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Useful Colonial English Resources| Maryland was settled in 1634,
when the Ark & Dove was sent out by Lord Baltimore and other
members of the Calvert family. In its early years, this region
was established as a refuge for Catholics, although other
dissenting religions were also attracted to the colony in the
seventeenth century. Maryland existed as a family-held
proprietary colony until 1689, when control was taken by the
Crown. With further political and dynastic changes in England,
control of Maryland reverted to the proprietors in 1715, and so
it would remain until 1776. Unlike most of the other colonies,
where the county system of government and record keeping came
into existence all at once, with several counties formed
simultaneously to cover all inhabited parts of