Howard County, Maryland Genealogy

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County Courthouse


Howard County Government 3430 Courthouse Drive Ellicott City, MD 21043

Main phone: 410-313-3000

History



 * Named for John Edger Howard, a Colonel in the American Revolutionary War, later the 5th Governor of Maryland.

Parent County

 * Made a separate county in 1838 from Anne Arundel County with a part from Baltimore County, but it was not formally recognized until 13 May 1851 by the state Constitutional Convention.

Neighboring Counties
Anne Arundel | Baltimore | Carroll | Frederick | Montgomery | Prince George's

Cemeteries
Blackstone Cemetery, Columbia

Bonnie Brae Cemetery

Cook Cemetery, Columbia

Dorsey Family Cemetery, Village of Harpers Choice, Columbia

Dorsey Graveyard at Arcadia, Ellicott City

Doughoregan Manor Chapel, Ellicott City

Ellicott Family Graveyard, Ellicott Mills (Now Ellicott City)

Good Shepherd Cemetery, Ellicott City

Grace Episcopal Church Cemetery, Elkridge

Hammond Graveyard at Burleigh Manor, Ellicott City

McKendree Church Cemetery, West Friendship

McKenzie (MacKenzie) Gravestones, Ellicott City

Meadowridge Memorial Park Cemetery, Elkridge

Melville Chapel UMC Cemetery, Elkridge

Mountain View Cemetery, West Friendship

St. John's Howard County Cemetery, Ellicott City

Saint Paul's Roman Catholic Cemetery, Ellicott City

Smith Family Cemetery, Ellicott City

Whipp's Garden Cemetery, Ellicott City

Census
Federal Census reports available 1860-1930.

Church
Maryland State Archives' Guide to Maryland Religious Institutions identifies all churches known to have existed in Howard 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:


 * Protestant Episcopal (Church of England), Christ Church, Queen Caroline Parish 1712-1939 (includes parish register 1712-1937 and vestry minutes 1728-1776, 1809-1939)

Land
Through a Joint eGovernment Service of the Maryland Judiciary and the Maryland State Archives, free images and indexes of the complete series of Howard County Deed Books (1840-present) have been uploaded to their website: MDLandRec.Net: A Digital Image Retrieval System for Land Records in Maryland. (Requires free registration.)

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, Howard County, p. 151. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Newspapers

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

Vital Records
Birth

Marriage


 * Howard County Circuit Court Marriage Records 1886-1900
 * Partial Listing of Howard County Marriages 1858
 * Howard County Marriage Licenses 1860-1939 from the Howard County Historical Society site.
 * Death


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

Web Sites

 * The Howard County MDGenWeb Project, a member of The MDGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Howard County.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Howard County. (Backup site)
 * FamilySearch.org History Library Catalog for Howard County