Elected state senator for a five-year term in 1776 and reelected twice he represented Charles County in the first three Senates, but he died before he completed his third term.
Stone was also elected to the Congress of the Confederation in 1783 and took his seat on March 26, 1784. He served as chairman of Congress for a few days toward the close of the session but declined reelection and resumed his law practice.
Although elected to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, he declined to serve on account of the illness of his wife, who died in June 1787. Overcome with grief, he gave up his work and died four months later in Alexandria, Virginia, while waiting for a boat to take him to England.
He married Margaret Brown in 1768. His wife Margaret visited him in Philadelphia, which was in the midst of a smallpox epidemic. She was inoculated for the disease, but an adverse reaction to the treatment made her ill. Her health continued to decline for the rest of her life. After his death three children survived him.