Zadok Magruder

During the American Revolution, Zadok Magruder (1729–1811) participated in the Maryland government and became a state militia colonel. He also helped establish Montgomery County, Maryland

Family and Pre-War Life

His great-grandfather, Alexander Magruder, had come to Prince George's County, Maryland in 1652 after having been deported from Perthshire, Scotland where he was an indentured servant pursuing the Scottish Rebellion. [1] He was the son of John and Susanna Magruder, and the grandsons of Samuel and Sarah Magruder. Most of the Magruders in America were farmers, merchants and mechanics.[2]

He was born in 1729 in Prince George's County, Maryland. As a young man, he moved to Montgomery County, Maryland where he inherited 600 acres near Norbeck in 1745. He built a house in 1750 in Redland called "The Ridge", a community which had a population of about fifty at the time. In 1754, he married Rachel Pottinger Bowie. [1]

The American Revolution

Zadok and his brother, Nathan , were members of the General Committee to Annapolis in 1774 (as local representatives). The General Committee to Annapolis functioned as the state or colony level of government for Maryland. Zadok and Nathan became members of a committee charged with carrying out the decision of the American Continental Congress on the topic of the British Tea Act. Zadok became a member of the Maryland Committee of Correspondence. When in command of the "Home Defense Battalion of Lower Frederick County", which was part of the Maryland militia, he attained the rank of colonel. [2]

Montgomery County Establishment

Zadok and his brother, Nathan, were appointed as commissioners to organize and establish the government of Montgomery County, Maryland when it became a separate county from Fredrick County in 1776.[2]

Post-War Life and Death

He and his wife had eleven children, eight girls and three boys. They lived in an area known as Mount Pleasant, where they built a house, also named "Mount Pleasant", in about 1807. One son, Zadok, later became a doctor. After he died in 1811, the Mount Pleasant house was inherited by his son Robert Pottinger Magruder.[2]

High School Naming

A high school named after Colonel Zadok Magruder was built in Derwood (Montgomery County), Maryland, near the site of "The Ridge" house.[2]

References
  1. Gaithersburg: History of a City. Arcadia Publishing. 2002. ISBN 9780738523729.
  2. "https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/magruderhs/about".
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