Maryland Vital Records

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U.S. Vital Records

Maryland

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. United States Vital Records has additional research guidance on researching and using vital records. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Maryland Vital Records State Department of Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred.

Vital Records Reference Dates Maryland's civil records start the following years: Birth County Marriages Death Earliest 1640 1640 1640 Statewide Registration 1898 1777 1898

Maryland Birth, Marriage and Death Records Online

Births

• 1639-1995 Maryland Births and Christenings, 1639-1995 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1662-1911: Maryland Births and Christenings Index at Ancestry; index only ($)
• 1665-1995 Maryland, Births and Baptisms, 1665-1995 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1875-1922 Maryland Births, 1875-1922 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
• 1898-1909 Birth Index, 1898-1909, MSA SM199at Maryland State Archives - index
• 1898-1910 Birth Records, 1898-1910, MSA S1963 at Maryland State Archives - records
• 1898-1922 Maryland Birth Certificates and Baltimore Maryland Birth Certificates 1875-1922 at Internet Archive (Reclaim The Records) - certificate images (100-year legal restriction on publicly available certificates)
• 1910-1913 Birth Records, 1910-1913, MSA S1988 at Maryland State Archives - records
• 1910-1950 Birth Index, 1910-1950, MSA SM27 at Maryland State Archives - index & soundex
• 1914-1922 Birth Records, 1914-1922, MSA SM35 at Maryland State Archives - records

Marriages

• pre 1699 American Marriages, pre 1699 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1634-1777 Maryland Compiled Marriage Index, 1634-1777 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1655-1850 Maryland Compiled Marriages, 1655-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1658-1940 Maryland County Marriages, 1658-1940 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• 1666-1970 Maryland Marriages, 1666-1970 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
• 1667-1899 Maryland Compiled Marriages, 1667-1899 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1761-1947 United States Marriages – Maryland, 1761-1947 ($) index, some images
• 1778-1800 Maryland Marriages, 1778-1800 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1801-1820 Maryland Marriages, 1801-1820 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1911-Onward Maryland Marriages at MyHeritage; index & images ($)
• 1914-1930 Marriage Index, Male, 1914-1930, MSA S1498 at Maryland State Archives - index, alpha and soundex mixed
• 1914-2013 Maryland Marriage Records and Baltimore Maryland Marriage Certificates 1914-1940 (statewide includes thereafter) at Internet Archive (Reclaim The Records) - certificate images
• 1931-1940 Marriage Certificates, 1931-1940, Soundex Index, MSA S1951 at Maryland State Archives - index
• 1951-1968 Statewide Female Index, 1951-1968, MSA SM224 at Maryland State Archives - index
• 1951-1968 Statewide Male Index, 1951-1968, MSA SM223 at Maryland State Archives - index
• 1951-1968 Marriage Index, Female, 1951-1968, MSA CM73 at Maryland State Archives - index
• 1951-1977 Statewide Index, 1951-1977, MSA S1851 at Maryland State Archives - index
• 1969-1972 Statewide Female Index, 1969-1972, MSA SM226 at Maryland State Archives - index
• 1969-1972 Statewide Male Index, 1969-1972, MSA SM225 at Maryland State Archives - index
• 1978-1989 Statewide Index, 1978-1989 at Maryland State Archives - index
• 1990-2011 Statewide Index, 1990-2011, MSA SE144 at Maryland State Archives - index
  

Deaths

• 1697-1800 Web: Maryland State Archives, Index to Deaths and Burials, 1697-1800 at Ancestry - index ($); incomplete coverage
• 1875-Onward Maryland Deaths at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
• 1877-1992 Maryland Deaths and Burials, 1877-1992 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1898-2014 Death Index, 1898-1903, 1969-2014, and Baltimore City 1874-2014 (with gaps) at Baltimore County Genealogical Society - incomplete; index
• 1898-2012 Death Records at Maryland State Archives - multiple indexes and images (100-year policy restriction on online certificates)
• 1898-2012 Maryland Death Certificates and Baltimore Maryland Death Certificates 1875-1972 (statewide includes thereafter) at Internet Archive (Reclaim The Records) - certificate images

Order Certificates

• Order Maryland Certificates - $.

Birth Records

Some births were recorded in colonial Maryland by the Maryland General Assembly but not many survived or where ever recorded (no state records from 1800 until 1865). Birth registration was inconsistant but started again in 1865. In 1875, Baltimore began recording births.

In 1898, the General Assembly passed a law that initiated the registration of births in the 23 counties (Chapter 312, Acts of 1898). At first, compliance with the law on the local level was incomplete. As the State Board of Health gradually increased its control over the local boards, registration became more reliable. Researchers should keep in mind, however, that as late as 1914 the Board of Health was still working to increase compliance with the law, and some births went unrecorded.

The 1898 law dictated that "the record of a birth shall state the date and place of its occurrence, name in full, sex and color, and the number of the child, whether living or still born, and the names, color, occupation, birth place and residence of parents, name and address of the physician, midwife or attendant at the birth".

The Maryland State Archives also has indexing from 1875 through 1950. The early index (1875-1919) is arranged alphabetically by the surname of the child (or by the parents' surname if the child's name is not given). The index provides the child's name (if given), the names of the parents, the date of birth, and the county. The later index (1920-1950) is in Soundex order by the surname of the child; within the Soundex classification it is alphabetical by the father's first name. When no father's name is given, the card is filed at the beginning of the Soundex class. Children of unmarried couples are listed twice, under the names of both parents. This later index provides the names of the child and the parents, the date and county of birth, and the child's race and birth order. Although these indexes are open to the public, please note that the birth certificates themselves are restricted for 100 years after the date of birth.

For detailed information about availability, content, and history about birth records in Maryland click on this link:

Maryland Vital Records: Birth

Marriage Records

Records of marriages were generally the first vital records kept consistently in Maryland by the Maryland General Assembly. Early colonial marriage records includes banns and marriage registers. By 1777, marriage licenses were required but it wasn't until 1865 that the county court recorded all marriages in Maryland.

For more information about availability, content, and history about marriage records in Maryland, click on this link:

Maryland Vital Records: Marriages

Death Records

The earliest death records in Maryland was the Maryland General Assembly requiring the registration of burials. This lasted until 1695. The Maryland General Assembly assigned responsibility to the Circuit Courts in 1865 and the County Courts in 1898 - but compliance was spotty. It wasn't until 1914 that all deaths in Maryland were recorded.

For more information about availability, content and history about death records in Maryland, click on this link:

Maryland Vital Records: Death

Cause of Death

• Causes of Death - use this resource when trying to interpret a disease or medical condition listed on a death record or certificate

More Online Resources

Maryland Death Records & Indexes (deathindexes.com)

Divorce Records

Before the Revolutionary War, no divorces were granted in Maryland. Between the close of the Revolution and 1842, the state legislature granted divorces. Myer abstracted these records:

• Myer, Mary Keysor. Divorces and Names Changed in Maryland by Act of the Legislature 1634-1854. Worldcat ; FS Catalog Collection.

For divorces after 1854, and if the county and date of the divorce are known, contact the clerk of the circuit court in the county in which the divorce was granted. Baltimore records are kept by the [https://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/departments/circuit/clerk/marriage-divorce Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas of Baltimore City.... Many records from Baltimore City and many metropolitan counties have been transferred to the Maryland State Archives.

For divorces granted before 1992, there is no statewide index. For a research fee, the Maryland State Archives will search its resources for a 5-year period in the county where the divorce is believed to have occurred and the counties adjoining it. For divorces after 1992, the Division of Vital Records can verify the county the date of the divorce, but cannot issue a certified copy of the decree.

For more detailed information about availability, content, and history, see Maryland Divorce Records.

Additional Helps

Tips

• Information listed on vital records is given by an informant. Learn the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) of the record. The closer the relationship of the informant to the Subject(s) and whether or not the informant was present at the time of the event can help determine the accuracy of the information found on the records.
• If you are unable to locate vital records recorded by govenments, search for church records of chiristening, marriage, death or burial. A family Bible may have been used to record births, marriages and deaths.
• Records for African American may be recorded in separate files with separate indexes.
• Privacy laws may restrict your access to some vital records. Copies of some vital records recorded in the last 100 years may be uanavailable to anyone except a direct relative.
• Search for Vital Records in the FamilySearch Catalog by using a Place Search and then choosing Vital Records. Search for Maryland to locate records filed by the State and then search the name of the county to locate records kept by that county.
  

Research Guides

Staff at the Maryland State Archives prepared the following online guides:

• Adoption Records
• Birth Records
• Marriage Records
• Divorce Records
• Death Certificates/Records

In addition, the Maryland State Archives hosts an online Beginning Genealogy Workshop.

Lost and Missing Records

Counties with fragmented records:

Allegany (1893), Anne Arundel (1704), Calvert (1882), Carroll, Cecil, Dorchester (1852), Frederick, Harford (1858), Kent (1720), St. Mary's (1831), Somerset (1831), Talbot, Washington (1871)

Substitute Records

• Maryland Church Records: Depending on the denomination, church records may contain information about birth, marriage and death.

• Maryland Cemetery Records: Cemetery records are a rich source of birth and death information. These records may also reveal family relationships.

• Maryland Census: Census records are a valuable source for birth and marriage information. You may also determine approximate time of death when the individual disappear from the census. This is a good place to begin a search.

• Maryland Newspapers: Besides obituaries, local newspapers may contain birth and marriage announcements and death notices. Also check newspaper social columns for additional information.

• Obituaries: Obituaries found in newspapers can list the age of the deceased, birth date and place, death date and place, and names of living relatives and their residences.

• Maryland Periodicals: Local genealogical and historical societies often publish periodicals which may contain abstracted early birth, marriage and death information.

• Maryland Military Records: Military pension records can give birth, marriage and death information, In addtion, soldiers' homes records can included this same information.

• Maryland Probate Records: If no death record exists, probate records may be helpful in estimating when an individual has died. Probate records in the 20th Century often contain the exact death date.

• Maryland History: Local histories, family histories and biographies can all be sources of birth, marriage and death information. Often this information is found in county-level records or in surname searches of the FamilySearch Catalog.

More Online Links

• MDGenWeb

FamilySearch Library Maryland Vital Records Collections

This is a collection of FamilySearch Library records which are abstracted, indexed and titled the Maryland Vital Records Index. For over 30 years, volunteer indexers extracted this information from microfilm copies of the original records. In 1998, a few of the entries were published on 7 CDs by the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the "North America Vital Records Index." This index is an index of the births, marriages, and deaths throughout Kentucky. The index is not necessarily complete for any particular place or region.

These records are available online for free at FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.

References

[[Category:Adoptio...]

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