Dorchester County, Maryland Genealogy

United States &gt; Maryland &gt; Dorchester County

County Courthouse
Dorchester County Office Building 501 Court Lane Cambridge, MD 21613

History

 * Named for Edward Sackville, the Earl of Dorset, a family friend of the Calvert family.

Parent County

 * Created 27 May 1668 from Colonial lands.

Boundary Changes

 * 15 June 1773, Caroline County was set off.

City

 * Cambridge

Neighboring Counties
Calvert| Caroline| St. Mary's| Somerset| Talbot| Wicomico| Deleware Counties: Sussex

Cemeteries
Dorchester County cemetery transcriptions in the US Genweb Project and other sources. http://www.idreamof.com/cemetery/md/dorchester.html

Census

 * 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
Maryland State Archives' Guide to Maryland Religious Institutions identifies all churches known to have existed in Dorchester County, Maryland. It covers all denominations and includes record descriptions.

Family Histories

 * [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 FHL; digital versions at BYU Family History Archives and Google Books (full-view).

Immigration

 * 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.]
 * [http://www.immigrantservants.com/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.

Land
Maryland State Archives has uploaded free images and indexes to the complete series of Dorchester County Deed Books (1669-present). Visit their site to find the land records that interest you: MDLandRec.Net: A Digital Image Retrieval System for Land Records in Maryland. (Free registration is required.)

Newspapers
Dorchester County, Maryland Old Newspapers are available online.

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.]

Vital Records
Dorchester County, Maryland Cemeteries, Death Certificate Indexes, Death Certificate Abstracts, Abstracts of Obituaries are available online.

Web Sites

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