A Likeness Suited to Depict Anne Toft: No known images of Anne exist, but this portrait illustrates what alluring women of 17th-century England would have looked like.

Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland, depicted by Lely as Minerva, Roman goddess of wisdom and war.

From "What the Most Alluring Women of the 17th-century England Looked Like: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-the-most-alluring-women-of-17th-century-england-looked-lik

Anne Toft’s first land patent dated 3 November 1660 for 800 acres.

Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer. Portrait by John Hesselius

On the right: A feature story about the restoration by architect, Perry B. Van Vleck. On the left: An image of Naiad Nymph, thought to be inspiration for Anne in creating and naming Gargaphia Savannah on the Virginian Eastern Shore in 1664.

Alluring, mysterious, powerful, savvy, beautiful, scandalous… these words begin to describe Anne and her life. She was a feme sole, an unmarried woman who could buy and sell property, engage in contracts and other business and legal transactions, a “woman who acted like a man.” In 1660 at age 17 she mysteriously appeared on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Her birth and whereabouts before then are mostly unknown but it is assumed she was born in England. For eleven years, she was a land speculator, entrepreneur, and international trader and became one of the richest individuals – and THE richest woman – on the Eastern Shore. When she appeared in Virginia in 1660, records show she already owned land in Jamaica.

But her intrigue does not stop there. During these 11 years, she connected herself romantically and in business to Edmund Scarburgh II, a notorious, powerful, and scandalous man who found himself in court often and was known for his foul language and questionable persona. He was married to another woman but during his partnership with Anne, she gave birth to 3 daughters, Arcadia, Attlanta, and Annabella. Edmund was the assumed father.

Anne undoubtedly connected herself to Edmund to gain some of the social power and reputation typically afforded to men at that time. But she was cunning and records of her business activities seem to entirely benefit her and not Edmund. He took most of the risk while Anne derived most of the financial benefit.

Her economic success in such a short time was phenomenal. The accumulation of vast quantities of land was first recorded in 1660 when she patented 800 acres on the bay which is now Accomack County. Anne acquired land through headrights subsequently patenting 1,200 acres in 1664 and then 4,000 acres in 1667 on which she built her planation named Gargaphia. Eventually she acquired between 20,000 and 30,000 acres of land in Virginia through patenting and selling sugar, indigo and other goods. She had trans-Atlantic notoriety conducting shipping trade between the Caribbean and Ireland. Business dealings records show that she knew and used top leaders in and beyond Virginia including the governor of Connecticut, John Winthrop, Jr., and James Russell, lieutenant governor of the Virginia colony.

Edmund died in 1671 from Smallpox. A few short months later, Anne married planter Daniel Jenifer. Daniel Jenifer served as a clerk of the Maryland provincial court and later as a representative to the assembly of that colony. Why she decided to give up her feme sole status to become feme covert (subject in nearly every way to her husband) is unclear. For Daniel Jenifer, Anne would have been a desirable wife. They were close to the same age, he had been recently widowed, had no children or heirs, and Anne’s enormous land and business holdings would have immediately placed him at the top of Accomack society. For Anne, a respectable planter may have been just the extra buffer she needed to dodge future accusations of fornication and bastard bearing to save her reputation and legacy.

They were married for 16 years and the union appears to have benefitted both Anne and Daniel. He moved to her Gargaphia plantation, they consolidated and sold land simplifying their holdings and eliminating ties to Edmund Scarburgh. Anne gave birth to a son, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer (1672–1730). Eventually, he received a sizable inheritance from his parents, married twice, and produced a son, Daniel Jenifer, who became a medical doctor. Anne’s 3 daughters were given equal land shares. Arcadia married and had two sons, and late in life she teamed up with her half-brother and took possession of what is now Smith Island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay.

Daniel Jenifer, Anne’s grandson, gave birth to Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer in 1723. He became an American politician and a Founding Father who was one of the signers of the Constitution of the United States. He was active for many years in the province of Maryland’s colonial government, but when conflict arose with Great Britain, Jenifer embraced the Patriot cause.

In this story Anne’s land is the pivotal element. As mentioned before, Gargaphia Savannah, was Anne’s name for her home land. She clearly had a fascination with Greek mythology and used it to create a naming convention naming her “bastard” daughters Arcadia, Attlanta, and Annabella.  Today her former Virginia land is known as Gargathy Bay, and Gargathy Neck in northern Accomack County (seaside). As a side note, Edmund Scarborough's main residence is a property in Accomack County on Occahannock Creek known as Hedra Cottage. Although the original house is gone, a later one stands in its place.

In 1693 Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Anne’s son, sold 74 acres to Richard Bundick, Jr.. In 1797 William Bundick, Richard’s grandson, purportedly built a brick addition onto an existing structure which was most likely built by his father or grandfather. The story of how these 2 structures, a 1 and ½ story wooden structure dated approximately 1704, and a 2-story brick structure dated 1797, ended up in Calvert County, MD begins with Washington D.C. architect Perry Van Vleck.

In 1973 and 1974 Perry purchased the house, as well as a number of other dilapidated, historic structures in VA, and moved them to Calvert County, MD. It was a tremendous endeavor involving transport by barge up the bay. Knowing the British had burned the majority of Calvert County desecrating many of the county’s original historic structures, Van Vleck, employed his resources toward transplanting history creating a community by the Patuxent river known as Lower Marlboro which consists of multiple homes moved and restored by Mr. Van Vleck. In a second area of the county, he placed and restored 3 historic structures including the Bundick structures naming them “Gargaphia Savannah” after Anne’s notorious plantation.

Since 1974 this home has been occupied and cared for by a series of owners each adding their mark, and each changing it in ways to fit their needs and lifestyles. Although the home is not on the historic register, and it is my understanding that it is not eligible to gain that status since it was moved, the respect given to its historic qualities by each owner/occupant is evident now in 2023. The home has its original clap-board siding, single-pane windows, pine flooring, brick fireplaces and chimneys. Unlike most historic homes, this one has 2 full-height basements, indoor plumbing, fully integrated heating and air conditioning, and a “modern” configuration created by Vav Vleck reflecting how we live now 100s of years after Anne and the Bundick’s.

In the 1990s the owners added a 2-story addition including a primary bedroom suite with walk-in closet and full bath, and 2 bedrooms with lofts that share a full bath on the second floor.

In 2000, the owners renovated the kitchen and bathrooms. Now 23 years later the farm-house style kitchen and classic “English” aesthetic are back on trend.

When we moved in in January 2020, 6 weeks before the pandemic, one of the first things I changed was the name from Gargaphia Savannah to The Anne Toft House. There is no official documentation of the name change, except on my social media. After reading the history connected to the home, and struggling to pronounce and explain “Gargaphia Savannah” to anyone asking about the house, I wanted to change the story to reveal a remarkable and powerful woman. Anne certainly engaged in dubious and downright despicable behavior from being party to Edmund’s adultery to owning, selling and profiting from enslaved people. Unfortunately, many of our historic figures of influence and power also have this stain on their legacy. But, my mission as a woman is to celebrate and encourage other women especially in a day and age where we find ourselves still fighting for recognition, support, and equal rights.