In 1783 the Maryland Loyalists, a provincial regiment from the colony of Maryland which had fought in the American revolution as part of the British American Corps, was taken to what is now New Brunswick at the end of hostilities with most of the other loyalist regiments.
These units were settled on blocks of land along the upper St. John River. The members of the Maryland Loyalists were assigned Block Number One opposite Fredericton.
In 1817, some descendants of the Maryland Loyalists moved to the highland area away from the St. John River and south of the parish of Fredericton where they engaged in farming and lumbering. In 1818, Scottish immigrants also settled in the area which was known as “Maryland Hill”. The area was subsequently set off in 1846 as the Parish of New Maryland. In the 1960’s, a Local Service District was formed in the parish and on June 1, 1991 that part of the parish adjoining Fredericton was incorporated as the Village of New Maryland under the provisions of the Municipalities Act.
The Village’s Coat of Arms had a variety of iterations before it was approved. Click on the coat of arms to view the design and development of shield of arms.
Shield 1
The concept for the proposed shield is derived from the arms of George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, who received a grant of land on the Potomac River in 1632 from King Charles I. It was called “Maryland” after the King’s wife Queen Henrietta Maria. The arms of Lord Baltimore were used by the province of Maryland throughout the colonial period on the reverse of its great seal and are still being used by the state of Maryland today on its’ state seal.
The arms of the Lords Calvert, shield #1, quarter the family arms of Calvert with the family arms of Crossland. The Calvert arms are described in heraldic terms as “paly of six Or and Sable a bend counterchanged.” George Calvert of Danbywiske, Yorkshire, was created Lord Baltimore in 1625. He was the son of Leonard Calvert and Alice, daughter of John Crossland of Crossland, Yorkshire. The Calvert arms in rectangular form constitute the Maryland state flag and the shield is used in full colour on the state’s automobile plates.
Shield 2
The Calvert arms are the source of the basic tinctures and form for the Village’s proposed arms. Or (gold) as the background or field with two vertical bars or pallets coloured Sable (black).
Shield 3
The cross of St. Andrew which constitutes the national flag of Scotland has been a distinctive Scottish emblem since the middle ages and is, in heraldic terms, called a saltire. This element is used to allude to the early Scottish settlers of New Maryland.
Shield 4
The field of a shield may be divided in various ways, in this case with two crossing diagonal lines. This method of division is called “per saltire” alluding to St. Andrew’s cross.
Shield 5
A process called “counterchanging” means that when a component of the field reaches one of the lines dividing the field, its colour changes. The effect achieved in shield 5 is reminiscent of the Calvert quarters in Maryland’s arms. The result is described in heraldic terms as “Or two pallets Sable counterchanged per saltir.
Shield 6
From the Crossland quarters in Maryland’s arms “quarterly Argent (silver) and Gules (red) a cross botonny (i.e. a cross having each limb end in three knobs) counterchanged”, the cross botonny is placed “in saltire” on the shield to conform with the diagonal divisions of the shield. The Argent (silver or white) sections of the cross are placed on top and bottom to conform with the arrangement of the colours in the Crossland arms.
Shield 7
From the Crossland quarters in Maryland’s arms “quarterly Argent (silver) and Gules (red) a cross botonny (i.e. a cross having each limb end in three knobs) counterchanged”, the cross botonny is placed “in saltire” on the shield to conform with the diagonal divisions of the shield. The Argent (silver or white) sections of the cross are placed on top and bottom to conform with the arrangement of the colours in the Crossland arms.
The resulting shield incorporated elements which can be said to represent the Loyalist and Scottish origins of the first settlers and the Street-Wetmore duel which is significant in New Brunswick’s social history and looms so large in the annals of New Maryland.
The proposed crest, which is placed over the shield, is also designed like the shield, to be an identifying device. The main element is a “mural crown” which is commonly used to indicate a municipality. It takes its colouring, “Or masoned Salbe” (gold with black mortar), from the two principal tinctures on the shield. On the mural crown is placed “a saltire Argent fimbriated azure” (a silver or white cross edged blue, or St. Andrew’s cross) to allude in a positive way to the early Scottish settlers of New Maryland.
The motto “PROGRESSIO ET CONCORDIO” (Progress and Harmony) is displayed on a scroll or ribbon beneath the shield. Although a motto can be in any language, Latin is perhaps the most common language used and is in keeping with heraldry’s very old traditions and practices.
John L. Williamson
October 10, 1994