Maryland Register of Wills Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection is comprised of digital images from court records at the Register of Wills in Maryland. The collection includes records from 1629 to 1999. The records are arranged by county and then by date. The included dates and exact offices vary by county. Many of the volumes have an index at the back of the volume. Additional details will be added as they become available.

Each county began keeping probate records from the time the county was created. Orphan’s Court was the name of the probate court at the county level. Probate records were generally recorded in the county where the person lived. Estates were probated for approximately 25 percent of the heads of households in the United States before 1900, whether or not the individual left a will. Wills were more likely to have been found in rural communities than in larger cities and industrial areas.

Probate records were used to legally dispose of a person’s estate after his or her death. If the deceased had made a will, the probate process transferred the following from the deceased to an executor or executrix: the legal responsibility for payment of taxes, care and custody of dependent family members, liquidation of debts, and transfer of property title to heirs. If there was no will, the transfer went to an administrator or administratrix. A guardian or conservator was appointed if the deceased had heirs younger than 21 or if the heirs were incompetent due to disability or disease.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Probate records include petitions, inventories, wills, guardianships, accounts, decrees, and other court documents. Information found in this collection may include:


 * Name of the testator or deceased
 * Names of heirs, such as a spouse, children, relatives, and friends
 * Name of the executor, administrator, or guardian
 * Names of witnesses
 * Residence of the testator
 * Dates the documents were written and recorded

Coverage Table
The coverage table shows the places and time periods covered in the records for this collection. Most of the records in the collection are from the time periods listed in the table; however, the collection may have a few records from before or after the time period.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the individual
 * The date or location of the event

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use a Probate record to identify adoptions, guardians, heirs and relatives
 * Use a will to approximate a death date, then find a death certificate
 * Use the information in the probate record to substitute for civil birth and death records for earlier years
 * Use the information to find vital records such as birth, baptism, marriage, and death
 * Search for immigration, military, land and probate records
 * Use the information to find additional family members in census records
 * Search for church records

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record. Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relatives that can be verified by records
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search
 * Try variant spellings of your ancestor’s name
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of Maryland.
 * Maryland Guided Research
 * Maryland Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Maryland Prerogative Court. Index to inventories of estates, 1718-1777
 * Maryland Prerogative Court. Index to inventories and accounts : 1674-1718
 * Maryland Prerogative Court. Index to balances of final distribution books, 1751-1775

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * Maryland Probate Estate and Guardianship Files, 1796-1940

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * James Moseby Magruder, comp. Index of Maryland colonial wills, 1634-1777 at Land Office, Annapolis, Md. 3 volumes. Annapolis, Maryland : [s.n., c1933]
 * Burns, Annie Walker. Index to Maryland inventories and accounts.Annapolis, Md. : A.W. Burns, 1938.
 * Annie Walker Burns. Index to Maryland testamentary proceedings, probate of wills, and administration of estates, 1688. Annapolis : A.W. Burns, 1936.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.