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The name Coomes originated in Wales. Coomes is Welsh for "little valley." The Coomes crest bears the legend " HE WHO STRIVES WILL CONQUER." They fought with William the Conqueror and were awarded lands in England. The Coomes Family in England were in Old Stratford, Warrick County. Coomes Abbey still stands and is reportedly still inhabited by persons of the same name.
The first Coomes to come to Maryland were Catholic. In England, at this time, they could not hold office. They were recruited by Cecilius Calvert, Lord of Baltimore, to settle the new land. He married Anne, the daughter of the Earl of Arundel, a powerful Catholic. Cecilius is considered the real founder of Maryland, and, although he never visited the region, he sent settlers there under his brother Leonard Calvert and after its settlement supervised the affairs of the colony from England. As the first lord proprietor of Maryland, Calverrt founded the colony as a haven where Roman Catholic and other religious groups could worship without being persecuted.
Leonard Calvert was put in charge of the some 200 colonists. The colonists were to sail on the Ark and her sister ship Dove. As Catholics, the colonists could not take the oath of supremacy and this was a requirement by the Crown of all colonists leaving England. Therefore, in order not to embarass Lord Baltimore, they waited on the Isle of Wight, and boarded there when the ships cleared London harbor.