Maryland, Dorchester County Historical Society Bible Collection - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
The collection consists of digital images of family Bibles in the collections at the Dorchester County Historical Society in Cambridge, Maryland for the years 1800 to 1920.

Record Content
The Bibles generally contain the following types of information:


 * Names of family members
 * Birth dates and places
 * Marriage dates and places
 * Death dates and places
 * Relationships of the individuals listed
 * Names of witness and officiators at the events
 * Individual biographical notes
 * Titles and nicknames

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The name of your ancestor
 * Identifying information such as the birth date and place or names of other family members

Search the Collection
To search the collection: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Type, Volume, and Year Range" which takes you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors. For example:


 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census, church and land records.
 * Use the parent’s birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * The name of the officiator may be a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been born, married, or died in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Search other Bibles for families with the same surname.

Related Websites

 * Dorchester County Historical Society
 * Dorchester Public Library

Related Wiki Articles
Maryland Bible Records

Citations for this Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection citation:

Image citation: