A letter from Cyprian Thorowgood to Cecil Calvert with an account of his voyage to the head of Chesapeake Bay in 1634.

Cyprian Thorowgood

(Alternative Spellings = Ciprian, Thoroughgood)

Cyprian Thorowgood was an English explorer known for his successful fur trade with the local Indigenous tribes in Maryland. He is believed to have come to Maryland aboard the Ark or Dove in 1633 or 1634.

Early government records describe him as "Mr. Cyprian Thorowgood, Gent.," or gentleman. This means that he was an educated man from a well-to-do family.1 He lived near the Jesuit Mission at St. Inigoes Plantation, outside of St. Mary's City.2 He was one of the first Maryland colonists to explore the entire Chesapeake Bay by ship.

Cecil Calvert, Second Lord Baltimore, received a letter from Thorowgood describing a voyage Thorowgood made with seven men from April 25 to May 15, 1634.3 In the letter, Thorowgood gave Lord Baltimore a full account of his exploration to the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay. Thorowgood described the many islands and waterways that he and his men saw as their trading ship sailed north. He also described coming upon William Claiborne and his men trading with the Susquehannock people. The Susquehannocks agreed to trade 230 beaver furs with Thorowgood and his men.4 Though he doesn’t mention in the letter what he traded for the furs, it was likely European-made cloth or iron tools.

By the early 1640s, Thorowgood had earned a lot of money in the fur trade. He owned land in St. Mary's County in southern Maryland. He took an active role in the government, serving in the Maryland Assembly in 1637, 1641, and 1642. Lord Baltimore appointed Thorowgood to be sheriff of St. Mary's County in 1642. Lord Baltimore explained to Thorowgood that he had "especiall trust and Confidence in [Thorowgood's] faithful diligence."5 This meant Lord Baltimore thought Cyprian Thorowgood was the best person for the job of sheriff.

¹Maryland State Archives. (1641, April 8). Council of Maryland proceedings (Liber F, p. 147; Archives of Maryland, Vol. 3, p. 96). Newman, H. W. (1961). The flowering of the Maryland palatinate (p. 263). Published by the author.
²Maryland State Archives(n.d.). Cyprian Thorowgood file (Biographical Series). MSA SC 3520-2854.
³Gifford, G. E., Jr., & Tinling, M. (1958). A relation of a voyage to the head of the bay. The Historian, 20(3), 347–351.

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Sources:

Gifford, G. E., Jr., & Tinling, M. (1958). A relation of a voyage to the head of the bay. The Historian, 20(3), 347–351.

Lewis, C., III (Trans.). (1984). A relation of a voyage made by Mr. Cyprian Thorowgood (from the Patuxent) to the head of the Baye, April 24–May 5, 1634. Chronicles of St. Mary's, 32(11), 201–206.

Scharf, J. T. (1967). History of Maryland from the earliest period to the present day (Vols. 1–3). Tradition Press. (Original work published 1879)

Newman, H. W. (1961). The flowering of the Maryland palatinate. Published by the author.