Thomas Beale Dorsey


Thomas Beale Dorsey was an American farmer, lawyer, politician and judge serving Anne Arundel County and Maryland.

Early life

In 1807 Dorsey became a member of the Baltimore City House of Delegates. During this time he was a member of the Committee of Grievances & Courts of Justice, Committee on Laws to Expire, Committee to Consider and Report on the Communication from the Governors of New Jersey and Delaware, and the Committee to Examine Laws of Maryland Regulating the Election of Members of Congress.
In 1811 Dorsey was appointed to be the U.S. District Attorney for Maryland. Following his term, he was elected to the House of Delegates representing Anne Arundel County as a Republican, but was defeated in his 1814 election. In 1816 and 1821, he became a Senatorial Elector for Anne Arundel County. Dorsey attained the position of Attorney General of Maryland in 1822, serving until 1824. In 1824, he was appointed as Chief Judge, First Judicial District. He remained as an Associate Judge for the Maryland Court of Appeals until 1848, when he became the Chief Judge until 1851. After 1851, he served on the board of directors of the Patapsco Female Institute.
Dorsey is credited in his efforts to convert the Howard District of Anne Arundel, into Howard County, Maryland. His son John Thomas Beale maintained a Howard County Farm, but served for the southern confederacy. He was also the father of Samuel Worthington Dorsey.
Dorsey lived at Mt. Hebron, a stone home built by his father in 1808. Dorsey operated a farm at the location with 49 slaves listed in the 1840 census. As a tobacco farmer, Dorsey's products were the highest quality of the time fetching a record 319 pounds Sterling at Elkridge Landing for a 707lb hogshead in 1824. Mount Hebron High School, built in 1966, is named after the manor