Background
William was born around 1603 in Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
William Leete Stone
Edit ProfileCareer
He emigrated to Virginia sometime before 1628 and in 1633 served as justice of Accomac County, the name then applied to the entire eastern shore of Virginia. It was later called Northampton, possibly by Stone for his birthplace. He served as sheriff of Northampton for a term in the forties.
When Leonard Calvert, governor of Maryland, died and designated a Roman Catholic, Thomas Greene, as his successor, Lord Baltimore soon removed Greene, placed him on the Council in August 1648, and appointed William Stone governor.
The Maryland Toleration Act, which is worded quite similarly, was passed by the Assembly on April 21, 1649.
The Governor's Council was reorganized with an equal number of Catholics and Protestants, and several Puritans were members of the Assembly. When Stone visited Virginia late in 1649 and left Greene in charge of the Maryland government, Greene at once proclaimed Charles II to be rightful heir to the English throne. Although Lord Baltimore and Stone both disavowed this act as soon as they heard of it, nevertheless, it aroused Puritan suspicion.
In 1650 a commission was appointed by Parliament to reduce Virginia to Parliamentary authority.
Construing its instructions to include Maryland, the members of the commission arrived at St. Mary's in 1652 and demanded that the Governor and Council be loyal to the Commonwealth of England and that all writs and warrants be issued in the name of the Keepers of England.
When Stone agreed to the first but not the second, since according to his oath all writs had to be issued in the name of the Lord Proprietary, he was deprived of his commission. He was, however, reinstated a few months later when he decided to give in on the point. The next year he found himself in trouble with the Puritans of Providence (now Annapolis) because he had imposed certain oaths upon them and had removed some Puritan officials.
In vain they sent two petitions for aid to Virginia.
However, at Lord Baltimore's command, Stone issued two proclamations, one that henceforth all writs would be issued in the name of the Lord Proprietary and another charging the commissioners with leading the people in rebellion against the proprietor. Then the commissioners returned, reinforced with Puritans from Providence and Patuxent, and again forced Stone to resign. When the news of this second surrender reached Lord Baltimore, he wrote Stone a letter demanding that he return to his duties.
Stone gathered a small force and met the Puritans in the Battle of the Severn on March 25, 1655. He was badly defeated, wounded, and captured. After the battle he was sentenced to death by a council of war but was saved by some of his friends among the Puritans. The Baltimore forces did not regain power until 1657 under Governor Josias Fendall. Stone was a member of his Council.
He died at his estate in Charles County.
Achievements
-
William Leete Stone was city editor of the New York Journal of Commerce. He was also editor and proprietor of the College Review, a paper published in the interests of American colleges. Besides, Stone was secretary of the Saratoga Monument Association since its incorporation by the legislature of the state of New York.
Connections
He married Virlinda Cotton, the sister of William Cotton, a prominent minister. They had seven children.
