Dorchester County, Maryland Genealogy

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



Description
Dorchester County was named for Earl of Dorset. The county is located in the southeastern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Dorchester County Courthouse 206 High Street Cambridge, MD 21613 Phone: 410-228-0481 Dorchester County Website

Clerk of the Circuit Court has marriage records from 1780, divorce records from 1821, court records from 1860, and other records from 1669, plat records from 1912, equity docket records from 1821 and corporation records from 1858.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cemeteries

 * Dorchester County cemetery transcriptions in the US Genweb Project and other sources.Dorchester County Cemeteries

Census Records

 * 1776 Transcription and Index
 * 1778
 * 1790
 * 1800
 * 1810
 * 1820
 * 1830
 * 1840
 * 1850
 * 1850 Slave
 * 1860
 * 1860 Slave
 * 1870
 * 1880
 * 1890
 * 1900
 * 1910
 * 1920
 * 1930

Church Records

 * 1668-1995 at FamilySearch — index- How to Use this Collection
 * 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 from their collection have been digitized and made available to view for free online:

Church of England Trinity Church was built by 1690. A chapel of ease served parishioners on Taylor's Island. See also the following parishes:

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Dorchester Parish
 * Great Choptank Parish
 * FamilySearch Places

Emigration and Immigration
The New Early Settlers of Maryland database is a great place to start searching for immigrants who had arrived in the colony by the 1680s. The database "comprises 34,326 entries from Gust Skordas' Early Settlers of Maryland and Carson Gibb's Supplement to the Early Settlers of Maryland." Available online, courtesy: Maryland State Archives.

Other Dorchester County immigration resources include:


 * 1897-1952 - at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. "Intercepted Letters Relating to America 1777-1811," The Genealogist, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Fall 2000):184-200; Vol. 15, No. 1 (Spring 2001):53-74. Overseas correspondence of a resident of Vianna (Vienna, Dorchester County) with the following surname: Dennis.
 * [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=Dorchester&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 convicts from Europe] who served labor terms in Colonial Dorchester County, Maryland (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database. Includes Richard J. Cox's abstracts of Maryland Gazette runaways.

Genealogies

 * 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, Del.: Delmarva Roots and Colonial Roots, 2007. ff. Dorchester County families appear in Vols. 7, 11, 13-14, 16, and 19.
 * Ennalls - "The Ennalls and Waggaman Families of Maryland," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Oct. 1893):98-105. Digital version at JSTOR - free.
 * Wright - Wright, Charles W. The Wright Ancestry of Caroline, Dorchester, Somerset and Wicomico Counties Maryland. Baltimore: Baltimore City Printing and Binding Co., 1907. Available at FamilySearch Digital Library; ; and Google Books.
 * Wroughton - Loeser, Rudolf. "Margaret (__) (Wroughton) (Attowell) Grimes and Some Relatives," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 42, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1998):111-118; Vol. 42, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1998):194-204. To locate digital pages use search form at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($); first select Virginia Genealogist, The from the Database list. Then select Volume number..

Land and Property Records
Through a Joint eGovernment Service of the Maryland Judiciary and the Maryland State Archives, free images and indexes of the complete series of Dorchester County Deed Books (1669-present) have been uploaded to their website: A Digital Image Retrieval System for Land Records in Maryland. (Requires free registration.)

Local Histories

 * History of Dorchester County, Maryland. 1902. By Elias Jones. Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins. Online at: Internet Archive, Google Books.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Revolutionary War
Dorchester County men served in the 5th 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 et. al. 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. See Maryland, Dorchester County on page 128.

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, Dorchester County, pp. 145-146. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index- How to Use this Collection


 * - 1st Regiment, Maryland Eastern Shore Infantry, Companies A, B, and C.

World War II

 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Newspapers

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

Dorchester County, Maryland Old Newspapers are available online.


 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)

Obituaries

 * Abstracts of Obituaries - scroll down the page for the list

Other Records
Private Papers
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. "Intercepted Letters Relating to America 1777-1811," The Genealogist, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Fall 2000):184-200; Vol. 15, No. 1 (Spring 2001):53-74. Overseas correspondence of residents of Vianna (Vienna, Dorchester County) with the following surname: Dennis.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * Maryland, Wills and Probate Records at findmypast - index
 * 1634-1777 Maryland, Index To Colonial Probate Records, 1634-1777 at findmypast - index
 * 1634-1777 Probate Records, Colonial Index, 1634-1777 online at Maryland State Archives website - free
 * 1635–1743 Maryland Calendar of Wills 1635-1743 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1635–1777 Maryland Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1777 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1796–1940 at FamilySearch images - How to Use this Collection

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

 * 1678, 1681 1678 and 1681 Dorchester County tax lists, available online, courtesy: MDGenWeb.
 * 1746 1746 Dorchester County Tax List (fragment) at Maryland Genealogical Society, transcription
 * 1753 1753 Choptank Hundred Tax List at Maryland Genealogical Society, transcription
 * 1783 Dorchester 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.

Marriage

 * 1658-1940 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1666-1970 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * Maryland Marriage References by Robert Barnes - free.
 * Marriage Records - Maryland State Archives

Death

 * 1898-1944 Maryland Death Index 1898-1944
 * 1898-1923 Death index - scroll down the page.

Family History Centers

 * Salisbury Maryland Family History Center
 * Eastern Shore Public Library (Virginia) - Chincoteague Island Branch - an affiliate library.
 * Winterthur Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Dorchester County Library 303 Gay Street Cambridge, MD 21613 Phone: 410-228-7331 Fax: 410-228-6313 TDD: 410-228-0454 Email: [mailto:infodesk@dorchesterlibrary.org infodesk@dorchesterlibrary.org] Website

Societies
Dorchester County Historical Society 902 LaGrange Ave. Cambridge, MD 21613-2009 Phone: 410-228-7953 Email: [mailto:dchs@verizon.net dchs@verizon.net] Website Lower Delmarva Genealogical Society Box 3602 Salisbury, MD 21802-3602 Email: [mailto:lowerdelmarva@yahoo.com lowerdelmarva@yahoo.com] Website National Society United States Daughters of 1812 Maryland - Kitty Knight Chapter Email: [mailto:info@usdaughtersof1812maryland.org info@usdaughtersof1812maryland.org] Website

Websites

 * The Dorchester County MDGenWeb Project, a member of The MDGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * "Dorchester Co.," in Genealogical Sources in Periodicals at The Maryland State Archives.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project, Dorchester County.
 * - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records