Step-by-Step Maryland Research, 1850-1910

Step 1: Find out everything possible from living relatives and their family records.
Every good genealogy project starts with finding all the clues that can be gathered from living relatives — both from their memories and from documents or memorabilia in their homes.

What are the best questions to ask?
In order to extend research, ask for names, dates, and places. Everything about who a relative was and when and where they lived is a clue to a new record search. For ideas, see :


 * 50 Questions to Ask Relatives About Family History at ThoughtCo.com
 * Creating Oral Histories at FamilySearch Wiki

What documents should be collected or copied?
Because these records cover names, dates, places, and relationships, they are a valuable source of clues. Look for them in your home, your parents' home, and ask living grandparents to check for them.

Step 2: Find ancestors in every possible census record, 1850-1950, online.
Example of a census record.
 * A census is a count and description of the population for a given date. A census took a "snapshot" of a family on a certain day.
 * For each person living in a household (depending on the year), their name, age, birthplace, relationship to head of household, place of birth for father and mother, citizenship status, year of immigration, mother of how many children and number of children living, native language, and whether they were a veteran of the military can be listed.
 * Searching for a family in census records every ten years can identify all the children in a family.
 * Searching in earlier census records to find someone as a child can identify parents.



Look for ancestors in as many censuses as possible. Use the clues from each census for hints where to find families in both earlier and later census records.
- For more information, see Maryland Census and United States Census.

Step 3: Try to find additional details in death certificates, Social Security, obituary and cemetery records online.
When a person dies, several records will be created: death certificates, Social Security records, obituaries, and cemetery records.
 * Death certificates can give birth information for people born before actual birth registration began. Death certificates frequently give the birth date and place, parents' names, and birth places of parents.


 * The Social Security Death Index includes those who had a Social Security number and/or applied for benefits. The index entries give the person's full birth date, last known residence, and residence at the time they first enrolled.


 * The Social Security Applications and Claims Index provides information filed in the application or claims process, including valuable details such as birth date, birth place, and parents’ names.


 * Cemetery records can be as simple as the information on the headstone or, in some FindAGrave records, they can report more thorough information about birth, parents, spouses, children, and siblings.

'''Example of a death certificate. Although this is a 1950 record, it gives 1888 birth information.'''



Death Indexes

 * 1736-1737 Maryland Death Records as Taken from Maryland Account Book No. 15 : Dated 1736 to 1737 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1875-1949 Baltimore City Death Index 1875-1880, 1943-1949 MSA S 1483 at Maryland State Archives — index
 * 1877-1992 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index; Also at: Ancestry ($)
 * 1935-2014 U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry — index ($); Picks up where the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) leaves off by providing information filed in the application or claims process
 * 1962-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * Online Maryland Death Records and Indexes at DeathIndexes.com — index

Writing for Full Death Certificates
The full original certificate will contain information not contained in the index. Although it costs money, consider sending for the full original certificates, particularly for direct line ancestors (grandparents, great-grandparents, etc).
 * Where to Write for Maine Birth, Marriage, Death and Divorce Records at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC.gov

U.S. Social Security Records

 * The U.S. Social Security program began in 1935 but most deaths recorded in the index happened after 1962.
 * The Social Security Death index includes those who had a Social Security number and/or applied for benefits.
 * You can search these records online at


 * 1935-2014 U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry — index ($); Picks up where the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) leaves off by providing information filed in the application or claims process
 * 1962-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index


 * If you find an ancestor in the SSDI index, you can order a copy of their original Social Security application (SS-5). If you can prove the individual has died (by sending an obituary or copy of their cemetery headstone), the application will also give the deceased's parents' names, if listed.

Obituaries

 * 1930-Current U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1980-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Find Online Obituaries, Newspapers, Cemetery and Death Records at Archives.com — index & images ($)
 * Maryland Newspapers and Obituaries at LDS Genealogy — index
 * Maryland Obituaries at ObitsArchive.com — free index, images ($)
 * Maryland Obituary and Death Notice Collection at GenealogyBuff — index
 * Online Maryland Death Records and Indexes at DeathIndexes.com — index

Cemeteries

 * 1949-1969 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * BillionGraves — index & images
 * at FamilySearch — How to Use This Collection; index; Also at: Findmypast ($)
 * FindaGrave — index & images
 * at FamilySearch — How to Use This Collection; index; Also at: Ancestry ($)
 * Maryland Cemeteries at USGenWeb Tombstones — index
 * Maryland Cemetery Records at AccessGenealogy — index
 * Maryland Death Records and Maryland Cemetery Records at Interment.net — index
 * Maryland Gravestone Photo Project at MarylandGravestones.org — index & images
 * Names in Stone, Maryland, Vol. 2 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * Names in Stone Vol. 1 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * Online Maryland Death Records and Indexes at DeathIndexes.com — index

For more information, see Maryland Obituaries and Maryland Cemeteries.

Step 4: Search for county birth and marriage records online.
'''Vital records registration of births and marriages at the state level started in 1905. Prior to that the individual counties kept some records. The starting dates of those records vary from county to county, depending on when the county was formed.'''

Online Records
Births
 * 1650-1995 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1662-1911 Maryland, U.S., Births and Christenings Index, 1662-1911 at Ancestry — index ($)

Marriages
 * 1634-1777 Maryland, U.S., Compiled Marriage Index, 1634-1777 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1655-1850 Maryland, U.S., Compiled Marriages, 1655-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1658-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1666-1970 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1667-1899 Maryland, U.S., Compiled Marriages, 1667-1899 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * Pre-1699 American Marriages Before 1699 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1778-1800 Maryland Marriages, 1778-1800 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1801-1820 Maryland Marriages, 1801-1820 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1850-1900 U.S., Hochheimer Marriage Records, 1850-1900 at Ancestry — index & images ($); Jewish records
 * Maryland Indexes, Maryland Marriage References by Robert Barnes MSA S 1527 at Maryland State Archives — index
 * Maryland Revolutionary Records at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Step 5: Search military records: World War I and II draft cards.
There are many different types of military records: draft records, enlistment records, service records, pension records, etc. Information in military records can vary from a simple lists of name, age, and residence, to more detailed records including name, residence, age, occupation, marital status, birthplace, physical description, number of dependents, pensions received, disabled veterans, needy veterans, widows or orphans of veterans, and other information. - Example of a World War I draft card. - Example of a World War II draft card.



'''Search the World War I and World War II Draft Collections for male relatives.
- For more information and additional collections, see Maryland Military Records.
 * 1917-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1942 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Step 6: Look for church records online.
Church records function as vital records. Church records are particularly helpful prior to the advent of civil registration.
 * An infant christening or baptism record documents a birth.
 * Many, if not most, people are married in a church, and then a record is created by the minister.
 * Likewise, ministers presided over funerals, then creating a burial record, which documents a death.



FamilySearch Historical Records Indexes

 * 1650-1995 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1665-1995 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1666-1970 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1668-1995 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1877-1992 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

Ancestry.com Indexes

 * 1662-1911 Maryland, U.S., Births and Christenings Index, 1662-1911at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1634-1777 Maryland, U.S., Compiled Marriage Index, 1634-1777 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1655-1850 Maryland Records Colonial, Revolutionary, County, and Church from Original Sources Vol. I at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1655-1850 Maryland, U.S., Compiled Marriages, 1655-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1667-1899 Maryland, U.S., Compiled Marriages, 1667-1899 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1778-1800 Maryland Marriages, 1778-1800 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1801-1820 Maryland Marriages, 1801-1820 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * Maryland Records: Colonial, Revolutionary, County and Church from Original Sources; by Gaius Marcus Brumbaugh. n.p.: n.p., n.d. Online at: Vol. 1 - Ancestry; Vol. 2 - Ancestry

Catholic

 * 1753-1851 Maryland, U.S., Catholic Families, 1753-1851 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * Catholic Heritage Archive at Findmypast — index & images ($)

Dutch Reformed

 * 1639-1989 U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1701-1995 U.S., Selected States Dutch Reformed Church Membership Records, 1701-1995 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1856-1970 U.S., Dutch Christian Reformed Church Membership Records, 1856-1970 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1856-1970 U.S., Dutch Christian Reformed Church Vital Records, 1856-1970 at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Episcopal

 * 1771-1848 (*) Episcopal Church, Diocese of Maryland at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Lutheran

 * 1781-1969 U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1800-1947 U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Swedish American Church Records, 1800-1947 at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Presbyterian

 * 1701-1970 U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * Eighty Years : Embracing a History of Presbyterianism in Baltimore, with an Appendix at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Quaker (Society of Friends)

 * 1655-1693 (*) at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1681-1935 U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1800-1990 U.S., Quaker Cemetery Records, 1800-1990 at Ancestry — index & images ($)


 * For help with church records kept in Maryland, see Maryland Church Records.
 * To search records by denomination, if you know your ancestors religion, go to Searching for Church Records by Denomination.

Step 7: Search for online wills and probate packets.

 * County probate records include '''probate proceedings, petitions, affidavits, orders for sales, reports of sales, administrators' and executors' bonds, guardianship papers, wills, and letters of administration.
 * In a will book, usually just a transcription of the will is recorded. But all of these other records are kept in a probate packet.
 * Administrations are probate proceedings that handled an estate if no known will existed.



Search these indexes and images for probate records.

 * 1629-1999 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1635-1777 Maryland, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1777 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1796-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * The Maryland Calendar of Wills, by Jane Baldwin Cotton. Baltimore, Maryland : Wm. J. C. Dulany Co., Publishers, 1901. Online at:, Ancestry, Vol. 1-8

Probate Information in County Wiki Articles
Each Maryland county Research Wiki page lists additional probate sources, including where to write for records: Maryland Counties

For more information, see Maryland Probate Records and United States Probate Records.

Step 8: If any ancestor was an immigrant, search immigration and naturalization records online.
The census records may show that an ancestor was born in another country. It will be necessary to try to find the town or city they were born in to continue research in the country of origin. Searches of immigration records (usually passenger lists) and naturalization (citizenship) records would be the next step.



Maryland Immigration Records

 * United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records


 * 1607-1830 Scots On the Chesapeake, 1607-1830 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1820-1897 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1820-1948 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1950-1956 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1954-1957 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * One Step Webpages by Stephen Morse at StephMorse.org — index; Links to free and paid online passenger lists
 * To Maryland from Overseas at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Maryland Naturalization and Citizenship Online Records

 * United States Naturalization and Citizenship Online Genealogy Records


 * 1794-1995 U.S., Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1795-1931 Maryland, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1795-1931 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1797-1951 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index; Also at: fold3 ($)
 * 1840-1957 U.S., Naturalization Records, 1840-1957 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1906-1930 US, Naturalizations - MD, 1906-1930 at fold3 — index & images ($)
 * 1906-1931 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

For more information, see Maryland Emigration and Immigration and Maryland Naturalization and Citizenship.

Step 9: Search land records online.
These records will give the They can contain clues to
 * names of the buyer (grantee) and seller (grantor),
 * previous or new residence of the parties to the deed
 * the date they obtained the land,
 * the description of exact location of the land, sometimes mentioning neighbors.
 * family members who shared ownership of the land,
 * sold or gave land to a child, or
 * officially witnessed the sale.

Search for any ancestor's land records.

 * Land Records at Maryland State Archives

For more information, see Maine Land and Property and United States Land and Property.

Local Histories

 * Published histories of towns, counties, and states sometimes contain biographies and accounts of early or prominent families.
 * Here are several websites that feature online copies of printed county histories: Maryland; that will bring up too many hits. Just use the name of the county and "county": for example, "Hyde County"


 * Google Books. Use keywords "Maryland" and the county name. Hits will list online readable books, lists of libraries that carry the book, and purchasing opportunities.
 * Family History Books
 * County and Town Histories
 * Internet Archive. Use keywords "Maryland" and the county name.
 * Ancestry.com ($). In the Card Catalog search box, use Maryland and the name of the county.

FamilySearch Collected Local Histories

 * Local histories are extensively collected by the FamilySearch Library, public and university libraries, and state and local historical societies.
 * If you have access to the FamilySearch Library or a FamilySearch center, you can find local histories by:
 * Go to the FamilySearch Catalog.
 * In the "Place" field, type the name of your county and click "Search".
 * A list of subheadings for the county will appear. Local histories containing genealogies and biographies will be found under Biography, Genealogy, History, or History - Indexes.

Biography Collections
These collections of biographies can be searched online. Most have a table of contents and an index. Or use the "Find" function on a computer.


 * American Biographical Library at Ancestry — index ($)
 * Biographical Sketches of Distinguished Marylanders, by Esmeralda Boyle. Baltimore: Kelly, Piet and Company, 1877. Online at: HathiTrust, Ancestry ($)
 * County and Town Histories, Maryland at LearnWebSkills — index & images
 * Databases, Maryland at Enoch Pratt Free Library — index
 * Finding Aids and Indexes at Maryland State Archives — index
 * Genealogical and Memorial Encyclopedia of the State of Maryland, by Richard Henry Spencer. New York: The American Historical Society, Inc., 1919. Online at: HathiTrust
 * Men of Mark in Maryland ... Biographies of Leading Men of the state, by Bernard C. Steiner, Lynn R. Meekins, David H. Carroll and Thomas G. Boggs. Baltimore, Washington and Richmond: Johnson-Wynn Company and B. F. Johnson, Inc., 1907-1912. Online at: Vol. 1 - HathiTrust; Vol. 2 - HathiTrust; Vol. 3 - HathiTrust; Vol. 4 - HathiTrust
 * Men of Maryland, by George F. Bragg. Baltimore, Maryland: Church Advocate Press, 1914. Online at: HathiTrust
 * The Founders of Maryland as Portrayed in Manuscripts, Provincial Records and Early Documents, by Edward D. Neill. Albany: Joel Munsell, 1876. Online at: HathiTrust

Step 11: Contact a local historical or genealogical society.
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 * Historical societies have collections that are frequently little known and often overlooked.
 * Many have a surname file, where they have collected genealogies, newspaper clippings, old photographs, etc.
 * Many have a sort of "pioneer ancestor" program, where people can submit pedigrees to prove they are the descendants of an early resident of the area.
 * Most keep track of queries about families that once lived in the area from other distant relatives who may actually have more family memorabilia.
 * Most keep track of queries about families that once lived in the area from other distant relatives who may actually have more family memorabilia.


 * Find the society on the internet, and they may list their holdings. Or call them on the phone, find out what they have, and find out what arrangements can be made to search their collection. Frequently, one of their members can be hired to search the collection for you.

This online directory by GenealogyInc. lists historical and genealogical societies by county: Click on the map to select a county, then scroll down to the historical or genealogical society listings. Here is an example of an internet website for a local genealogical society.

Historical Images
Records collected and digitized by FamilySearch can all be found through their Historical Images feature.
 * Maryland, United States Historical Images, New Version
 * Maryland, United States Historical Images, Old Version

Maryland Online Genealogy Records
Search any other online records listed in Maryland Online Genealogy Records. The steps given here are intended to list record sources which can most efficiently identify descendants. Many other online records which might or might not mention descendants are listed in the Maryland Online Genealogy Records page, including immigration records, land records, military records, newspapers, and probate records, and others. These can be records that cover a smaller group within the population, such as men who served in the military, etc.
 * Maryland Online Genealogy Records

Step 13: Study the Research Wiki pages for any county in Maryland.
This article focused more on Maryland state or state-wide records. There is a separate Wiki article for each county in Maryland. These articles give information, office addresses, and links to county records.