Although records do not mention when Fendall emigrated to the Province of Maryland, it is likely that he entered on board the ship Golden Fortune, which was commanded by Capt.

Eltonhead brought with him letters that blamed Governor William Stone for having resigned his government to the Lord Protector in July, 1654, and accusing him of cowardice in surrendering without striking a single blow.

They ransacked an area of about 40 square miles (100 km2) which included the houses of Mr. Richard Preston "The Great Quaker" (c. 1618–1669) and John Sutton, who were prominent men.

Providence was located on the north side at the mouth of the Severn River across from what is today Annapolis, Maryland and was the place of residence of most of the commissioners, and people that were forced out of Virginia by Governor Sir William Berkeley (1606–1677).

Along with Governor Stone, who had been injured in the shoulder, Josias was taken prisoner in a conflict which resulted from the attempt, in the Battle of the Severn, by Captain William Fuller (died 1695) of the Puritan Army.

Fendall's services were rewarded by a grant of two thousand acres (8 km2) of land and by appointment, July 10, 1656, as governor from Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, 1st Lord Proprietary.

Before he could take any effective steps toward the organization of his government however, he was arrested by the Puritans on August 15, and held to answer to the charge of being "Dangerous to the public peace".

The attempted revolution was easily frustrated, thanks to the fall of the Cromwell Government, May 29, 1660, and the return of Charles II (1630–1685) to England as King.

On June 24, 1660, Lord Baltimore commissioned his younger brother and Josias' former advisor, Philip Calvert (1626–1682), as governor, and Charles II, commanded "obedience to him".

Subsequently, in response to a petition for mercy to the Governor and council, and although the Lord proprietor had specially given injunction not to allow him to escape with his life, he was pardoned, and, his punishment was reduced to disfranchisement and disqualification for office.

However, fearing the possibility that he could foment disorder, the governor, Charles Calvert (1637–1714) 3rd Lord Baltimore, and his Council informed them that if he were elected his seat would be declared vacant.

According to William Boyden, Josias was heard saying that, Lord Baltimore was a traitor and he could prove it, that people were fools if they paid taxes.

He was also heard saying that it was time for people to speak their minds and say anything for it was not treason and he hoped within a few years to have more honor in the country than he ever had prior.

About this time Josias had also become influential in northern Virginia among sympathizers of Nathaniel Bacon and associated with John Coode Jr. (c. 1648–1709),[1] who a few years later was the principal leader in the overthrow of the proprietary government.

However, the days when isolated settlers fell to the tomahawk lived in their recollections as a reality more potent than paper with marks, or tokens.

Some suggested that the arrests were merely one attempt to prevent participation by either Coode or Fendall in the upcoming session of the Assembly, which already promised to be a heated confrontation over defense policies.

[citation needed] Josias was under guard at Mattaponi, near Nottingham in today's Prince George's County, in July 1681 by the sheriff Col. Henry Darnall Sr. (1645–1711), the owner.

For fear that Fendall would have time to influence the people who charged him, he was not allowed by the courts to enquire into the evidence of his crime.

In the hearing, he was found guilty of attempting to raise a mutiny in Charles County and sedition through the utterance of "malicious words against the government".

[citation needed] During the sentence the Assembly notified that with the severity of the offense the law would allow for the "boaring of the tongue, cropping one or both ears, and other corporal punishments".

[citation needed] However they decided to take a more moderate and less shameful way of punishment and fined him 40,000 pounds of tobacco, and banished from the province.

[citation needed] Another Fendall partisan, Lt. George Godfrey, a court justice and militia officer in a troop of horse of Capt.

John Pendleton Kennedy (1795–1870) wrote an account of the events leading up to and including this trial in his historical romance novel Rob of the Bowl.

Two years later on June 26, 1684, it was reported that he was on the London ship, Margarett, captained by Edward Watkins, in the Potomac River and a warrant was issued for his arrest, but he was not found.

Fendall's house was located on the west side of the Wicomico River, near Allens Fresh, Charles Co., Maryland.

His wealth as a large landholder gave him considerable prestige, but his judicial dignity and authorities added other invisible qualities to his position in the Province.

Fendall sold Cool Spring Manor on May 10, 1677, to Maj. John Douglas Sr. (1636–1677) of Charles Co., Maryland for 22,000 pounds of tobacco.

[citation needed] The other land holding that Fendall owned was called Great Oak Manor, in Kent County.

Great Oak Manor was located south of the Sassafras River mouth, where Steel Bone Creek flows into a small bay.

[citation needed] Fendall's family never resided personally at Great Oak Manor, although he succeeded in clearing the forests to cultivate tobacco there.