Ark & Dove Chapter
Georgetown, Texas
NATIONAL SOCIETY COLONIAL DAMES XVII CENTURY
OUR STORY
Ark & Dove Chapter
We were organized as a Charter Chapter under Organizing Chapter President Vene Gregg on October 24, 2020.
Ark and Dove were the two ships that began the Maryland Colony and the two ships that carried Organizing President Gregg's ancestors to the colonies. Dove was a small, 40-ton capacity cargo ship purchased by Cecil Calvert and investors so that the colonists would have their own ship to use once Ark had sailed for England.
The two ships set sail from the Isle of Wight on 22 November 1633. Three days later, on 25 March, a storm arose in the channel and Dove was seen flying distress lanterns at her masthead before she disappeared into the storm. Those aboard Ark assumed she had sunk in the storm. It was not until six weeks later that they discovered otherwise, when Dove arrived in Barbados and rejoined Ark.
The two ships arrived at Old Point Comfort on 24 February 1634, after a voyage of three months (of which 66 days were spent at sea). After spending a week at Old Point Comfort, they departed on 3 March to sail up the Chesapeake to the Potomac River, where they landed on St. Clements Island. They spent the rest of March exploring and negotiating with the Indians for a place to settle. On 25 March, Father Andrew White held a Mass of Thanksgiving to celebrate the purchase of 30 square miles of land on the East Bank of the St. Mary’s River, and on 27 March the colonists departed St. Clements to occupy the land they had purchased, naming their settlement “St. Mary’s.”
At the end of May, Ark returned to England, leaving Dove behind to provide transportation for goods to be traded up and down the Atlantic seacoast. In the fall of 1634, Dove was sent north to Boston to trade corn for salt cod and other commodities. In August of 1635, Dove was sent back to England with furs and timber to trade. Dove was never seen again, probably lost at sea.
WHO ARE WE?
The National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century unites over 11,000 members in a communion based on their interest in American history, their love and respect for this nation and a mutual desire to work together in harmonious fellowship to achieve the goals of the Society. It is one of the few societies of today which has heraldry at the core of its objectives and additionally holds one of the largest collections of Coats of Arms in the country. Moreover, compared to other lineage societies, the National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century requires that potential applicants must be able to prove their ancestry in the country prior to 1701.
Any woman eighteen years of age or over of good moral character is eligible for membership, provided she has been invited by the Society, is eligible through birth parents or adopted parents if there is a blood relationship to the applicant, and is the lineal descendant of an ancestor who lived and served prior to 1701 in one of the Original Colonies in the geographical area of the present United States of America.
