Dateline 25 March 1634

On 22 Nov 1633, The Ark and its pinnace The Dove, (pictured bottom right) left Cowes, Isle of Wright, England carrying approximately 140 passengers, including Leonard Calvert, the first Governor of Maryland and Father Andrew White, SJ. The Calvert’s secured land near Virginia to start a colony where Roman Catholics could escape religious persecution. On 23 March, 1634, the ships anchored in the Potomac River near St. Clement’s Island. It was decided to wait until 25 March, the feast of The Annunciation, to go ashore. Upon arriving, Father Andrew White, said the first Catholic Mass of thanksgiving. Maryland was named for Queen Consort Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I. The first Maryland county, St. Mary’s, was named for Mary, the Mother of Jesus. St. Clement’s Island was made up of 400 acres when the colonists arrived. Erosion has worn it down to its present day size of 62 acres (pictured top left). The Ark sailed back to England in May 1634. The Dove stayed in Maryland for awhile but was lost on its return trip to England. The travelers moved a bit south to St. Mary’s City, which briefly became the first capital of Maryland. There is a replica of The Dove located there on the St. Mary’s River. Cindy Ellis blipped it today. Unfortunately, Governor Calvert was unsuccessful in preserving religious freedom. More on that another day. Happy 387th birthday Maryland. To my knowledge, none of our ancestors were on either ship.
My sister brought more parts of the projects and I exchanged the ones I had assembled. I finished my Easter basket shopping and started gathering non-perishables for Easter Dinner. Hubby de-winterized the camper, which we store at my mother’s. Then we went to get pics of St. Clement’s Island and key items in the museum. Hopefully we will get to visit the island later this year. We missed the last water taxi by 30 minutes. Dinner is in the oven: meat loaf, baked potatoes and pumpkin pie. Then it’s reading time and bed. Sometimes, hard as you try, you just can’t fix everything. Thanks for your visits, etc.