Rosalie Eugenia (Stier) Calvert (1778 - 1821)

Born 16 Feb 1778 in Antwerp, Belgium

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 13 Mar 1821 at age 43 in Riverdale Park, Prince George's, Maryland, United States

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Biography

Rosalie (Stier) Calvert migrated from Belgium to Maryland.

Rosalie Eugenia de Stier d'Aertzelaer, "Mistress of Riverdale" (b. 1778, age 16 in 1794 - d. 13 Mar 1821),^[1] was a 19th century plantation owner and correspondent.^[2][3] At the age of sixteen, she fled Belgium with her aristocratic parents Henri Stier,^[4] and Marie Peeters, to live in Maryland.^[4]

The Stier family fled Belgium as a French army invaded their home city,^[2] but inevitably returned to their home country by 1803. Rosalie, however, had been married to George Calvert in 1799,^[5] and was left behind with the Riversdale Plantation her father created.^[4] Built between 1801 and 1807, the property was a five-part, large-scale late Georgian mansion with superior Federal interior. Also known as "Baltimore House" and the "Calvert Mansion", it's located at 4811 Riverdale Road in Riverdale Park, Maryland.^[6]

Rosalie Calvert went on to be one of the richest women in the United States. She amassed a large fortune, much of which she managed herself, and maintained one of the largest art collections in the country.^[2]

Rosalie and George Calvert had a large family, though four of their children died in infancy or in childhood. Their son, Charles Benedict Calvert, established the Maryland Agricultural College, now the University of Maryland, College Park, on part of the Riversdale property.

She died on March 13, 1821 of dropsy.

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia: Rosalie Stier Calvert
   Find A Grave: Memorial #33375725
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Callcott, Margaret Law, Mistress of Riversdale: The Plantation Letters of Rosalie Stier Calvert. Google Books.
3. ↑ Shomette, C. (n.d.). The Kitchen Gardens of the Mistress of Riversdale. Bay Weekly. https://bayweekly.com/the-kitchen-gardens-of-the-mistress-of-riversdale/
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Klaus, S. (1992). Review: Mistress of Riversdale: The Plantation Letters of Rosalie Stier Calvert, 1795-1821Washington History, 4(1), 74-76. Retrieved August 14, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40065262
5. ↑ "Maryland County Marriages, 1658-1940," FHL microfilm 13,243.[1]

   George Calvert and Rosalie E Stier, 10 Jun 1799; citing Anne Arundel, Maryland, United States, clerk of the circuit court from various counties.

6. ↑ Wikipedia: Riversdale (Riverdale Park, Maryland)

See Also...

• Riversdale House Museum https://www.mncppc.org/3023/Riversdale-House-Museum
• Prince George's Parks: History of Riversdale House Museum. Archived 2008-05-10 at the Wayback Machine http://www.pgparks.com/places/eleganthistoric/riversdale_history.html