Baltimore County, Maryland Genealogy


 * This article is about a northern Maryland county. For the city, see Baltimore (Independent City), Maryland. For other uses, see Baltimore (disambiguation).

United States   Maryland    Baltimore County



County Courthouse
Courthouse 400 Washington Ave Towson, MD 21204

History

 * Named for the barony of Lord Baltimore family in County Longford, Ireland. Specifically for Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (1605-1675), the 1st Proprietor Governor of Maryland.

Parent County

 * 1659--Baltimore County was created 30 June 1659 from Anne Arundel County. County seat: Towson.
 * 12 January 1659, earliest known record of political action, when a writ was issued to its sheriff.

Boundary Changes

 * 6 June 1674, a portion was set off to create Cecil County.
 * 10 June 1748, a portion combined with portion from Prince George's county set off to create Frederick County.
 * 17 December 1773, east part was split off to form Harford County.
 * 1851, Baltimore City became independent of the county.
 * 13 May 1851, southwest portion combined with a portion from Anne Arundel County was set off to form Howard County.

Town

 * Hampstead

Neighboring Counties
Anne Arundel | Carroll | Harford | Howard | Kent | York County, Pennsylvania

Bible Records
Baltimore County, Anne Arundel County, and Howard County Bible Records

Cemeteries
Interment.net Cemetery Listings for Baltimore County, MD. Includes contact information for many cemetaries in the county and volunteer contributed index lists for many of them.

The Govanstown Cemetery (Baltimore County) is now online as part of the Govans Presbyterian Church web site. To go directly to the PDF Listings click on: http://i.b5z.net/i/u/1627491/f/CemetaryByInterred.pdf (If that does not work go to www.govanspres.org and click on "cemetery listings"

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

Church
Maryland State Archives' Guide to Maryland Religious Institutions identifies all churches known to have existed in Baltimore County, Maryland. It covers all denominations and includes record descriptions. The following records from their collection have been digitized and made available to view for free online:


 * Lutheran, Salem Lutheran Church, Various Church Records, 1848-1969 (in German and English)
 * Protestant Episcopal, St. Thomas Church, Homestead, Register 1858-1895; Marriage Register 1956-1974(includes history, families, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, communicants, burials, offerings, sundry contributions, reports, and vestry minutes)
 * Protestant Episcopal, St. Thomas Church, Homestead, Register 1893-1962 (includes baptisms, confirmations, communicants, marriages, and burials)

Genealogy
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. Use this list to:


 * Locate publications about direct ancestors
 * Find the most updated accounts of an ancestor's family
 * Identify publications, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, about an ancestor's "FAN Club" [Friends, Associates, and Neighbors]

Immigration
The New Early Settlers of Maryland database is a great place to start searching for immigrants who had arrived in the colony by the 1680s. The database "comprises 34,326 entries from Gust Skordas' Early Settlers of Maryland and Carson Gibb's Supplement to the Early Settlers of Maryland." Available online, courtesy: Maryland State Archives.

Other Baltimore County immigration resources include:


 * 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. [Discusses overseas contacts of individuals with the following Baltimore County surnames: Albers, Anspach, Barry, Barton, Beatty, Beays, Belt, Bolte, Brothers, Brown, Browne, Brune, Buchanan, Burke, Campbell, Caton, Clarke, Courteney, Dickey, Dicky, Donnell, Dormy, Dorsly, Duncan, Gernon, Gillmer, Gilmore, Gittings [Gettings], Goverts, Graf, Grant, Grundy, Gwin, Haslett, Hoffman, Hollins, Holmes, Hudson, Kalkman, Konig, Lone, McCreery, McFadon, Maris, Merryman, Moncrieff, Olliver, Patterson, Pringle, Salmon, Sears, Sherlock, Smith, Somervell, Spears, Sterrett, Stewart, Stiles, Taylor, Thompson, Thorowgood, Valck, Von Kapffe, Von Stapff, Walsh, Williams, Williamson, Wilson, Yellot, Young, Zwisler.]
 * [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=Baltimore&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 Colonial Baltimore City and County, Maryland (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database. [Includes Richard J. Cox's abstracts of Maryland Gazette runaways.]

Land
Through a Joint eGovernment Service of the Maryland Judiciary and the Maryland State Archives, free images and indexes of the complete series of Baltimore County Deed Books (1653-present) have been uploaded to their website: MDLandRec.Net: A Digital Image Retrieval System for Land Records in Maryland. (Requires free registration.)

Revolutionary War

 * 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, Baltimore County on page 127.]

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, Baltimore County, pp. 111-139. Identifies hundreds of War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Naturalization
Though it does not appear on the Family History Library Catalog under the naturalization section of the City of Baltimore or Baltimore County, the Family History Library has acquired published abstracts of Baltimore naturalizations from 1784 through 1854:


 * Oszakiewski, Robert Andrew. Maryland Naturalization Abstracts. Baltimore County and Baltimore City [1784-1854]. Westminster, Maryland: Family Line Publications, 1995. Available at FHL US/CAN Book 975.2 P48o.

Newspapers

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

Probate
Baltimore And Anne Arundel County Last Will and Testaments and Other Probate/Estate Related Documents

Orphans Court Notices (Probate, Administration of Estates, and Some Equity Suits)

Taxation
Baltimore County, Maryland 5th District Collection Book, 1869

Vital Records
Birth

Marriage


 * Baltimore Marriage Announcements from 19th and 20th Century Newspapers--Sorted by Groom's surname
 * Transcripts of Marriage Licenses from January 1800 through December 1816
 * Transcript of a few Baltimore County Marriage Licenses between 1897 and 1915 Sorted by Groom
 * Transcript of a few Baltimore County Marriage Licenses between 1897 and 1915 Sorted by Bride
 * Divorce Notices and Other Marital Problems from Baltimore Newspapers

Death


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

Other Baltimore County death record resources include: Extracts and Copies of Death Notices and Obituaries from Baltimore Area Newspapers

Societies and Libraries

 * Baltimore County Genealogical Society - Membership required. Links to Surname index files, Pedigree (ancestor) index files, World Wide Web pages, and Extensive library. Other benefits without links are circulating books, research materials, workshops and seminars, quarterly publication.
 * Historical Society of Baltimore County- Located in the old Almshouse, the Historical Society of Baltimore County's Library houses information from every known tombstone in both church and family cemeteries in Baltimore County. Here you will also find a growing collection of books and maps (copies of some are for sale), census records, marriage records, slave schedules, family histories, ledgers, photographs, clippings, and manuscripts related to the history and genealogy of Baltimore County.

Web Sites

 * The Baltimore County MDGenWeb Project, a member of The MDGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Baltimore County.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Baltimore County. (backup site)
 * FamilySearch.org Family History Library Catalog for Baltimore County (not the City.)