Garrett County, Maryland Genealogy

United States

Maryland

Garrett County

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

Maryland Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Oakland Organized: November 4, 1872 Parent County(s): Allegany Neighboring Counties Allegany • Fayette (PA) • Somerset (PA) • Grant(WV) • Mineral(WV) • Preston(WV) • Tucker(WV) See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

John Work Garrett

County Information

Description

Garrett County was created 4 Dec 1872 and was named for John Work Garrett (1820–1884), president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Its county seat is Oakland. It is located in the northwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse

Garrett County Courthouse
203 South Fourth Street, Room 109
PO Box 447
Oakland, MD 21550
Phone: 301-334-1942
Garrett County Website

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, land and court records from 1872, military records from 1942, and naturalization records 1908-1929.
Register of wills has probate records.

Garrett County, Maryland Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1898	1872	1898	1872	1872	1872	1790
*Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1898. General compliance by the 1910s.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

Last county created in the state, 4 November 1872, from west part of Allegany County. County seat: Oakland Maryland Individual County Chronologies - Newberry Library list of all boundary changes by county Maryland Historical Borders - Map at Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; Also at: mapofus.org - animated maps illustrating Maryland county boundary changes

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:

Towns
Accident Deer Park Friendsville	Grantsville Kitzmiller Loch Lynn Heights	Mountain Lake Park Oakland (county seat)
Unincorporated communities
Altamont Asher Glade Avilton Bethel Bevansville Bittinger Blooming Rose Casselman Cove East_Vindex Elder Hill Engle Mill Fairview Floyd Fort Pendleton Foxtown Fricks Crossing Gortner Gravel Hill Green Glade Hazelhurst	Herrington Manor Hi-Point High Point Hoyes Hoyes Run Kaese Mill Kearney Keeler Glade Kempton Kendall Keysers Ridge Lake Ford Locust Grove McComas Beach McHenry Merrill Mineral Spring Mitchell Manor New Germany North Glade Piney Grove	Redhouse Ryan's Glade Sand Spring Sang Run Schell Selbysport Shallmar Standard Stanton Mill Steyer Strawn Strecker Sunnyside Table Rock Tasker Corners Thayerville Wallman West Vindex Wilson Wilson (borders West Virginia) Winding Ridge
Census-designated places
Bloomington Crellin Finzel	Gorman Hutton Jennings	Swanton

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Garrett County, Maryland online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com USGenWeb MDGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project MDInterment MDGravestones BillionGraves
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	FamilySearch Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com BillionGraves FamilySearch Places
See Maryland Cemeteries for more information

Census Records

For tips on accessing Garrett County, Maryland Genealogy census records online, see: Maryland Census.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	12,175	—
1890	14,213	16.7%
1900	17,701	24.5%
1910	20,105	13.6%
1920	19,678	−2.1%
1930	19,908	1.2%
1940	21,981	10.4%
1950	21,259	−3.3%
1960	20,420	−3.9%
1970	21,476	5.2%
1980	26,498	23.4%
1990	28,138	6.2%
2000	29,846	6.1%
2010	30,097	0.8%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Federal Census reports available 1880-1930.

Church Records

• 1668-1995 Maryland, Church Records, 1668-1995 at FamilySearch — index- How to Use this Collection
• Maryland State Archives Guide to Maryland Religious Records 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. Search for church records at the Archives by denomination, by county or by title.

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places
  

Directories

• 1970-2024 United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index, coverage may vary

Emigration and Immigration

• 1897-1952 Maryland, Baltimore Passenger Lists Index, 1897-1952 at FamilySearch — index & images - How to Use this Collection

Funeral Homes

C & S Fredlock and Hinkle-Fenner Funeral Home in Kitsmiller C & S Fredlock and Hinkle-Fenner Funeral Home in Oakland Newman Funeral Homes, P.A. in Accident Newman Funeral Homes, P.A. in Friendsville Newman Funeral Homes, P.A. in Grantsville Newman Funeral Homes, P.A. in Oakland

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 Garrett County Deed Books (1872-present) have been uploaded to their website: A Digital Image Retrieval System for Land Records in Maryland. (Requires free registration.)

Online Land Indexes and Records

• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Local Histories

• History of Western Maryland. 2 volumes. 1882. By J. Thomas Scharf. Philadelphia : L. H. Everts. Online at: Vols. 1 & 2 - Hathitrust, Vol. 1 - Internet Archive, Vol. 2 - Internet Archive; At various libraries (WorldCat).

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

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

Military Records

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. FS Catalog Collection 973 M2Lp v. 5. Online at: Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Vol. 5, Maryland, Garrett County, p. 149. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.

Civil War

Regiments. Service men in Garrett served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Garrett:

• 1861-1865 Maryland, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
• 1861-1865 Maryland, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index- How to Use this Collection

World War II

• 1940-1945 Maryland, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index & images - How to Use this Collection

Newspapers

• 1800s-Current Maryland, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
• Online Digitized Newspapers at Maryland State Archives. Garrett County newspapers are identified in "Guide to Maryland Newspapers" at Maryland State Archives.

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
• 1635–1743 Maryland Calendar of Wills 1635-1743 at Ancestry — index & images $
• 1635–1777 Maryland Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1777 at Ancestry — index & images $
• 1796–1940 Maryland Probate Estate and Guardianship Files , 1796-1940 at FamilySearch images - How to Use this Collection
• Full-Text Search - Wills and Probate Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index 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.
• 1936-2007 United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Vital Records

Birth

• 1898-Onward Births recorded by the Department of Health at the Maryland State Archives

Marriage

• 1658-1940 Maryland County Marriages, 1658-1940 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
• 1666-1970 Maryland Marriages, 1666-1970 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Garrett County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Maryland Archives and Libraries.

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Masontown West Virginia FamilySearch Center
• Petersburg West Virginia FamilySearch Center
• Meyersdale Public Library - Pennsylvania - an affiliate library.
• Uniontown Public Library - Pennsylvania - an affiliate library.

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Garrett County. For state-wide library facilities, see Maryland Archives and Libraries.

Ruth Enlow Library
Oakland (Main) Library
6 North Second Street
Oakland, MD 21550
Phone: 301-334-3996
Fax: 301-334-4152
Email: genealogy@relib.net
Website

Western Maryland Regional Library
101 Tandy Drive
Hagerstown, MD 21740
Phone: 301-739-3250 ext 553
Email: whilbr@wmrl.info
Website

Museums

Garrett County Historical Museum
107 South Second Street
Oakland, MD 21550
Phone: 301-334-3226
Email: info@garrettcountymuseums.com
Website

Societies

Listed below are societies in Garrett County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Maryland Societies.

Friend Family Association of America
261 Maple St
Friendsville, MD 21531-2131
Phone: 301-746-4690
Email:president@friendfamilyassociation.com
Website

Garrett County, Maryland Genealogy Group
Facebook

Websites

• FamilyHart's Garrett County, Maryland. Online map, cemetery, marriage, military, land, historical, and biographical records for Garrett County, Maryland.
• "Garrett Co." in Genealogical Sources in Periodicals at The Maryland State Archives.
• The USGenWeb Archives Project, Garrett County.
• MDGenWeb, Garrett County.
• FamilyHart Online Database with many Garrett County families listed.
• Garrett County Genealogy Facebook Group
• FamilySearch Catalog - 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

Research Guides

• Russell, Donna Valley. Allegany and Garrett Counties, Maryland, Genealogical Research Guide. New Market, Md.: Catoctin Press, 1996.

This table contains the dates the local or state government began recording in the county or county equivalent. Use substitute records for earlier dates. If you believe there is an error, email us at wikisupport@familysearch.org.

County boundary maps are currently unavailable. Download information instead.

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

Users should verify which locations and dates are included in this collection.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.

“Current” indicates records are available as recently as privacy laws allow. This date can change from year to year. To determine the exact dates available, contact the respective organization/repository.

FamilySearch affiliate libraries may have access to center-only databases, but do not always have all services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.