William Claiborne

William Claiborne , c.1587-c.1677, Virginia colonist, b. Westmorland co., England. He emigrated to Virginia in 1621 as official surveyor and then served as secretary of state (1626-37, 1652-60) of that colony. He traded with the Native Americans, explored near the head of Chesapeake Bay, and established a fort and settlement on Kent Island in the Chesapeake. He opposed the grant of Maryland to Lord Baltimore, and after Baltimore's order (1634) for his arrest, Claiborne undertook armed resistance from his stronghold. Claiborne went (1637) to England to justify his conduct, but the issue was decided in favor of Lord Baltimore. In 1642, Claiborne was made treasurer of Virginia, and several years later, claiming the authority of Parliament, he invaded Maryland and drove out the governor, Leonard Calvert. He controlled Maryland for several years and was a member (1652-57) of its governing commission.

Martin Faber, novel by Simms, published in 1833 and revised as Martin Faber, the Story of a Criminal (1837).

Martin, a brilliant but evil young man, seduces Emily and deserts her to marry Constance Claiborne. When Emily threatens to expose him, he strangles her and hides her body in the cleft of a rock. He then accuses Constance of having an affair with his friend William Harding, who ingeniously reconstructs the murder and exposes it in a painting he hangs in the village gallery. Frightened, Martin goes with Harding to the scene of the crime, where he is held by the villagers while the rock is blasted and the body recovered. He attempts to stab Constance when she visits him in prison, but fails and is taken to be hanged.