Charles Carroll of Carrollton (19 September 1737 – 14 November 1832) was US Senator from Maryland from 4 March 1789 to 30 November 1792, preceding Richard Potts. A member of the Federalist Party, he was the only Catholic signer of the US Declaration of Independence and the only Catholic Founding Father.
Biography[]
Charles Carroll was born in Annapolis, Maryland in 1737 to a family of Irish Catholic descent, and he read law in London before inheriting his father's estate, Carrollton Manor. He was prohibited by Maryland law from entering politics, practicing law, and voting due to his Catholic religion, but he became a prominent patriot voice. In 1775, he became a member of Annapolis' first Committee of Safety, and he was selected as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1776. He arrived too late to vote in favor of the US Declaration of Independence, but he signed his name, becoming the only Catholic signer of the declaration. He returned to Maryland in 1778 to assist in the formation of a state government, and he was re-elected to the Congress in 1780. He declined to serve, however, instead serving in the Maryland State Senate from 1781 to 1800. The state legislature elected him to the first US Senate, and he served from 1789 to 1792. Since he preferred to be in the State Senate, he resigned in 1792, and remained in the State Senate until 1800. In 1801, Carroll retired from public life, and he died in Baltimore in 1832 at the age of 95.