Thomas Gerard

Thomas Gerard (1608–1673) was a prominent manor owner in colonial Maryland, which was an English and later British colony in North America. Born into a Catholic family in England, he arrived in Maryland in 1638, and was granted 1,030 acres by Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, which he named "Saint Clement’s Manor". This manor included St. Clement's Island, which was the landing site of the first Maryland colonists in 1634. He later became an extensive colonial landowner, owning around 12,000-16,000 acres in Maryland, and 3,500 acres in Virginia. He also served at various times in the colonial legislature of the Maryland colony.