The Province of Maryland was founded in 1632 by an English Catholic, George Calvert (Lord Baltimore), who wished to create a haven for English Catholics at a time when Catholics were persecuted in England. The colony was named “Maryland” in honor of Henrietta Maria, the wife and Queen of King Charles I, who granted the charter for the colony.
A (Very) Little History
The initial 200 or so settlers came to Maryland on two ships, the Ark and Dove, and made landfall on March 25, 1634. Their first act was to raise a cross and celebrate Mass. The settlement was called St. Mary’s City, and it served as the capital of Maryland until 1695. The economy of the colony was based on tobacco, as the settlement shared with nearby Virginia the climate and topography that made the growth of tobacco successful.
The Maryland colony was different from the Virginia colony, however, in that it was a proprietary colony – meaning that Lord Baltimore (identified as the proprietor) held all the land directly from the King. In a semi-feudal mode of operation, the Proprietor had to perform all the actions of government, including executive, legislative, and judicial functions. However, much as had happened in earlier colonies, the institutions of England were recreated in Maryland, including the creation of a General Assembly in 1639.
Although Maryland was an early pioneer of religious tolerance in the British colonies, religious strife among Anglicans, Puritans, Catholics, and Quakers was common in the early years. In the mid-1640s, a period of conflict (called the “Plundering Time”) arose, reflecting the tensions of the English Civil War. In 1649, Maryland passed the Maryland Toleration Act (also known as the Act Concerning Religion) that mandated religious toleration for “Trinitarian Christians.” In 1654, this act was revoked by William Claiborne, a Virginian who owed his political loyalty to Oliver Cromwell. Claiborne had previously been granted a royal trading commission that gave him some power in the Maryland colony.
In 1654 the Puritans resumed control in Maryland, although other religions were tolerated. After the 1689 Glorious Revolution in England, Puritans in Maryland set up a new government that outlawed Catholicism. Full religious toleration would not be restored in Maryland until the American Revolution.
Evolution of County Boundaries in Maryland
My ancestors were in Charles County so early that there is not a lot to talk about when discussing county boundaries. These maps pretty much tell the story of Maryland between the formation of St. Mary’s County as Maryland’s first county in 1637 through the formation of Charles County in 1658. My ancestors had left Charles County by 1700, so I’m not going to include later maps that show how the county boundaries continued to evolve over the succeeding centuries. These maps are all taken from https://www.mapofus.org/
My Ancestors in Charles County
This pedigree chart shows the names of my ancestors who lived in Charles County. This is not a very large group of ancestors, but I want to tell their story because it helps illustrate the role that Maryland played in the early years of colonial evolution in North America.
Went to St. Mary’s College of Maryland--as well as the hubs and my brother. How those boundaries changed over time! Good stuff.