Walter Dulany - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Walter Dulany was a politician in Colonial Maryland, who served as Mayor of Annapolis

Mayor of Annapolis

The Mayor of Annapolis is the chief political figure in the city of Annapolis, which is the capital city of Maryland. The mayor is elected to a four-year term.-List of Mayors of Annapolis:*1708–1720 Amos Garrett*1720–1721 Thomas Larkin...

from 1766 to 1767. His family house and land at Windmill Point later became the location for the United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

Early life

Dulany was the second son of Daniel Dulany the Elder

Daniel Dulany the Elder

Daniel Dulany the Elder was a prominent lawyer and land-developer in colonial Maryland, who held a number of colonial offices. In 1722 Dulany write a pamphlet entitled The Right of the Inhabitants of Maryland, to the Benefit of the English Laws, asserting the rights of Marylanders over the...

and his wife Rebecca Smith.

On June 30, 1753 Walter Dulany bought a house in Annapolis from one Simon Duff, described as "sixty five feet in length and twenty one feet in breadth, to which is a good cellar, garden, and all necessary out-houses, delightfully situated, near a good landing". Dulany paid £250 for his new house, "wherein the said Simon Duff now liveth". The Dulany family would live there from 1753 to 1808.

Politics

Politically, Dulany was a Loyalist

Loyalist (American Revolution)

Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...

, like his father and older brother Daniel Dulany the Younger

Daniel Dulany the Younger

Daniel Dulany the Younger was a Maryland Loyalist politician, Mayor of Annapolis, and an influential American lawyer in the period immediately before the American Revolution...

. He served as Mayor of Annapolis from 1766 to 1767. He was also Judge for probate of wills, and succeeded his father as Commissary General. Indeed, it was claimed that the office of Commissary General was "almost hereditary" within the Dulany family.

Coming of Revolution

In 1766, the year he became Mayor, Dulany became embroiled in a war of words with Samuel Chase

Samuel Chase

Samuel Chase was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and earlier was a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland. Early in life, Chase was a "firebrand" states-righter and revolutionary...

, a vocal opponent of the Stamp Act

Stamp Act

A stamp act is any legislation that requires a tax to be paid on the transfer of certain documents. Those that pay the tax receive an official stamp on their documents, making them legal documents. The taxes raised under a stamp act are called stamp duty. This system of taxation was first devised...

and later a signer of the American Declaration of Independence. In an open letter dated July 18, 1766 Chase attacked Dulany, Michael MacNamara

Michael MacNamara

Michael MacNamara was a politician in Colonial Maryland, who served 3 terms as Mayor of Annapolis.-Politics:Originally from Ireland MacNamara held a number of Proprietary appointments in colonial Maryland and, politically, was a Loyalist. He was Mayor of Annapolis on three occasions, from...

, John Brice

John Brice, Jr.

John Brice, Jr. was an early American settler and Loyalist politician in colonial Maryland. He was a member of the Governor's Council, twice Mayor of Annapolis, and a chief justice in the colony's court. Two of his sons would in their turn become Mayors of Annapolis.-Early life:John was born in...

, George Steuart (1700–1784), and others for publishing an article in the Maryland Gazette Extraordinary

The Capital

The Capital is a daily newspaper published in Annapolis, Maryland. It serves the city as well as all of Anne Arundel County and neighboring Kent Island in Queen Anne's County. It is an evening newspaper during the week and offers morning delivery on the weekend. Philip Merrill was the publisher...

of June 19, 1766, in which Chase had been accused of being: "a busy, reckless incendiary, a ringleader of mobs, a foul-mouthed and inflaming son of discord and faction, a common disturber of the public tranquility".

In his response, Chase accused Dulany and the others of "vanity...pride and arrogance", and of being brought to power by "proprietory influence, court favour, and the wealth and influence of the tools and favourites who infest this city."

In particular Chase accused Dulany of electoral impropriety:

"You were re-elected by mere chance, but upon a petition from the citizens, complaining of an undue election, you were again discharged from the house, and another gentleman chosen in your room, I was unfortunately of that number who were of opinion your election was void, and voted accordingly. This, Sir, is the cause of your resentment against me..."

The Dulany family were loyal to the Crown during the Revolution and as a result most of their extensive estates were confiscated after the war.

Family and legacy

Dulany married Mary Grafton, daughter of Richard Grafton. They had seven children: Walter, Jr., Daniel, Grafton Lloyd, Rebecca, Mary, Margaret, and Catherine, who married Horatio Sharp Belt on July 23, 1783. Walter Dulany died on September 20, 1773.
In 1808 the younger Walter Dulany sold his family house at Windmill Point to the United States Government, which assigned the house to the commander of Fort Severn

Fort Severn

For the trading post in Canada see Fort Severn First Nation Fort Severn, in present-day Annapolis, Maryland, was built in 1808 on the same site as an earlier American Revolutionary War fort of 1776. Although intended to guard Annapolis harbor from British attack, it never saw action during the War...