I Philemon Hemsley of Queen Anne’s County,

the Unprofitable Servant of God…

With this Biblical reference from the Book of Luke, the humble-sounding Philemon Hemsley (1670-1719) begins his 1719 will. While there is no cause to question Hemsley's professed service to the Almighty, at least by traditional financial metrics, there is ample reason to challenge the characterization of his life as "unprofitable." Hemsley died at age 49, a wealthy planter and successful merchant with property in at least four counties. In addition to Cloverfields, one of the largest and most fashionable houses in the area and among the few brick houses of any size, he owned a house on State Circle in Annapolis.  An inventory of belongings taken by the Probate Court soon after his death records an array of imported luxury items well beyond the means of most of his contemporaries. 

Philemon was one of five children born to William and Judith Hemsley (1634-1685 and ca. 1633-ca. 1686), who emigrated from England in 1658. The Hemsleys were Catholics and quite possibly came to Maryland, then a proprietary colony owned by a fellow Catholic, Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron of Baltimore Catholic, to escape the violent religious persecution and discrimination in Oliver Cromwell’s Puritan England. William trained as a “chirurgeon” (surgeon) in England, but in Maryland, he added the roles of tobacco planter, real estate speculator, militia officer, and local office holder.

Philemon Hemsley benefited from the advantages of being born into a family of above-average wealth and status. Still, as one of four sons, he grew up with the expectation of having to make his own way in the world. In 1686, Philemon’s aging widowed mother, Judith, divided the family’s Wye Island property between her sons, Charles and Philemon. Judith granted Charles her “dwelling plantation,” while Philemon received the so-called “old plantation.” In exchange, when youngest brother Vincent came of age, the pair were to provide him with 200 acres of property and have built a twenty-foot square house, “all drawn boards and timbered with an inside chimney.” Judith's instruction for such a small house was not at all ungenerous, as small frame dwellings were then the norm, even for wealthy families. Large brick houses, such as Cloverfields, were then an extreme rarity in colonial Maryland. 

When Philemon Hemsley came of age, wealth and, by extension, status derived almost exclusively from tobacco. That soil-exhausting and labor-intensive crop required lots of land and labor. Philemon's ambition required more of both than his modest inheritance allowed. As a young man, he worked as a surveyor, which led to real estate speculation. In 1700, he acquired the first of seven contiguous parcels of land along the Wye River that, in 1730, his son would patent as Cloverfields. Volatile tobacco prices and international conflict made tobacco farming an uncertain business. He secured his fortune through trade with London and Barbados. Hemsley also represented Queen Anne’s County in the Lower House of the General Assembly of Maryland and held several local offices, including sheriff. Hemsley also had experience as a builder. In 1710, the Justices of Talbot County awarded him the contract to build a brick courthouse in present-day Easton.

Philemon Hemsley married twice. His first wife and the mother of his two children, William and Ann, was the former Frances Noble, the daughter of the former Cornelia Abrahamson and Robert Noble. William was born in 1703, the same year carefully selected tulip poplars were felled and subsequently hewn into massive the bent principal rafters that still support Cloverfields’ roof. Unfortunately, the Hemsleys had only a brief time to enjoy their new home as Frances died in 1709, less than five years after the estimated completion of the house.

Two years later, Philemon married Mary Townley Contee, the wealthy widow of Col. John Contee of Charles County.  Period documents describe Mary as the “favorite cousin” of Maryland’s Royal Governor, John Seymour.  She emigrated with the Seymour family to Maryland.  Contemporaries attributed Col. Contee’s military advancement and business success to his wife’s family connection. Mary was no stranger to controversy as she was found guilty of forging her first husband's will to disinherit her stepchildren and was charged with stealing weapons and supplies from the militia, not to mention some unspecified legal matter that required her to return to London.  

At the time of his second marriage, Philemon left the “home plantation” (Cloverfields) and his children in the care of his late wife’s brother, Robert Noble. The newlyweds moved to Mary’s late husband’s property in Port Tobacco, Charles County, and then to Annapolis's rapidly growing capital and commercial center.  It remains unknown how much time Philemon spent at Cloverfields after his second marriage or how much time his children spent with him in Annapolis. The 1720 inventory of goods at the home plantation indicates the house remained furnished and staffed by five enslaved and indentured servants. (Included among the working plantation’s livestock was a horse with the ominous name of “Murderer.”)

Philemon Hemsley’s so-called unprofitable life ended in Annapolis in 1719. He left behind an estate valued at £3,034.19 “current money.” That amount may seem modest, but it was far above average for the period. By way of comparison, Philemon’s property valuation exceeded his elder brother’s by more than four times and was more than double the assessment of his wife’s first husband. In addition to Cloverfields, Philemon owned a house on State Circle in Annapolis (location or present-day Calvert House) and more than 1000 acres of land.  He bequeathed the Home Plantation, i.e., Cloverfields, to William, while Mary received the Annapolis house and property in Calvert County.  

Philemon’s estate also included human capital in the form of 44 enslaved workers and seven indentured servants. Children William and Ann inherited the eleven “negros and mulattoes,” identified by name, living in Calvert County.  The remaining 33 unnamed enslaved workers became the property of his widow, Mary. Perhaps due to continued legal troubles, including a new accusation of embezzlement, Mary declined her generous inheritance in favor of her stepson, William. At age 16, William Hemsley (1703-1736) inherited the Western Shore properties, most of the labor force, and, most notably, the large tobacco plantation and elegant house on the Wye River that he would call Cloverfields.

By: Sherri Marsh Johns, for the Cloverfields Preservation Foundation