[JaimeD2]

You're right; that's my mistake. But Maryland was noticably more Catholic than nearly every other state at the time. Instead of allowing only Protestants to hold local office, Marylanders merely limited it to all Christians (Jews were disallowed until the first few decades of the 1800s, and athiests were until the 1960s, as was the case everywhere). Yeah, I just looked that up, but my "research" was spurred by your reply.

[Notwithstanding]

wow - I respect someone who acknowledges they learned something - dont find too many admitting that here at FR

I have learned plenty and try to acknowledge it when it happens.