Capt John Chalmers Sr.

The colorful parts of a person’s life come in many varieties.  I don’t want this blog to be like the two-bit rags at the grocery checkout counter, making scandal part of my schtick.  But I also don’t want to shy away from the “sins” that make us all human.  And, following on an earlier post about another family silversmith, I give you……

Capt John Chalmers Sr.

Born in 1750 in Annapolis, Maryland , his father was well-known silversmith James Chalmers.  Like many of the Annapolis silversmiths James also kept a tavern, and his shop was known as “At The Sign of The Golden Ball.”   John and his younger brother, James Jr, carried on his father’s business.

During the Revolutionary War, John Chalmers served in the Continental Army as a recruiting officer and a supply officer.  As a recruiting officer, Capt Chalmers’ efforts were aimed at the Maryland militia, whose principal duty involved containing the British Tories and Loyalists who lived in large numbers on the eastern shores of Maryland.

The Annapolis tax listing of 1783 shows John Chalmers was fairly well-to-do businessman, financially ranking among the top 20 percent of Annapolis citizens.

I Chalmers 3pence & shilling

A shortage of change and the refusal of people to use underweight cut Spanish coins, or “bits” prompted Chalmers to strike a series of silver tokens in Annapolis in 1783.  “I Chalmers” minted silver shillings, six-pence and three-pence pieces.  Examples are shown to the right.

In 1785 John Chalmers became the first white male to join the Methodist church in Annapolis.  In 1786 he sold a lot in the northeastern part of the City, for the sum of 55 shillings, to the trustees of the Methodist church for the purpose of building a meeting house.  He was appointed to the board of trustees of the first college erected by the Methodist Church in America, Cokesbury College, named for Bishop Coke of England.  The college was built in 1787 on a six-acre campus in Abingdon, Maryland, an area approximately 18 miles northeast of Baltimore.

There is evidence that Chalmers fell deeply into debt.  In 1789 he mortgaged property which had been inherited from his father and economic hardship finally forced him to move his family to Baltimore sometime after 1791.  Records indicate that he opened a ship chandler’s store on Cheapside Street near Baltimore’s dock area, and that in 1796 he and his son became involved in the operation of a rope factory.

Unfortunately, Chalmers’ life of religion ended quite abruptly in 1813 when he was expelled from the Methodist Society for his alleged sexual relations with a female slave.

John Chalmers died on June 19, 1817, at the age of 67, and was buried in the “Burial Yard, Methodist Old Town” in Baltimore.

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John Chalmers, Issuer Of The Annapolis Coinage, by Wm. F. Perlitz.  The Numismatist, Nov 1948, pgs 721 & 722.

The Life and Coins of John Chalmers, by Henry W. Schab.  The Numismatist, Nov 1984, pgs 2293-2312.

1989 A Guide Book of United States Coins, by R S Yeoman, 42nd Revised Ed, Western Publishing Co, Inc, Racine, WI,1988, page 27.

Pictures: http://coinauctionshelp.com/johnchalmerissues-1783.html