Governing
Maryland was the first successful English proprietary colony in North America. It was the personal property of the Lords Baltimore, who were members of the prominent Calvert family. In issuing the 1632 Charter of Maryland, King Charles I gave princely power to the Lords Baltimore.
The early Lords Baltimore were Roman Catholics at a time in England when that faith was officially condemned. In Maryland, they established a policy based on liberty of conscience that "tolerated" the practice of many Christian religions including Catholicism.
In appreciation for his years of service during his reign, King James I bestowed the title of Lord Baltimore on George Calvert. Long interested in colonization, Calvert eventually established his own colony in Newfoundland. After a severe winter on the island, Calvert looked to the south as a better region and petitioned King Charles I for a grant of land on the Chesapeake Bay. George Calvert died before the charter for Maryland could be granted.
Cecil Calvert was George Calvert's eldest son and inherited both his title and his plan for Maryland. He sent his brother Leonard as the first governor of his new colony. For more than forty years, Cecil had to focus his attention defending the Maryland Charter in England and should be credited with the successful founding of the
colony and to its progress. Although he could never come to Maryland, both his brother Leonard and his half-brother Philip lived here and played essential roles in its founding and growth.
Charles Calvert was Cecil Calvert's eldest son. He came to Maryland in 1661 and served as governor until 1675. He lived first in St. Mary's City and later at his wife's property called Mattapany. With his father's death in 1675, Charles became the third Lord Baltimore and the only proprietor to live in Maryland.
[Table at bottom left of the marker:]
George Calvert
c. 1578/79-1632
1st Lord Baltimore
1625-32
Cecil Calvert
2nd Lord Baltimore
1632-75
1st Proprietor
of Maryland
1632-75
Leonard Calvert
(1606-47)
1st Governor
of Maryland
1633-47
Philip Calvert
(1626-82)
Principal Secretary
of Maryland
1656-60
Receiver General
1659-60
Governor
of Maryland
1660-61
Chancellor
1660-82
Commissary General
1672-82
Mayor of
St. Mary's City
1668-71
[Aside:]
"....Make, create, and constitute him, the now Baron of Baltimore and his Heirs, the true and absolute Lords and Proprietaries of the Region..."
The Maryland Charter, 1632
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