...; was first settled by Capt. William Claiborne, with a party of men from Virginia, in 1631. Earlier than this, George Calvert, an Irish peer, had obtained a patent from King James (1622) to plant a Roman Catholic colony in America. Failing in some of his projects, he applied for a charter for the domain between south and north Virginia, but before the matter was completed he died, and a patent was issued to...