Kent County, Maryland Genealogy

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


 * This article is about a county in the state of Maryland. For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation).

Description
Kent County was named for the county of Kent in England. The county is located in the northeastern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Kent County Courthouse 103 N Cross Street Chestertown, MD 21620 Phone: 410-778-7460 Kent County Website Clerk of the Circuit Court has marriage records from 1796; divorce records from 1867, land records from 1656, and court records from early 1800's.

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:

History Timeline

 * By 1631, William Clayborne was appointed Commander of the settlers of the Isle of Kent which he named for his home, the English County of Kent.

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

Church Records

 * 1668-1995 at FamilySearch — index- How to Use this Collection
 * Maryland State Archives' 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:


 * Protestant Episcopal (Church of England), Shrewsbury Parish (includes parish registers 1699-1882, vestry minutes 1701-1861 (gaps), and communicants 1876-1882)

Church of England


 * Chester Parish
 * St. Paul's Parish
 * St. Peter's Parish
 * Shrewsbury Parish

List of Churches and Church Parishes


 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records
Provincial Court


 * Residents Appearing at the Provincial Court, 1647-1656
 * Residents Appearing at the Provincial Court, 1656-1660
 * Residents Appearing at the Provincial Court, 1662-1670
 * Residents Appearing at the Provincial Court, 1670-1676

Emigration and 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.


 * 1897-1952 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * Act of Naturalization of Several Individuals
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. "Correspondence with the American Colonies 1739-1782," The Genealogist, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Spring 1998):108-128; Vol. 12, No. 2 (Fall 1998):189-205. Overseas correspondence of residents of Chester Town [Chestertown] and Kent County with the following surnames: Ringold and Wilmore. Available at.
 * Kent County Immigration Index 1663-1667
 * [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=Kent&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 Kent County, Maryland (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database. Includes Richard J. Cox's abstracts of Maryland Gazette runaways.

Genealogies

 * Barnes, Robert W., F. Edward Wright, Vernon L. Skinner and Henry C. Peden. Colonial Families of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. 23 vols. Westminster, Md.: Family Line, 1996-2003; Lewes, Del.: Delmarva Roots and Colonial Roots, 2007. ff. [Kent County families appear in Vols. 1-3, 7, and 21.]
 * Hanson, George Adolphus. Old Kent: The Eastern Shore of Maryland; Notes Illustrative of the Most Ancient Records of Kent County Maryland, and of the Parishes of St. Paul's, Shrewsbury and I. U. and Genealogical Histories of Land and Distinguished Families of Maryland, and Their Connections by Marriage, etc., with an Introduction. Baltimore: J. P. Des Forges, 1876. Digital versions at Google Books; Internet Archive; ; 1967 reprint:


 * Asbury - Holtzclaw, B.C. "Asbury of Westmoreland County, Virginia," Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Jul. 1967):55-65; Vol. 5, No. 4 (Oct. 1967):77-87; Vol. 6, No. 1 (Jan. 1968):10-26. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Barry - Bidlack, Russell E. Ann Arbor's First Lady, Events in the Life of Ann I. Allen. Ann Arbor, Mich., n.d.
 * Boyer - Wallis, Guy. The Boyer Family of Kent &amp; Cecil County, Maryland and Tompkins County, New York. Bristol, Vt.: G. Wallis, 1997.
 * Brooke - Brayton, John Anderson. "Madam Esther Pollock of Kent Co., Md., and Chowan Co., N.C., and the Lutens," North Carolina Genealogical Journal, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Nov. 2000):376-392..
 * Burchinal - Gans, John Lyons and Frank M. Burchinal. The Burchinal Genealogy: Jeremiah Burchinal of Mt. Harmon, Kent County, Maryland and His Descendants. MSS., Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. Microfilmed 1965:
 * Burchinal - Burchinal, Beryl Modest and Martin Luther Burchinal. The Burchinal Genealogy, Thomas Burtchnell of Cecil County, Maryland and His Son, Jeremiah "Jeremy" Burchinal of Mount Harmon, Kent Co. Maryland and Their Descendants. Pittsburgh: B.M. Burchinal, 1984. ; 1988 supplement:
 * Burchinal - Burchinal, Beryl Modest and Donald Lee Robinson. The Burchinal Genealogy: The Descendants of Thomas Burtchnell ca 1670-1709 of Cecil County, Maryland, and His Children Jeremiah Burchinal "Jeremy" and Mary Burchinal, Kent County, Maryland. Apollo, Penn.: Closson Press, 1998.
 * Caulk - Russell, George Ely. "The Swedish Settlement in Maryland, 1654," The American Genealogist, Vol. 54, No. 4 (Oct. 1978):203-210.
 * Coleman - Coleman, Richard F. and Caroline Coleman Cofrode. A Coleman Family History: De[s]cendants of Charles Coleman, Born 1763, Kent County, Maryland. North Canton, Ohio: R.F. Coleman, 1986.
 * Comegys - Moss, Ernestine Parke. Cornelius Comegys of Kent County, Maryland. Memphis, Tenn.: E.P. Moss, 1982.
 * Dabb - Russell, George Ely. "Anicake (Hanson) (Elena) (MacKenny) Dabb of Kent County, Maryland, 1652-1674," The American Genealogist, Vol. 54, No. 3 (Jul. 1978):159-164.
 * de Hinojosa - Hoff, Henry B. "Alexander de Hinojosa and His Descendants in Maryland," The American Genealogist, Vol. 79, No. 4 (Oct. 2004):260-273.
 * Elena - Russell, George Ely. "Anicake (Hanson) (Elena) (MacKenny) Dabb of Kent County, Maryland, 1652-1674," The American Genealogist, Vol. 54, No. 3 (Jul. 1978):159-164.
 * Elena - Russell, George Ely. "Portuguese and Spanish Colonists in Seventeenth-Century Maryland," The American Genealogist, Vol. 76, No. 1 (January 2001):50-60.
 * Elenor - See Elena.
 * Elexson - Russell, George Ely. "The Swedish Settlement in Maryland, 1654," The American Genealogist, Vol. 54, No. 4 (Oct. 1978):203-210.
 * Forman - Dandridge, Anne Spottswood and Anne Elizabeth Forman Dismukes. The Forman Genealogy: Descendants of Robert Forman of Kent Co., Maryland, Who Died in 1719-1720: Also Descendants of Robert Forman of Long Island, New York, Who Died in 1671; the Forman Family of Monmouth Co., New Jersey; Together with Notices of Other Families of the Name Forman. Salem, Mass.: Higginson, [2001?]. Digital versions at Google Books; Internet Archive; ; another copy:.
 * Goodhand - Brayton, John Anderson. "Madam Esther Pollock of Kent Co., Md., and Chowan Co., N.C., and the Lutens," North Carolina Genealogical Journal, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Nov. 2000):376-392..
 * Hanson - Russell, George Ely. "Anicake (Hanson) (Elena) (MacKenny) Dabb of Kent County, Maryland, 1652-1674," The American Genealogist, Vol. 54, No. 3 (Jul. 1978):159-164.
 * Hanson - Russell, George Ely. "The Swedish Settlement in Maryland, 1654," The American Genealogist, Vol. 54, No. 4 (Oct. 1978):203-210.
 * Hanson - Hanson, George A. Old Kent. 1876. 159-168.
 * Harris - Brayton, John Anderson. "Madam Esther Pollock of Kent Co., Md., and Chowan Co., N.C., and the Lutens," North Carolina Genealogical Journal, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Nov. 2000):376-392..
 * Holman - Utermohlen, William J. The Holman Family of Kent County, Maryland and Woodford County, Kentucky: A Preliminary Study. Alexandria, Va.: W.J. Utermohlen, 1993.
 * Holman - Utermohlen, William J. "The Ancestry of Richard Rue and His Holman and Vansant Connections," The American Genealogist, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Oct. 1994):235-245.
 * Hosier - Henry Hosier of Kent County, Maryland. Typescript. No date. Microfilmed 1983:
 * Ingram - Brayton, John Anderson. "Madam Esther Pollock of Kent Co., Md., and Chowan Co., N.C., and the Lutens," North Carolina Genealogical Journal, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Nov. 2000):376-392..
 * Jenkins - Brayton, John Anderson. "Madam Esther Pollock of Kent Co., Md., and Chowan Co., N.C., and the Lutens," North Carolina Genealogical Journal, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Nov. 2000):376-392..
 * MacKenny - Russell, George Ely. "Anicake (Hanson) (Elena) (MacKenny) Dabb of Kent County, Maryland, 1652-1674," The American Genealogist, Vol. 54, No. 3 (Jul. 1978):159-164.
 * Pollock - Brayton, John Anderson. "Madam Esther Pollock of Kent Co., Md., and Chowan Co., N.C., and the Lutens," North Carolina Genealogical Journal, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Nov. 2000):376-392..
 * Rue - Utermohlen, William J. "The Ancestry of Richard Rue and His Holman and Vansant Connections," The American Genealogist, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Oct. 1994):235-245.
 * Strong - Albee, Fredericka Strong (b. 1878). One Branch of the Strong Family of Kent County, Maryland. Typescript, National Library, DAR. Microfilmed 1971:
 * Sweatman - Brayton, John Anderson. "Madam Esther Pollock of Kent Co., Md., and Chowan Co., N.C., and the Lutens," North Carolina Genealogical Journal, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Nov. 2000):376-392..
 * Usilton - Stuart, Sarah Elisabeth. William Usilton of Kent County, Maryland (? -1729) and Some of His Descendants. Chestertown, Md.: E.V. Tuttle, 1938.
 * Vansant - See Rue.
 * Wallis - Wallis, Lucille A. and Guy Wallis. Samuel Wallis of Kent County, Maryland: Some of His Descendants &amp; Allied Families. Multi-volume. Decorah, Iowa: Anundsen, 1991-2000.
 * Wolcott - Wolcott, John Benjamin and Charles V. Waid. Wolcott Immigrants and Their Early Descendants (the First Six Generations): Henry and Elizabeth Wolcott of Windsor, Connecticut; John and Winifred Wolcott of Watertown, Massachusetts; William and Alice Wolcott of Salem, Massachusetts; John and Sarah Wolcott of Kent County, Maryland; Samuel Wolcott of Shrewsbury, New Jersey. n.p.: Society of the Descendants of Henry Wolcott, 2002.

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 Kent County Deed Books (1648-present) have been uploaded to their website: A Digital Image Retrieval System for Land Records in Maryland. (Requires free registration.)


 * Land Records, USGenWeb Archives (scroll down the page)

Local Histories

 * History of Kent County, Maryland, 1630-1916. N.d. By Fred G. Usilton. N.p: n.p. Online at:  FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($);.
 * Old Kent : the Eastern Shore of Maryland. 1876. By George A. Hanson. Baltimore : J. P. Des Forges. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust;.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Revolutionary War
Kent County men served in the 5th 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 et. al. 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. See Maryland, Kent 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, Kent County, pp. 151-152. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index- How to Use this Collection


 * 2nd Regiment, Maryland Eastern Shore Infantry, Companies A, B, C, D and E.

World War II

 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Newspapers

 * Kent County newspapers are identified in "Guide to Maryland Newspapers," available online, courtesy: Special Collections, Maryland State Archives.
 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)

Other Records

 * 1853-1898 Maryland, Kent County, Voter Registration Records, 1853-1898 at FamilySearch - index and images
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. "Correspondence with the American Colonies 1739-1782," The Genealogist, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Spring 1998):108-128; Vol. 12, No. 2 (Fall 1998):189-205. Overseas correspondence of residents of Chester Town [Chestertown] and Kent County with the following surnames: Ringold and Wilmore. Available at.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * Maryland, Wills and Probate Records at findmypast - index
 * 1634-1777 Maryland, Index To Colonial Probate Records, 1634-1777 at findmypast - index
 * 1629-1999 Maryland Register of Wills Records, an invaluable comprehensive collection of probate records of all types at FamilySearch images. Inexplicably there is a coverage gap in the wills themselves between Wills 1777-1781 Vol 6 and Wills 1827-1835 Vol 11, although Vol 7 is available on Film 14159, which may be viewed at the Family History Library


 * 1634–1777 Probate Records, Colonial Index, 1634-1777 online at Maryland State Archives website
 * 1635–1743 Maryland Calendar of Wills 1635-1743 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1635–1777 Maryland Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1777 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1796–1940 at FamilySearch images - How to Use this Collection
 * Wills and Estate Records, USGenWeb (scroll to bottom of page)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

 * 1678, 1681 1678 and 1681 Kent County tax lists, available online, courtesy MDGenWeb.
 * 1746-1750 1746-1750 Kent County Tax Lists at Maryland Genealogical Society, transcription
 * 1749 1749 Eastern Neck Hundred at Maryland Genealogical Society, transcription
 * 1749 1749 Chester Hundred Tax List at Maryland Genealogical Society, transcription
 * 1749 1749 Chestertown Hundred Tax List at Maryland Genealogical Society, transcription
 * 1749 1749 Lower Langford Bay Hundred Tax List at Maryland Genealogical Society, transcription
 * 1749 1749 Lower South Sassafras Hundred Tax List at Maryland Genealogical Society, trancription
 * 1749 1749 Morgans Creek Hundred Tax List at Maryland Genealogical Society, transcription
 * 1749 1749 Upper Langsford Bay Hundred Tax List at Maryland Genealogical Society, transcription
 * 1749 Upper South Sassafras Hundred Tax List at Maryland Genealogical Society, transcription
 * 1749 1749 Worton Hundred Tax List at Maryland Genealogical Society, transcription
 * 1750 1750 Kent County Tax List at Maryland Genealogical Society, transcription
 * 1750 1750 (continued) Kent County Tax List at Maryland Genealogical Society, transcription
 * 1783  Kent 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.

Birth

 * 1650-1681 Colonial Births 1650-1681

Marriage

 * 1654-1676 Colonial Marriages 1654-1676
 * 1658-1940 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1666-1970 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * Marriage Records - Maryland State Archives

Death

 * 1655-1678 Colonial Deaths 1655-1678
 * 1898-1944 Maryland Death Index 1898-1944

Family History Centers

 * Dover Delaware Family History Center
 * Newark Delaware Family History Center
 * Salisbury Maryland Family History Center
 * Cecil County Public Library - Cecilton Branch - an affiliate library (multiple branches).
 * Winterthur Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Kent County Public Library 408 High Street Chestertown, MD 21620 Phone: 410-778-3636 Website The Historical Society of Kent County Library 301 High Street P.O. Box 665 Chestertown, MD 21620 Phone: 410-778-3499 Email: [mailto:library@kentcountyhistory.org library@kentcountyhistory.org] Website

Societies
Historical Society of Kent County 301 High Street P.O. Box 665 Chestertown, MD 21620 Phone: 410-778-3499 Email: [mailto:Director@kentcountyhistory.org Director@kentcountyhistory.org] Website Upper Shore Genealogical Society of Maryland P.O. Box 275 Easton, MD 21601 Email: [mailto:usgsmd@yahoo.com usgsmd@yahoo.com] Website

Websites

 * "Kent Co.," in Genealogical Sources in Periodicals at The Maryland State Archives.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Kent County.
 * - 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