Harford County, Maryland Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for Henry Harford. The County has Bel Air as its seat and the County was created December 17, 1773. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Harford County Courthouse 20 West Courtland Street, Room 304 Bel Air, MD 21014 Phone: 410-838-6000 Harford County Website County Health Department has birth and death records. Clerk of the Circuit Court has marriage and land records from 1779, divorce and court records from 1803.

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

 * 1041 page index to Individuals Buried in Harford County, Harford County Historical Society

Census Records
Federal Census reports available 1790-1930 including slave and veterans schedules.

Church Records

 * 1668-1995 at FamilySearch — index
 * 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, taken from its collection, have been digitized and made available to view for free online:
 * United Methodist, Abingdon Charge, Cokesbury Church, Abingdon, Md. (includes cemetery and church records 1850s-1980s)

Church of England
 * St. George's Parish

Court Records
Free online index to thousands of Harford County court cases dating from 1700s to 1900s on The Historical Society of Harford County website.

Emigration and Immigration

 * [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=Harford&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 transported convicts from Europe] who served labor terms in Harford County, Maryland (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database. Includes Richard J. Cox's abstracts of Maryland Gazette runaways.

Genealogies

 * Surname Files at Harford County Historical Society
 * Master Family Index to Binders at Harford County Historical Society
 * Henry Peden's Partial Index to Special Genealogy Collections at Harford County Historical Society


 * [Harris] Harris, Mrs. Norris. "The Harris Family of Baltimore and Harford Counties," The Maryland and Delaware Genealogist, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Spring 1990):68..

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 Harford County Deed Books (1773-present) have been uploaded to their website: A Digital Image Retrieval System for Land Records in Maryland. (Requires free registration.)


 * 1777-1778 Harford County Land Index

Maps and Gazetteers
Martenet's Map of Harford County, Maryland

Revolutionary War
Harford County men served in the 3rd Maryland Regiment and the 6th 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. 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. See Maryland, Harford County on page 127.
 * "Harford County, Maryland, Oaths of Fidelity, 1778," The Maryland and Delaware Genealogist, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Fall 1988):126-127; Vol. 30, No. 1 (Winter 1989):10-11; Vol. 30, No. 2 (Spring 1989):46-47; Vol. 30, No. 3 (Summer 1989):88-89; Vol. 30, No. 4 (Fall 1989):126-127; Vol. 31, No. 1 (Winter 1990):6-7. 975 B2m

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, Harford County, pp. 149-151. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.

Civil War

 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch — index


 * - 2nd Regiment, Maryland Eastern Shore Infantry, Company G, and H
 * - 7th Regiment, Maryland Infantry, Company C, and H

Newspapers

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

Probate Records
Online Probate Records
 * 1634-1777 Probate Records, Colonial Index, 1634-1777, Maryland State Archives
 * 1635-1743 Maryland Calendar of Wills 1635-1743 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1635-1777 Maryland Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1777 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1774-1809 Indentures and Guardianships 1774-1809, Harford County Historical Society
 * 1796-1940 at FamilySearch images
 * 1846-1854 Estate Distributions 1846-1854, free index, Harford County Genealogical Society
 * Scanned images of wills, administrations, and inventories at FamilySearch.

Tax Records

 * 1783 Harford 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.
 * 1896, 1902 Harford County Personal Property Tax Valuations 1896 and 1902, Harford County Historical Society

Marriage

 * 1658-1940 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1666-1970 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1865-1899 Harford County Marriages 1865-1899, Harford County Historical Society
 * 1900-1930 Harford County Marriages 1900-1930, Harford County Historical Society
 * 1931 Harford County Marriages 1931, Harford County Historical Society
 * Marriage Records, Maryland State Archives

Death

 * 1898-1944 Maryland Death Index 1898-1944

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Societies

 * Harford County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 15 Aberdeen, MD 21001 Email: [mailto:AdmnHSHC@verizon.net AdmnHSHC@verizon.net] Website
 * Historical Society of Harford County, Inc. 143 N. Main St. Bel Air, MD 21014 Phone: 410-838-7691 Email: [mailto:info@harfordhistory.org info@harfordhistory.org] Website Facebook
 * The Hereditary Order of the Signers of the Bush Declaration 4219 Paddrick Road Darlington, MD 21034 Email: [mailto:ctsmithson@gmail.com ctsmithson@gmail.com] Website

Websites

 * The Harford County MDGenWeb Project, a member of The MDGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Harford County, Maryland Genealogy, History and Facts (Genealogy Inc)
 * "Harford Co.," in Genealogical Sources in Periodicals at The Maryland State Archives.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project, Harford County.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project, Harford County. (Backup site)
 * - 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