Maryland Colonial Records

History
Maryland was initially settled as a proprietary colony by a charter granted to Cecilius Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, in 1632. In 1634, St. Mary's City was founded when settlers arrived at the Chesapeake Bay from England. During the next several decades, governorship of the colony went back and forth between Lord Baltimore, who was Catholic, and the Puritans. Near the end of the 17th century, however, Maryland reverted to the Crown, and the Anglican Church became the official church of Maryland in 1692. Some disputed land was ceded to Virginia in 1732, and in 1763, the Mason-Dixon line was established between Maryland and Pennsylvania. Maryland was one of the original thirteen colonies of the United States.