Wicomico County, Maryland Genealogy

Guide to Wicomico County, Maryland ancestry, family history, and genealogy, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Courthouse
Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, land, military, and court records from 1867.

History



 * Named for Wicomico River, in turned derived from American Indian words wicko mekee, meaning "a place where houses are built," apparently referring to an Indian town on the banks.

Parent County

 * Created 17 August 1867 from Somerset and Worcester counties

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Maryland county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Maryland County Boundary Maps" (1637-1997) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
 * Lost census: 1890

Neighboring Counties



 * Dorchester
 * Somerset
 * Worcester
 * Sussex County, Delaware

Cemeteries
Published records can be found on Graveyards and Gravestones of Wicomico.

Census
Federal Census reports available 1870-1930 including slave and veterans schedules.

Church

 * 1668-1995 at FamilySearch — index


 * Maryland State Archives' Guide to Maryland Religious Institutions is not intended to be a complete listing of all Religious institutions in Maryland. It was originally based upon the churches recorded by the Federal Works Progress Administration during a records survey conducted from 1935 to 1941. It has been expanded by later acquisitions from religious organizations to the Maryland State Archives.

The following records, taken from its collection, have been digitized and made available to view for free online.

NOTE: There may be multiple types of records for different churches in a single PDF document.


 * Baptist, Allen Memorial Church, Salisbury, Md., includes: Register and Minutes 1859-1877, List of Members and Dates of Baptism, Minutes 1905-1930s, church history, deed, Record of Membership 1920-1950, and Covenant, Membership 1907-1908
 * First Methodist, includes Church Register
 * Methodist, Bethel Church, Membership and Church Records, years: 1870s-1960s
 * Methodist, Bethesda Church, includes: Registers 1840s-1950s, Sabbath School Minutes 1880s, Misc. Registers [also known as Bethesda Methodist Protestant Church]
 * Methodist, Bivalve Church, various records 1880s-1960s
 * Methodist, Christ Church, includes Church Records 1952-1967
 * Methodist, Jerusalem Church, Membership and Church Records, years: 1870s-1960s
 * Methodist, Jones Church, Membership and Church Records, years: 1870s-1920s
 * Methodist, Jones Church, includes Church Records 1885-1961
 * Methodist, Mt. Hermon Church, includes Church Register 1914-1937 and Church Records 1956-1967
 * Methodist, Mt. Zion Church see Quantico Charge
 * Methodist, Melsom Church, Membership and Church Records, years: 1870s-1930s
 * Methodist, Nanticoke Church, various records 1800s-1960s
 * Methodist, New Hope Church, includes Church Register 1914-1937
 * Methodist, Oak Grove Church, includes Registers 1880s-1930s
 * Methodist, Powellville Charge, various circuit records 1870s-1960s
 * Methodist, Quantico Charge, Membership Records, years: 1942-1962, includes: Mt. Zion, St. Luke's, St. Marks and church histories of St. Luke's and St. Mark's
 * Methodist, Quantico Church, includes Church Register
 * Methodist, Rockawalkin Church, includes Church Register
 * Methodist, St. John's Church, Membership and Church Records, years: 1870s-1920s
 * Methodist, St. Luke's Church see Quantico Charge
 * Methodist, St. Mark's Church see Quantico Charge
 * Methodist, Trinity Church, includes Church Records 1885-1961
 * Methodist, Trinity Church, includes Church Register
 * Methodist, Tyaskin Church, includes Church Records 1894-1961
 * Methodist, Waltersville Charge, various records 1800s-1960s
 * Methodist, Wesley Church, Membership and Church Records, years: 1870s-1920s
 * Methodist, White Haven Church, includes Church Records 1885-1961
 * Methodist, Whitehaven Church, includes Church Register
 * Methodist, Zion Church, Membership and Church Records, years: 1870s-1960s
 * Methodist Episcopal, Parsonburg Circuit, includes Church Records 1909-1932
 * Methodist Episcopal, Whitehaven and Trinity Churches, includes Registers 1860-1881
 * Methodist Episcopal, Whitehaven and Trinity Churches, includes Registers 1922-1923
 * Methodist Episcopal Church South, Allen Circuit, Charge Collection (begins on page 48). [user: aaco, password: aaco#]
 * Methodist Episcopal Church South, Asbury see Wicomico Circuit
 * Methodist Episcopal Church South, Wicomico Circuit, Conference Minutes, years: 1880s-1910s. Congregations: Asbury, Eden, Morris Schoolhouse, New Churches, Trinity, Washington.
 * Methodist Protestant, Pittsville Circuit, various records 1910s-1960s
 * Methodist Protestant, Salisbury Circuit, includes various records 1840s-1950s

There may be additional records available at the Maryland State Archives that are not yet online. See entire list of religious records for Wicomico County at Wicomico County Religious Records at Maryland State Archives

Family Histories
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. Use this list to:


 * Locate publications about direct ancestors
 * Find the most updated accounts of an ancestor's family
 * Identify publications, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, about an ancestor's "FAN Club" [Friends, Associates, and Neighbors]

General


 * Barnes, Robert W., F. Edward Wright, Vernon L. Skinner and Henry C. Peden. Colonial Families of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. 23 vols. Westminster, Md.: Family Line, 1996-2003; Lewes, De.: Delmarva Roots and Colonial Roots, 2007. ff. [Wicomico families appear in Vols. 8-10, 12, 15, 17-18, 20, and 22.]

Bibliography


 * [Badley] See Bradley.
 * [Bounds] Dryden, Ruth T. The Boundless Bounds Family. San Diego, Calif.: R.T. Dryden, 1989?..
 * [Bradley] Adams, James O. Genealogy of the Badley or Bradley Family: South of the Nanticoke River and North of Barren Creek in Somerset (now Wicomico) County, Maryland, and Along the State Line in Little Creek Hundred, Sussex County, Delaware and Some Others. Dover, Del.: J.O. Adams, 1956..
 * [Cooksey] McCurley, James B. Cooksey of Maryland (1832). Louisville, Ky.: J.B. McCurley Jr., 1980..
 * [Cooksey] McCurley, James B. Cooksey of Maryland (1673). Baltimore, Md.: J.B. McCurley, 2003..
 * [Heath] Downing, Mary Catharine. The Heath Family of Wicomico County, Maryland. 1953..
 * [Massey] Horsman, Barbara Massey. The Massey Family of Worcester County, Maryland. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1995. ; digital version.
 * [Powell] Dryden, Ruth T. The Powell Family. San Diego, Calif.: R.T. Dryden, 1994..
 * [Riggin] Sanders, Charles M. The Riggin Callaway Story. n.p.: C.M. Sanders, 1993. .
 * [Robertson] Hagg, Julia Robertson. Ancestral Lines of Robert Greensbury Robertson and Rebecca Caroline Bacon. Anderson, S.C.: J.R. Hagg, 1980..
 * [Twilley] Porter, Wade T. Twilley Record Traced Back to the Revolutionary War. Typescript, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 1966..
 * [Wright] Wright, Charles W. The Wright Ancestry of Caroline, Dorchester, Somerset and Wicomico Counties Maryland. Baltimore: Baltimore City Printing and Binding Co., 1907. ; digital versions at and Google Books (full-view).

Land
Through a Joint eGovernment Service of the Maryland Judiciary and the Maryland State Archives, free images and indexes of the complete series of Wicomico County Deed Books (1867-present) have been uploaded to their website: A Digital Image Retrieval System for Land Records in Maryland. (Requires free registration.)

Local Histories

 * Cooper, Richard W. Profile of a Colonial Community: Salisbury Town and Wicomico County on Maryland's Eastern Shore; A Study of the Land and the People. Baltimore, Md.: Gateway Press, 1986..

Maps

 * Map list includes links to various maps in a large year range.
 * 1895 Historical Wicomico County Map
 * 1877 Atlas of Wicomico, Somerset, and Worcester Counties, MD available online, courtesy of Johns Hopkins' library.

War of 1812

 * List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance... Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883. 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, Maryland, Wicomico County, p. 159. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index

Newspapers

 * Wicomico County newspapers are identified in "Guide to Maryland Newspapers," available online, courtesy: Special Collections, Maryland State Archives.

Probate
Online Probate Records
 * 1635 – 1777 Maryland Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1777 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1635 – 1743 Maryland Calendar of Wills 1635-1743 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1796 – 1940 at FamilySearch images

Marriage

 * 1658 - 1940 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1666 - 1970 at FamilySearch — index

Death

 * 1898 - 1944 Maryland Death Index 1898-1944


 * 1898 - 1958 Selected Death Certificates transcribed

Societies and Libraries
Lower Delmarva Genealogical Society Wicomico County Library 16-1 North Division Street Box 3602 Salisbury, Maryland 21802-3602 Phone: 410-742-3501 E-Mail: [mailto:lowerdelmarva@yahoo.com lowerdelmarva@yahoo.com] Website

Wicomico Historical Society P. O. Box 573Pemberton Drive Salisbury, MD 21803 - 0573 Phone: 410-860-0447 E-Mail: [mailto:history@shore.intercom.net history@shore.intercom.net]

For more information concerning the Societies and Libraries in Maryland see the Maryland Societies page.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Salisbury Maryland Family History Center

Websites

 * Wicomico County, Maryland Genealogy, History and Facts (Genealogy Inc)
 * , Wicomico County.
 * The Wicomico County MDGenWeb Project, a member of The MDGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Wicomico County.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Wicomico County. (Backup site)