Overview
William Paca was a Maryland lawyer and politician who rose to prominence during the Stamp Act Crisis and then helped establish the Annapolis Sons of Liberty. Along with Samuel Chase, he helped lead the Patriot Cause in Maryland in resisting British government policies deemed unconstitutional. Paca served in the Continental Congress, helped write Maryland’s Constitution, and supported the American war effort through public service and personal funds. Following the war, he served as Governor of Maryland, where he supported veterans and promoted education. Despite being an Anti-Federalist who supported States’ Rights, he voted in favor of the U.S. Constitution. Later, President George Washington appointed him to the bench of the Federal District of Maryland.
Personal Facts
- Pronunciation: Paca’s last name is pronounced “PAY-ka.”
- Born: October 31, 1740, near Abingdon, Maryland.
- Parents: John Paca (father), Elizabeth Smith (mother).
- Spouse: Mary Chew (1763), Anne Harrison (1777).
- Died: October 13, 1799, at Wye Hall, near Easton, Maryland. He was 58.
- Buried: Wye Hall in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland.
- Part of: Signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Significance
William Paca is important to American History for his role in the Patriot Cause in Maryland and his involvement in the American Revolution and the American Revolutionary War. As a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, he is one of the nation’s Founding Fathers.
Biography
Early Life
William Paca was born on October 31, 1740, near Abingdon in Harford County, Maryland. His parents were John Paca, a wealthy plantation owner, and Elizabeth Smith.
At 15, Paca enrolled at the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania) and earned an M.A. in 1759. Soon after, he moved to Annapolis, Maryland, where he studied law under Stephen Bordley.
- Paca was allowed to practice before the Mayor’s Court.
- He continued his training at the Inner Temple in London.
- Paca joined the Maryland Bar in 1763.
On May 26, 1763, he married Mary Chew of Annapolis, who had what the Annapolis Gazette called “a very considerable fortune.”
- Mary was the daughter of Samuel Chew and Henrietta Maria Lloyd.
- She was related to many prominent Maryland families and was a direct descendant of John Chew, who settled in Jamestown in 1622.
- Mary’s father died when she was an infant. Her stepfather, Daniel Dulaney Sr., an influential Maryland landowner, raised her.
After their wedding, William and Mary moved into a large mansion he built in Annapolis. They had five children together, but only one survived to adulthood. Mary died on January 15, 1774.
- Paca married Anne Harrison of Philadelphia in 1777.
- Anne died three years later, in 1780.
- Paca also owned an estate called “Wye Hall,” on Wye Island, just north of Easton, Maryland.
Paca is also known to have fathered two children out of wedlock.
- A daughter, Hester, was born in Philadelphia in 1775. Her mother, Levina, may have been a mulatto.
- A second daughter, Henrietta Maria, was born around 1777. Her mother was Sarah Joice of Annapolis.
- Paca is known to have provided for both daughters, including their education.
Sons of Liberty
Paca was an early supporter of the Patriot Cause and worked with Samuel Chase to organize the Annapolis Sons of Liberty (also known as the Anne Arundale County Sons of Liberty) to oppose the Stamp Act (1765).
Paca and Chase initially met through a club that Paca helped start when he moved to Annapolis. Known as the Forensic Club, it was a place for young men to meet, discuss, and debate contemporary issues.
On August 26, 1765, Chase led a mob that burned the stamp collector, Zachariah Hood, in effigy. About a week later, on September 2, Chase and the mob tore down the building that Hood planned to use to store the stamped paper. Hood fled to New York, and Governor Horatio Sharp had the stamped paper stored on a British warship for safekeeping.
When the Stamp Act went into effect on November 1, Chase continued to run his business, without stamped paper, in direct violation of the Act. Afterward, Chase and Paca organized the Sons of Liberty in Annapolis while Chase’s father, Thomas, organized another group in Baltimore.
AHC Notes
- Samuel Chase (1741–1811) — Chase was a lawyer and politician from Maryland and a prominent leader of the Patriot Cause. A member of the Sons of Liberty, he was a delegate to the First Continental Congress and signed the Articles of Association, which set up the Continental Association. He was also elected to the Second Continental Congress, signed the Olive Branch Petition, and signed the Declaration of Independence. After being appointed to the Supreme Court, the House of Representatives impeached Chase. Although the Senate acquitted him of the charges, he remains the only Justice the House has impeached.
- Sons of Liberty — A radical organization in Colonial America created to carry out public demonstrations against British policies that forced Americans to pay taxes without representation in Parliament. Many men associated with the group are considered Founding Fathers of the United States.
- Stamp Act (1765) — A law passed by Parliament in 1765 to raise money from the American Colonies. It required printers and publishers to use special stamped paper for legal documents and many printed materials. Its passage led to the cry of “No Taxation Without Representation” — a direct cause of the American Revolution and the War for Independence.
The Fee Bill Controversy
Paca won a seat in the Maryland Assembly in 1768, where he continued to work with Chase to oppose laws they considered violations of the British Constitution. In 1770, a law expired that set the fees of colonial officers. The Governor’s Council sought to maintain the fees at their current rates, whereas the Assembly sought to reduce them. The dispute is known as the “Fee Bill Controversy.”
- The Assembly refused to continue business until Eden ruled in their favor.
- Governor Eden suspended the Assembly and issued a proclamation establishing fees for officers.
- In Annapolis, Paca and Chase organized a protest against Eden’s action. They led a procession that hanged the proclamation on a gallows and then buried it in a grave underneath it. A ship owned by Paca fired its guns to commemorate the proclamation’s mock execution and burial.
- Eden rescinded his proclamation.
AHC Notes
- Robert Eden (1741–1784) — Eden was appointed as the Royal Governor of Maryland in 1768. Early in his term, he suspended the General Assembly to prevent a protest against the Townshend Acts and actively tried to balance colonial demands with British policies. Although the Annapolis Convention ended his authority in June 1774, he continued to perform his duties as Governor after the outbreak of war. Following the interception of a letter that made him appear to be a British Loyalist, the Convention ordered his removal in May 1776.
Patriot Leader
As tensions with Britain increased, Paca moved to the forefront of the Patriot Cause and helped Chase organize resistance to the Intolerable Acts. On May 25, 1774, they led a public meeting that called for a boycott of trade with British merchants. On May 25, the Annapolis Convention approved the boycott and also called for a general congress of the American Colonies to discuss the Intolerable Acts with the other colonies.
- Paca joined the Maryland Committee of Correspondence.
- In June 1774, he won election as a delegate to the First Continental Congress.
- Paca signed the Articles of Association, which established the Continental Association.
- In October, he returned to Annapolis as one of the city’s representatives at the Annapolis Convention, which met from November 21 to November 24.
Paca won election to the Second Continental Congress, along with Chase, Thomas Stone, and Charles Carroll of Carrollton. They arrived in Philadelphia under restrictions prohibiting them from voting for independence. Paca, Chase, and Carroll worked to convince the Annapolis Convention to alter its stance. By June 1776, the Annapolis Convention lifted the restrictions, and the Maryland delegates voted in favor of independence. Then, each of them signed the Declaration of Independence.
- Paca served in the Second Continental Congress for most of the years from 1775 to 1779 and sat on several important committees.
- He signed the Olive Branch Petition.
AHC Notes
- Articles of Association (1774) — The Articles of the Continental Association were agreed to by the First Continental Congress on October 20, 1774. The Articles included 14 resolutions of Non-Importation, Non-Consumption, and Non-Exportation against Britain, Ireland, and other territories in the British Empire.
- Continental Association — The Continental Association was an organization set up by the Articles of Association, which were agreed to by the delegates to the First Continental Congress on October 20, 1774. Under the agreement, Committees of Inspection were to be established in each colony to ensure compliance. The Committees of Correspondence were also authorized to conduct inspections.
- Olive Branch Petition — A final attempt by the Second Continental Congress in July 1775 to reconcile with Britain and avoid a full-scale war. Written largely by John Dickinson, it declared colonial loyalty to King George III while requesting an end to hostilities. The King rejected the petition and soon declared the colonies in rebellion, prompting Congress to declare independence.
- Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737–1832) — Caroll was a farmer and politician from Maryland who is best known as the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence and the last living signer. During his lifetime, Carroll was considered one of the wealthiest men in America.
- Thomas Stone (1743–1787) — Stone was a Maryland politician and Signer of the Declaration of Independence. A moderate Patriot, he supported independence while favoring cautious political action. He served in the Continental Congress, helped draft the Articles of Confederation, and later worked in the Maryland Senate and the Congress of the Confederation. Chosen for the Constitutional Convention, he declined due to his wife’s illness.
Maryland Politics
Paca remained involved in Maryland politics. He joined the Maryland Council of Safety and spent several thousand dollars of his own money to supply Maryland troops.
- Paca participated in the convention that drafted a state constitution in August 1776.
- He was one of the 15 members of the first state Senate.
- In 1778, he became Chief Judge of the Maryland General Court.
- On February 9, 1780, Congress appointed him Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals in Admiralty and Prize Cases.
Governor of Maryland
In November 1782, the legislature elected him Governor of Maryland. Paca was reelected unanimously in 1783 and 1784. His final term ended on November 26, 1785. As Governor, he supported returning soldiers and worked to revive business interests harmed by the war.
- He helped raise funds for Washington College and laid the cornerstone for its first building in 1783.
- The Society of the Cincinnati granted him honorary membership for his wartime service. From 1784 to 1787, he served as Vice President of the Maryland branch.
AHC Notes
- Society of the Cincinnati — Led by Henry Knox, the officers from the Continental Army organized a fraternal organization. The organization commemorates Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus, a Roman military leader who relinquished his political and military power after defeating the Roman Empire’s enemies. The Society continues to operate, calling itself the “nation’s oldest patriotic organization.”
Later Years
Paca served as a delegate to the Maryland Convention, which ratified the United States Constitution in 1788. Although he aligned with Anti-Federalists and proposed 28 amendments, he voted for ratification when the Convention chose to accept or reject the document as written.
In 1789, President George Washington appointed him as a Judge for the Federal District, which included Maryland. Paca held the position until his death at Wye Hall on October 13, 1799.
In Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence (1829), Charles Goodrich described Paca, saying, “…he lived a life of distinguished usefulness, so he died regretted by all who knew how to estimate moral worth, intellectual elevation, and political integrity.”
