Lady Anne Arundel Baltimore, a prominent figure in the history of Maryland, was born in 1615. Hailing from the ancient Arundel family in Cornwall, England, Lady Anne was the daughter of Thomas Arundel, 1st Baron of Wardour. Her father, a wealthy and influential Catholic, played a significant role in her life.
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At just thirteen years old, Lady Anne entered into matrimony with Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, the founder of the Maryland colony. Although they had nine children together, only three survived to adulthood, including Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore. In 1632, King Charles I granted Cecil Calvert the Charter of Maryland, named after his wife Queen Consort Henrietta Maria. This charter provided a haven for fellow Roman Catholics escaping religious persecution in England.
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Under the guidance of her father Lord Wardour, Anne’s family invested heavily in the new colony. Cecil Calvert, who never set foot in Maryland, dedicated his wealth to ensuring the prosperity and safety of the settlers. He dispatched his younger brother, Leonard, to establish a settlement at St. Mary’s in 1634. Leonard, along with the colonists, sailed aboard the ships Ark and Dove.
To secure his control over the colony during the tumultuous English Civil War, Cecil Calvert took strategic measures that proved pivotal in the establishment of the Maryland Colony and Anne Arundel County.
In 1649, the Maryland General Assembly passed the “Act Concerning Religion,” which granted religious protections to all Christians. Cecil Calvert replaced the Catholic Acting Governor Thomas Greene with Virginia Protestant William Stone, with the expectation that Stone would attract new settlers to the colony. Unfortunately, Lady Anne Arundel Baltimore passed away in the same year at the age of 34, leaving behind a grieving Cecil Calvert, her devoted husband of twenty-one years. Cecil enjoyed a long retirement before his own passing on November 30, 1675, in Middlesex.
Governor Stone enticed a group of nonconformist Virginia Puritans to Maryland in December 1649 by offering them land and guaranteed freedoms. These Puritans founded the first European settlement in what would eventually become Anne Arundel County, naming it Providence and locating it on the north shore of the Severn River, across from present-day Annapolis.
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In 1650, the Maryland General Assembly officially established Anne Arundel County, adopting the Coat of Arms of the Lords Baltimore for its seal. The original seat of County government was London Town.
From 1650 to 1695, Maryland experienced a series of religious, regional, and political conflicts. In March 1655, the Battle of the Severn took place at the mouth of the Severn River. Governor Stone, acting under Lord Baltimore’s orders, sailed from St. Mary’s City up the Chesapeake Bay to reestablish control over Providence. However, the Puritans emerged victorious, temporarily gaining power over the colony.
Cecil Calvert’s control was restored in 1657 through Oliver Cromwell’s intervention. However, in 1688 King William III annulled the Calvert Charter and declared Maryland a royal colony. In 1694, the General Assembly voted to relocate the capital from St. Mary’s City to Anne Arundell Towne, which was later renamed Annapolis in honor of Princess Anne, daughter of Queen Mary. Annapolis became the economic, social, and political hub of the colony and the seat of government for Anne Arundel County. It retained this status even after Maryland achieved statehood on April 28, 1788.
Sources:
- Anne Arundel County
- Who Was Anne Arundel? Anne Arundel County, Maryland
- Cecil Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore
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