Source: Morris Radoff's State House at Annapolis

The photostatic copy of the Petition given to the archives from the William T. Claude Collection is missing.

The following is a transcript of that petition as written in Radoff's book.

To the Honorable The General Assembly of Maryland and Gentleman of the Senate

"The Humble Memorial of Mary S. Magee only Surviving Orphan of Josep Clarke Architect of the State House, Church & Colledge in this City

"Deeply Impressed with a high Sense of the Justice liberality & Benevolence of your Honorable Body, your memorialsit with all due deference Respectfully ventures to lay before you her very peculiarly distressing situation and Implores from your Generosity & humanity some Small pecuniary Assistance, Your Memorialsit Indulges to hope, that it will be some feeble Claim on the attention of your Hon [superscript able] Body when is known that she is a native of this City, her Father having formerly been a Ctitizen of this place for nearly twenty years, he left here 1794- at which time there was a ballance owed him by the State of Maryland L17.000 Maryland Currency on leaving here he went to Washington City and by Transacting business there for the firm Morris Nicholson & Greenleaf he lsot by their failure the sum of $49,000 in one year which loss together with some severe domestic afflictions, among which was the death of his Eldest Son Horatio Clark so deeply affected his health that he was advised by both Friends and Physicians to Try & Voyage to Europe for tis restoration- in compliance with this advice he left Balte for London Early in May 1797 & returned in the latter part of Octr the Same previous to his sailing for Europe her Father Substantiated this claim agaist the State & Left it to be Transacted by an Attorney, but during his absense Mr. Luther Martin (then Attorney General) who had long beena t personal Enmity with her father Barrd- the Claim pleading the act of limitation on the return of her Father he publicly charged Mr. Martin in the papers of having been more governed by private pique against him then Zeal in performing his duty To the Sate. This produced a newspaper war which lasted nearly the whole winter and in april 1798- her Father died and was Buried in Balte with masonic Honors several hundered of teh Fraternity walking in procession to his Funeral. The Father of your memorialist was Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Maryland at the time our Immortal Washington was Grand Master and by the request of and at the right hand of his Hond Grand Master, delivered the Masonic oration at the laying of the corner stone of the Capitol in Washington City- fearful of intruding too long on the valuable time of of your Honble Body, your memorialist humbly Begs leave to say that she does not Claim from the State of Maryland anything asa right or debt, but trusting to their well known liberality and Benevolence she humbly ventures to hope that in consideration of the above mentioned circumstance they, after due deliberation, will graciously and humanely Grant her some some small pecuniary aid. She is unwilling to Believe that the Honorable Legistlative Body of her native state- a State that has so many monuments of the talents and usefullness of her father, would entirely disregard the pleading of his Isolated orphan, who has by a long concatenation of misfortuens & severe Afflcitions both bodily and Mental, become reduced to the painful necessity of thus publickly imploring pecuniary assistance which is not only wounding to her pride as an American but repugnant to her feelings of delicacy as a Female whom nothing but the most Extreme Distress would induce to address so august and Honable a Body.

"Yr memorialist begs leave to add that she has been absent from the Untied States upwards of 14 eyars-and has not been in this City for 20- that her husband is a Lt. col in eh Columbian Service but owing to the unsettled State of that Coutnry and their Total inability to apy their officers, She has not received remittabce frin hum for 4 years abd her principal object in Imploring pecuniary aid is to obtain the means to rejoin him in the interior of South AMerica, never having had the occasdion to draw up an Instrument of writing that was to be laid before so Honble a Body will she hopes plead her Excues for the numerous errors in this, and she concludes in the humble But firm hope that the Godlike voice of Charity and Humanity will Incline the hearts of this Honorable body to give some Small attention to her prayer, and for the most Trifling Assistance at this momentous Crises your memorialsit will ever be bound to pray for them not only as a Body politic, but for the happiness and prosperity of Each individual member of the legislature, to whom she begs keave to say that she calls on them to place their assistance not only in the inhabitants of her state, but implores them to place themselves in the Situation of Fathers, Husband, & Brothers and in Either of those relations to Act now by her. as they would wish the legislature to act by Either a Wife, a Daughter, or a Sister of theirs, who was thus pleading for aid when they had gone to that Bourne from whence no Traveler returns- this being the ground work of our Holy Religion, and the principal command of our divine law Giver 'to do unto all men as you would they shod do unto you' she here rests her memorial with Saying that her Gratitide for their Goodness Shall thro life be her leading Star & paramount to Everything Else-

Annapolis January19, 1829.