Maryland Colonial Records

History
Maryland was initially settled as a proprietary colony by a charter granted to Cecilius Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, in 1632. In 1634, St. Mary's City was founded when settlers arrived at the Chesapeake Bay from England. During the next several decades, governorship of the colony went back and forth between Lord Baltimore, who was Catholic, and the Puritans. Near the end of the 17th century, however, Maryland reverted to the Crown, and the Anglican Church became the official church of Maryland in 1692. Some disputed land was ceded to Virginia in 1732, and in 1763, the Mason-Dixon line was established between Maryland and Pennsylvania. Maryland was one of the original thirteen colonies of the United States.

Statewide Records and Resources
The following court records are kept at the Hall of Records in Annapolis.

Provincial Court (1637-1805)

 * Court Judgments, 1679-1778 (Annapolis: Hall of Records, 1947, film 0012941 ff).

Prerogative Court (1635-1777)
Until 1776, probates were done at the province level, although counties also started handling probates in the 1690s.
 * Inventories and Accounts of Estates, 1674-1718 (Annapolis: Hall of Records, 1947, film 0012918). Online digital images at FamilySearch.
 * Accounts of Estates, 1718-1777 (Annapolis: Hall of Records, 1947, film 0012899). Online digital images at FamilySearch.
 * Inventories of Estates, 1718-1777 (Annapolis: Hall of Records, 1947, film 0012862). Online digital images at FamilySearch.
 * Testamentary Proceedings, 1657-1777 (Annapolis: Hall of Records, 1947, film 0012930). Online digital images at FamilySearch.
 * Will Books, 1635-1777 (Annapolis: Hall of Records, 1947, film 0012841 ff). Online digital images at FamilySearch.
 * Probate Accounts, 1752-1758 (Annapolis: Hall of Records, 1947, film 0901271). Online digital images at FamilySearch.
 * Index to Inventories and Accounts, 1674-1718 (Annapolis: Hall of Records, 1947, film 0012929). Online digital images at FamilySearch.
 * Index to Balances of Final Distribution Books, 1751-1776 (Annapolis: Hall of Records, 1947, film 0012860). Online digital images at FamilySearch.
 * Index to Inventories of Estates, 1718-1777 (Annapolis: Hall of Records, 1947, film 0012898).

Court of Appeals, General Assembly (1635-1650), Governor and Council (1650-1776)

 * Proceedings of the Maryland Court of Appeals, 1695-1729 (1933, reprint, Millwood, NY: Kraus Reprint, 1975).

Land Records
All Maryland land originally was owned by the Calvert family. From 1633-1683, headrights and land grants were given to settlers in exchange for providing transportation for and others to Maryland. Cash sales replaced the headright system by 1683.
 * Patents Series (film 0013063). Originals are at the Hall of Records in Annapolis, MD.
 * Calvert Papers, *(Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 1973). Online digital images at FamilySearch. A Guide to the Microfilm Edition of the Calvert Papers by Richard J. Cox and Maryland State Archives, (Baltimore, Maryland: Maryland Historical Society, 1973).
 * The "Black Books" in the "Rainbow Series" in the Maryland State Papers contains Proprietary Papers, 1701-1785 (Annapolis: Hall of Records, 1947, film 0012975), and Church Vestry Papers (Annapolis: Hall of Records, 1947, film 0012975) from the colonial era.