The Ark (ship)

The Ark, from a print in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society
History
Kingdom of England
Name	The Ark
Owner	Hired by Cecilius Calvert, second Baron or Lord Baltimore, (1605–1675)
Launched	c. 1630
Fate	Lost 1635
General characteristics
Tons burthen	400
Length	Approximately 132 feet (40 m) on deck[1]
Beam	32 feet (9.8 m)
Draft	14–15 feet (4.3–4.6 m)
Depth of hold	14 feet (4.3 m)
Propulsion	Sail
Sail plan	Three masted, Spritsail& spritsail topsail, fore course, fore topsail & fore topgallant, main course, main topsail and main topgallant, Lateen mizzen with square topsail.
Complement	Approximately 40 seamen
Armament	Unknown, but probably capable of mounting 20-25 cannon.

The Ark was a 400-ton English merchant ship hired in 1633 by Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore to bring roughly 140 English colonists and their equipment and supplies to the new colony and Province of Maryland, one of the original Thirteen Colonies of British North America on the Atlantic Ocean eastern seaboard. On the historic trans-oceanic voyage from England in late 1633 and early 1634, The Ark was accompanied by the smaller 40-ton pinnace Dove.^{[citation needed]}

On 22 November 1633 (391 years ago) (1633-11-22), after several delays, two ships, the Ark and Dove, sailed from the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England. Three days later a storm in the English Channel separated the Ark from Dove. When Dove disappeared from view, she was flying distress lanterns, and those aboard the Ark assumed she had sunk in the storm. A second more violent storm hit the Ark on 29 November 1633 and lasted three days, finally subsiding on 1 December. In the midst of the storm, the mainsail was split in half and the crew was forced to tie down the tiller and whipstaff so the ship lay ahull, keeping her bow to the wind and waves as she drifted. This was the last bad weather the Ark encountered on the trans-Atlantic voyage.^{[citation needed]}

On 25 December 1633, wine was passed out to celebrate Christmas. The following day, 30 colonists fell ill with a fever brought on by excessive drinking and 12 died, including two of the Roman Catholic colonists. These were the only losses suffered on the voyage. On 3 January 1633/34 (see below on the start of the new year), the Ark arrived at the island of Barbados in the West Indies after a voyage of 42 days from England. About two weeks later, Dove arrived. As it later developed, Dove had been able to reach the shelter of Plymouth harbor where she rode out the storm.^{[citation needed]}

On 24 January 1633/34, the ships departed Barbados. An earlier departure was intended but was delayed because Richard Orchard, master (captain) of the Dove had departed inland to collect some debts and could not be found on the intended sailing date. After making a few other stops in the Caribbean Sea, on 24 February 1633/34 the ships arrived at Point Comfort (now called Old Point Comfort) at the mouths of the James, Nansemond, and Elizabeth rivers, which formed the great harbor of Hampton Roads in Virginia. This ended their ocean voyage which had lasted slightly over three months, of which 66 days were actually spent at sea. The two ships briefly stopped in Jamestown, Virginia, up the James River.^{[citation needed]}

After a week's stay, the Calvert colonists then sailed northward up the large expanse of the Bay, landing on St. Clement's Island, also known as Blakistone Island, on the north shore of the Potomac River, across from Virginia's northern border, on 25 March 1634. This day was thereafter celebrated annually in the colony and free State as Maryland Day. The colonists planted a large cross, claiming the land in the name of Charles I, King of England, and holding their first communal Mass led by the accompanying Jesuit chaplain, Father Andrew White. The date 25 March has been traditionally taken to mark the end of the voyage, although, in fact, the voyage had actually ended earlier on 24 February, when the Ark and the Dove arrived at Point Comfort entering the North American continental waters. 25 March is the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a major festival day in the liturgical calendar. Until 1752, when England finally adopted the Gregorian Calendar, superseding the older and inaccurate Julian Calendar, 25 March was the start of the civil new year,^[2]

Although too small for the intended settlement, St. Clement's provided a relatively secure base from which Leonard Calvert, the first Governor of Maryland and younger brother of Cecilius, could explore the area and negotiate the purchase of land for the new colony.^[3] After a brief three-week stay on the island, the new Marylanders occupied a nearby Piscataway Indian village they had purchased on the St. George's (later the St. Mary's) River, several miles (kilometers) southeast from St. Clement's and about 12 miles (19 km) northwest from Point Lookout, where the Potomac River enters the Chesapeake Bay. The new English settlement was named St. Mary's City in honor of The Virgin, and later became the provincial capital, and then the county seat/courthouse in the first county to be "erected" (established), St. Mary's County.^{[citation needed]}

In the early summer of 1634, the Ark returned to England. The Dove, which had been also purchased by Calvert and the gentry investors in the new colony, remained for the settlers' use in and around the Bay and coasts of Maryland.^{[citation needed]}

In August 1635, the Dove sailed for England carrying timber and beaver pelts, but she never arrived home and was presumed lost in a storm. Maryland Dove is a modern replica of the vessel.^{[citation needed]}

It has been suggested that this section be split out into another article. (Discuss) (November 2024)

Passengers aboard the Ark^[4]

1. Anne, servant of Jerome Hawley
2. Thomas Allen (d. 1648)
3. John Altham
4. William Andrews, gentleman
5. John Ashmore
6. William Ashmore
7. James Barefoote, gentleman (d. 1633 en route)
8. John Baxter, Esq.
9. Ralph Bean
10. Thomas Beckwith, servant of Thomas Cornwaleys
11. Anon Benham, servant of Thomas Greene
12. Henry Bishop
13. John Boles, secretary of Cecil Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore
14. Richard Bradley
15. John Briant
16. William Browne
17. Matthew Burrows
18. George Calvert, Esq. (1613-1634), third son of Lord Baltimore
19. Leonard Calvert, Esq. (1606-1647), second son of Lord Baltimore, 1st governor of Maryland, and investor.
20. Christopher Carnell
21. Thomas Carrington
22. Richard Cole
23. John Cook
24. Thomas Cooper
25. Capt. Thomas Cornwaleys, Esq., of Turnham Thorpe, Norfolk (c.1605-1676), Commissioner and investor
26. Ann Cox (d.1638)
27. Edward Cranfield
28. Thomas Dorrell, Esq.
29. Peter Draper, secretary of Leonard Calvert
30. Richard Duke
31. Robert Edwards
32. William Edwin
33. John Elbin
34. Nicholas Fairfax, Esq., of Sand Hutton Grange, Yorkshire (c.1606-1633 died en route), investor
35. Cuthbert Fenwick, Esq.
36. William Fitter, gentleman
37. Francisco, servant of Fr. Andrew White
38. Lewis Fremond
39. Richard Gerard, Esq., of Ince, Lancashire (c.1613-1686), investor
40. Thomas Gervase (d. 1637)
41. Richard Gilbert
42. Stephen Gore
43. Thomas Greene, Esq., of Bobbing, Kent (1609–1651), investor and 2nd governor of Maryland^[5]
44. Thomas Griston
45. John Halfhead (c.1605-1676)
46. John Hallows, gentleman (d. 1657)
47. Nicholas Harvey, gentleman (d. 1647)
48. Jerome Hawley, Esq., of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Middlesex (1590-1638), investor and co-author of A Relation of Maryland (1635)
49. Thomas Heath
50. John Hill, gentleman
51. John Hilles
52. John Hillard
53. Richard Hills
54. James Hockley
55. Benjamin Hodges, servant of John Saunders
56. John Holderen, servant of Thomas Cornwaleys
57. Henry James
58. Mary Jennings, servant of Fr. Andrew White
59. Josiah, servant of Thomas Cornwaleys
60. John Knowles
61. William Lewis (d. 1655)
62. Richard Loe, servant of Thomas Cornwaleys
63. Richard Lusthead
64. John Marlburgh
65. Christopher Martin
66. Charles Middleton
67. Roger Morgan
68. Thomas Munns
69. John Neville
70. Richard Nevitt, ward of John Saunders
71. John Norton, the elder
72. John Norton, the younger
73. Robert Pike
74. Black John Price
75. White John Price
76. Lodwick Price
77. Francis Rabnett, gentleman
78. John Robinson
79. Francis Rogers
80. William Sayre, Esq.
81. Stephen Salmon, servant of Thomas Cornwaleys
82. John Saunders, Esq. (d. 1634), co-owner of the Dove and investor
83. Robert Sherley, servant of Fr. Andrew White
84. Robert Simpson
85. Robert Smith
86. Thomas Smith
87. William Smith
88. Matthias Sousa
89. Thomas Stratham
90. James Thornton
91. Cyprian Thorowgood, gentleman
92. Robert Vaughan, gentleman
93. Roger Walter
94. John Ward
95. Evans Watkins, servant of Leonard Calvert
96. John Wells
97. Father Andrew White, J.S. (c.1579-1656)
98. Edward Wintour, gentleman, of Lydney, Gloucestershire, investor
99. Frederick Wintour, Esq., of Lydney, Gloucestershire, investor
100. Henry Wiseman, Esq. (d.c. 1634), investor

Crew aboard the Ark

• Capt. Robert Wintour, Esq., of Lydney, Gloucestershire, Commander of the Ark
• Capt. Richard Lowe, Master of the Ark, of Ratcliffe, Middlesex (d. 1638)
• Capt. William Humber
• John Bowlter, purser
• Richard Edwards, chirurgeon

Crew aboard the Dove

• Capt. John Curie, Master of the Dove (d. en route)
• Capt. Richard Orchard, Master of the Dove, of Wapping, Middlesex (b.c. 1601)
• Nicholas Perry, quartermaster, of Isle of Wight (b.c. 1610)
• John Games, gunner, of Ratcliffe, Middlesex (b.c. 1602)
• Richard Kempton, boatswain, of Tower Wharf, London (b.c. 1612)
• Samuel Lawson, mate
• Mr. Warrelow, mate
• Michael Perril, servant to the Master

• Province of Maryland

• Browne, William Hand (1890). George Calvert and Cecilius Calvert: Barons Baltimore of Baltimore. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company.
• Chapelle, Suzanne Ellery Greene, Maryland: A History of Its People Retrieved 6 August 2010
• Russell, Donna Valley and George Ely, The Ark and the Dove Adventurers Retrieved 6 August 2010

• Maryland Dove facts page Retrieved 23 February 2011
• showing a photo of the Dove Retrieved 23 February 2011
• The Dove at riverexplorer.com Retrieved 4 August 2010
• The Ark at www.seakayak.ws Retrieved 6 August 2010