Harford County, Maryland Genealogy

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

United States Maryland  Harford County

Harford County Maryland Courthouse
County Health Department has birth and death records. Clerk Circuit Court has marriage and land records from 1779, divorce and court records from 1803.

Harford County Maryland History

 * Named for Henry Harford, the illegimate son of Frederick Calvert, 6th and last Lord Baltimore. Mr. Harford was the last Proprietary Governor of Maryland but did not inherit the title of Lord Baltimore because of his illegimatacy.

Parent County

 * Created 17 December 1773 from Baltimore County.

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
For a list of record loss in Maryland counties see: Maryland Counties with Burned Courthouses

Town

 * Bel Air

Military

 * Aberdeen Proving Ground

Neighboring Counties



 * Anne Arundel
 * Baltimore
 * Carroll
 * Frederick
 * Montgomery
 * Prince George's

Cemeteries

 * 1041 page index to Individuals Buried in Harford County at Harford County Historical Society website
 * J.C. Taylor Marble Business Ledger Indexes. 1878-1890: Vol. 1; 1891-1934 (gaps): Vol. 2; 1906-1934: Vol. 3; 1906-1934: Vol. 4; 1935-1946: Vol. 5 Identifies information about people buying tombstones.

Partial Listing of Harford County Cemeteries


 * Aberdeen Proving Ground Cemetery, APG
 * Angel Hill Cemetery, Havre de Grace
 * Ayres Chapel Cemetery, White Hall
 * Baker's Cemetery, Aberdeen--Surnames A-F
 * Baker's Cemetery, Aberdeen--Surnames G-O
 * Baker's Cemetery, Aberdeen--Surnames P-Z
 * Bethel Presbyterian Cemetery
 * Cranberry United Methodist Church Cemetery, Aberdeen
 * Darlington Cemetery, Darlington
 * Dublin Ministry Baptist Church Cemetery, Darlington
 * Emory United Methodist Church Cemetery, Hickory
 * Franklin Baptist Cemetery, Darlington
 * Hickory Baptist Cemetery, Forest Hill
 * Holy Trinity Episcopal Church Cemetery, Churchville
 * John Wesley Methodist Church Cemetery, Abingdon
 * McKendree Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery, Blackhorse
 * Mt. Tabor United Methodist Church Cemetery, Bel Air
 * Norrisville Cemetery, Norrisville
 * Oak Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, Bel Air
 * Old Salem Evangelical Cemetery, Near Jarrettsville
 * St. Francis Byzantine Catholic Church Cemetery, Abingdon
 * St. George's Episcopal Church Cemetery, Perryman
 * St. James United Cemetery, Havre de Grace
 * St. James AME Cemetery, Havre de Grace
 * St. James UAME Cemetery, Darlington
 * St. Paula's Lutheran Cemetery, Aberdeen
 * Smith's Chapel UMC Cemetery, Churchville
 * Southern Cemetery, Dublin
 * Thomas Run M.E. Church Cemetery, Churchville
 * Trappe Mission Baptist Cemetery, Darlington
 * Wesleyan Cemetery, Aberdeen
 * William Watters memorial Methodist Church Cemetery

Census
Federal Census reports available 1790-1930 including slave and veterans schedules.

Church
Maryland State Archives' Guide to Maryland Religious Institutions identifies all churches known to have existed in Harford County, Maryland. It covers all denominations and includes record descriptions. The following records, taken from its collection, have been digitized and made available to view for free online:


 * United Methodist, Abingdon Charge, Cokesbury Church, Abingdon, Md. (includes cemetery and church records 1850s-1980s)

Church of England
See also St. George's Parish

Methodist
Surname index to Harford County Maryland Church Records: West Harford Circuit Methodist Episcopal Church South (1851-1877), courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Court
Free online index to thousands of Harford County court cases dating from 1700s to 1900s on The Historical Society of Harford County website.

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


 * Surname Files at Harford County Historical Society
 * Master Family Index to Binders at Harford County Historical Society
 * Henry Peden's Partial Index to Special Genealogy Collections at Harford County Historical Society

Bibliography


 * [Harris] Harris, Mrs. Norris. "The Harris Family of Baltimore and Harford Counties," The Maryland and Delaware Genealogist, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Spring 1990):68..

Immigration

 * [http://www.pricegen.com/immigrantservants/search/advancedResults.php?surname=&givenName=&varientSurnameSpellings=&gender=&dateOfBirthDay=&dateOfBirthMonth=&dateOfBirthQuantifier=&dateOfBirthYear=&placeOfBirthParish=&placeOfBirthTown=&placeOfBirthCity=&placeOfBirthCounty=&placeOfBirthColony=&placeOfBirthNation=&occupations=&religions=&orphan=&familyPosition=&immigrationYearQualifier=&immigrationYear=&portOfDepartureTown=&portOfDepartureCity=&portOfDepartureCounty=&portOfDepartureNation=&placeOfArrivalTown=&placeOfArrivalCounty=&placeOfArrivalColony=&shipName=&convict=&yearOfIndentureQualifier=&yearOfIndenture=&lengthOfIndentureYears=&lengthOfIndentureMonths=&yearOfFreedomQualifier=&yearOfFreedom=&placeOfIndentureTown=&placeOfIndentureCity=&placeOfIndentureCounty=Harford&placeOfIndentureColony=Maryland&agentSurname=&agentGivenName=&agentTitle=&masterSurname=&masterGivenName=&masterTitle=&residenceParish=&residenceTown=&residenceCity=&residenceCounty=&residenceColony=&residenceNation=&landowner=&literate=&spouseSurname=&spouseGivenName=&spouseMarriageDateDay=&spouseMarriageDateMonth=&spouseMarriageDateQualifier=&spouseMarriageDateYear=&spouseMarriageLocationParish=&spouseMarriageLocationCounty=&spouseMarriageLocationColony=&spouseMarriageLocationNation=&deathDateDay=&deathDateMonth=&deathDateQualifier=&deathDateYear=&deathLocality=&deathCounty=&deathColony=&deathState=&testate=&proofServantStatus=&proofConvictStatus=&headright=&preServitudeSources=&postServitudeSources=&comments=&family=&sourceCitations=&interestedResearchers= List of imported servants and transported convicts from Europe] who served labor terms in Harford County, Maryland (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database. [Includes Richard J. Cox's abstracts of Maryland Gazette runaways.]

Land
Through a Joint eGovernment Service of the Maryland Judiciary and the Maryland State Archives, free images and indexes of the complete series of Harford County Deed Books (1773-present) have been uploaded to their website: MDLandRec.Net: A Digital Image Retrieval System for Land Records in Maryland. (Requires free registration.)


 * 1777-1778 - Harford County Land Index

Revolutionary War
Harford County men served in the 3rd Maryland Regiment and the 6th Maryland Regiment.


 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census]. 1841. Digital version at Google Books. 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. [See Maryland, Harford County on page 127.]
 * "Harford County, Maryland, Oaths of Fidelity, 1778," The Maryland and Delaware Genealogist, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Fall 1988):126-127; Vol. 30, No. 1 (Winter 1989):10-11; Vol. 30, No. 2 (Spring 1989):46-47; Vol. 30, No. 3 (Summer 1989):88-89; Vol. 30, No. 4 (Fall 1989):126-127; Vol. 31, No. 1 (Winter 1990):6-7. 975 B2m

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, Harford County, pp. 149-151. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War
Civil War service men from Harford County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are the military units that were formed in or had many men from Harford County.


 * - 2nd Regiment, Maryland Eastern Shore Infantry, Company G, and H
 * - 7th Regiment, Maryland Infantry, Company C, and H

Newspapers

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

Probate

 * Probate Records, Colonial Index, 1634-1777 online at Maryland State Archives website - free
 * Scanned images of wills, administrations, and inventories are available for free on.
 * Indentures and Guardianships 1774-1809 at Harford County Historical Society website
 * Estate Distributions 1846-1854 free index at Harford County Genealogical Society website

Taxation

 * 1783 - Harford County Tax List of 1783: This is an alphabetical index to names to all property owners assessed. The index cards at the Maryland State Archives include county, hundred, names of tracts of land and whether individuals were paupers or single males as provided in the law.
 * 1896, 1902 - Harford County Personal Property Tax Valuations 1896 and 1902 at Harford County Historical Society website

Marriage

 * Harford County Marriages 1865-1899 at Harford County Historical Society website
 * Harford County Marriages 1900-1930 at Harford County Historical Society website
 * Harford County Marriages 1931 at Harford County Historical Society website
 * Marriage Records - Maryland State Archives

Death

 * Maryland Death Certificate Index 1898-1944, available online, courtesy: Vital Records Indexing Project, Maryland State Archives.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Harford County Maryland Genealogy Websites

 * Harford County, MD History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * The Harford County MDGenWeb Project, a member of The MDGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * "Harford Co.," in Genealogical Sources in Periodicals at The Maryland State Archives.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Harford County.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Harford County. (Backup site)
 * for Harford County