Maryland, Dorchester Court Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Maryland Dorchester County

What is in the Collection?
This collection consists of digital images of court dockets from the collections at the Dorchester County Historical Society in Cambridge. The records cover the year 1855.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Information found in this collection may include:


 * Names of interested parties
 * Date of court proceeding or transaction
 * Details of the case
 * Place of residence
 * Names of witnesses

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The name of your ancestor
 * The approximate court date
 * The names of others who may be involved in the court record

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Category" ⇒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.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the information found to search census records
 * Use the information found to search church records
 * Use the information found to search land records
 * Use the information found to search other county or town records
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the deceased, this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been 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.
 * Witnesses in court cases may be close relatives.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.
 * There is also the possibility that a family was missed in the census.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Image Citation: