Some weeks ago when I viewed the new permanent exhibit at the Talbot Historical Society, I noted that one of the five people featured was Edward Lloyd IV, someone about whom I had heard but knew little. With the help of one of his descendants and current owner of the historic Wye House, Richard Tilghman, I did some research and learned that Colonel Lloyd played a major role in the economy of Talbot County in the last four decades of the 18th century.
He also was a public figure during the Revolutionary War period.
One of the wealthiest men in the Chesapeake Bay region, he owned 12,000 acres, which amounted to seven percent of the county’s taxable acreage, according to a thesis written by Jean Russo, a student at the University of Maryland, College Park. He lived with his wife and seven children at Wye House, which he inherited in 1770.
He also bred and raced pedigreed horses, owning one of the best stables of the time. He lived well, emulating the lifestyle of British aristocrats.
A reading of Russo’s thesis reveals a man committed to running successfully an expansive farm operation, which included nine plantations in Talbot, Queen Anne’s and Anne Arundel counties, including “Home House,” better known as Wye House. He was interested principally in marketing his crops far and wide, disposing of his father’s mercantile stores and other mercantile assets.
Edward Lloyd IV differentiated himself from other large landowners or “planters’ of the time by the hierarchical structure he set up to run his plantations. He virtually acted as a chief executive officer, providing clear guidance and hard-nosed business direction to those who worked for him.
He raised tobacco, corn, wheat several other grains, vegetables and livestock. He sold tobacco to Great Britain, wheat to local mill owners as well as mill owners in Baltimore and Cecil County. He supplied pork, beef, mutton, sheep and cattle to Annapolis and Baltimore butchers, also selling individually to residents in Annapolis. He also sold pork and beef as provisions to the state of Maryland during the Revolutionary War.
Lloyd established an administrative chain of command that linked him and his labor force, both black and white, slave and free, using a small group of agents, clerks and stewards. He used stewards and “overlookers” to oversee the overseers, who served as intermediaries between the master and slaves in operation of Wye House and the eight outlying plantations. His overseers comprised “a high proportion of men who held stable and respected positions in their community,” according to Jean Russo They worked an average of 3.6 years for Lloyd.
Not surprisingly, Lloyd’s “slave workers constituted the most crucial element of the estate’s workforce.” By 1790, 300 slaves worked on Colonel Lloyd’s nine farms
Though actively involved in the political life of the colony and state, Colonel Lloyd dictated the businesslike practices, instructing, for example, Arthur Bryan, one of his stewards, when and under what terms to sell his crops. He was viewed as tough to deal with, stating and sticking to his transactional terms.
Tobacco was the major crop, which Lloyd marketed through direct consignment to London merchants, sending the best quality tobacco to England.
So, this very successful and wealthy plantation owner took his inheritance and increased its value through an efficient management structure—and a hard-nosed insistence on dealing on his terms. As one of the largest wheat growers in the region, he could enforce his terms.
I have focused almost entirely on Edward Lloyd IV as a businessman, only briefly citing his work in the public arena. As a frequent visitor to Wye House, I am fascinated by the significant role that the Lloyd family has played in the socioeconomic landscape of Talbot County. The Wye House property continues to be farmed. It continues under family ownership. Its history is long and storied, linked to the history and culture of Talbot County, the region and the state.
Columnist Howard Freedlander retired in 2011 as Deputy State Treasurer of the State of Maryland. Previously, he was the executive officer of the Maryland National Guard. He also served as community editor for Chesapeake Publishing, lastly at the Queen Anne’s Record-Observer. In retirement, Howard serves on the boards of several non-profits on the Eastern Shore, Annapolis and Philadelphia.
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