Welcome to the Maryland - Reference Books

The History of Barnesville and Sellman, Maryland - Dona Lou Cuttler & Ida Lu Brown. This book tracks the history of Barnesville and Sellman, in Montgomery County, Maryland. The authors include residences and buildings of the towns, with pictures and descriptions of each. More than 100 historic pictures, some as old as 1862, highlight the book. Also included are maps of both Barnesville and Sellman, a bibliography and a fullname index. 1999, 151 pp., illus., maps, bibl., fullname index, paper, $23.50 #C878

* Montgomery County, Maryland, 1870 Census - William N. Hurley, Jr. This book is a compilation of census records of Montgomery County, Maryland, in the year 1870. Information for Montgomery County's free inhabitants includes dwelling number; family member names, ages, sex, color, occupation and place of birth; values of real estate and personal property; and comments. The 1870 census is perhaps the most important for African American researchers, as it is the first census produced after the War Between the States and emancipation. A fullname index is included with cross-references for spelling variations. 1999, 556 pp., 8.5x11, fullname index, cloth, $80.00 #H860

Design Makes a Difference: Shipbuilding in Baltimore, 1795-1835 - Toni Ahrens. Baltimore and ships go together like a mortise and tenon. The time period after the Revolutionary War and before the Civil War established the city of Baltimore as a premier shipbuilder. The efficiency of these great ships affected not only the economy of Maryland, but that of the entire country. It seemed the fate of our nation rested in the hands of a few master carpenters and their crews. Perhaps it was only the skill and seafaring instinct of these humble men that grew America into the world power it is today. This aspect of America's birth and economic explosion is little explored but worthy of serious pontification. This is likely the most detailed analysis you will find about the peak of Baltimore's shipbuilding industry and the process of urban expansion. Two maps, circa 1799 and 1828, show the wharves of Fells Point and how much growth took place in the thirty-year period between. Tables, charts and several ship illustrations summarize key information from the text. The three large appendices include statistics on commercial vessels built in Baltimore and shipbuilder production, and facsimiles of original carpenter's certificates. 1998, c.198 pp., illus., maps, append., fullname index, paper, $20.00 #ZA361

Prince George's County, Maryland, Marriages and Deaths in Nineteenth Century Newspapers - Compiled by Shirley V. Baltz and George E. Baltz. This compilation, with little editing, quotes the entire article so there is no need to search for the originals or microfilm copies. Items are arranged alphabetically by the principal subject's name. The year in which the event occured is included, and, usually, the day and month are also given. Many of the news items give the district in which the events occurred; supplying clues to marriages, deaths, and burials of Prince Georgians in Washington D. C., Baltimore, or other places in Maryland. Often the names of relatives and survivors of the subject are given.

Volume II: K through Z - 1995, 291 pp., paper, $28.00 #ZB048

The History of Hyattstown, Maryland - Dona Lou Cuttler. The land that became Hyattstown began as picturesque, rolling hills with a creek and natural resources. In the late 18th century, Jesse Hyatt purchased 207 acres of land from John Bordley (son of the original property owner), and began his plans to create a town on ground not suited to farming. The plan for the town was recorded on 9 March 1798 in the Montgomery County Courthouse, complete with lot numbers and street names. The town was officially incorporated in 1809 as Hyatt's Town. In this work, the town's early history is covered in detail and includes such things as the beginnings of churches, schools, businesses, and town government. Contributions to the Civil War are recounted as well as the improvements made to the town after the war. Houses, businesses, and other buildings along the Great Road (Main Street) are described, accompanied by more than 50 maps and illustrations. Rosters list postmasters, postal patrons, teachers, and ministers. People and places are indexed. The author is currently a public school teacher in South Carolina but has lived in Maryland for 16 years, and has written several local histories and genealogies. 1998, 199 pp., illus., maps, bibl., fullname plus place-name index, $15.00 #ZCUTT

Deaths and Burials in St. Mary's County, Maryland - Leona Cryer. This book lists burials in thirty-six cemeteries in St. Mary's County, Maryland. Also included are burials for the past five years in certain cemeteries in neighboring Charles and Prince George's counties (Trinity Memorial Gardens, Cedar Hill Cemetery, Fort Lincoln Cemetery, Washington National Cemetery, and St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery), and those for the past five years in area veterans' cemeteries. The listings are arranged alphabetically by cemetery, and span more than 200 years. Full names and all available birth, death, and marriage dates are included, as well as any additional details provided by the author's research. Listings also identify family relationships whenever possible. 1995, c450 pp., index, paper, $37.00 #ZC691

Baltimore County, Maryland, Deed Records - John Davis. The deed records abstracted here include lands that lie within present-day Baltimore City, Cecil and Harford counties, and parts of Carroll, Anne Arundel, Howard and Kent counties. The entries are more or less chronological, variations being due to the fact that transactions were often recorded in the books at some later date. A typical entry includes the date of transaction, names of grantors and grantees and their places of residence, acres of land involved and the names signed on the document. Other information is included when available, such as sales price, location of land, neighbors, chain of deed and landmarks.

Volume One, 1659-1737 - 1996, 463 pp., index, paper, $35.50 #ZD038

Volume Two, 1727-1757 - 1996, 461 pp., index, paper, $35.50 #ZD039

Volume Three, 1755-1767 - 1996, 408 pp., index, paper, $32.00 #ZD040

Volume Four: 1767-1775 - 1997, 367 pp., index, paper, $35.50 #ZD041

Speaking of Our Past: a Narrative History of Owings Mills, Maryland - Marie Forbes. An oral history of Owings Mills. Part I covers the early history in the form of imaginary interviews with early residents. Part II contains verbatim extracts from actual interviews with elderly residents taped between 1980 and 1988. 1988, 390 pp., photos, paper, $23.00 #ZF305

Montgomery County, Maryland, 1850 Census - William N. Hurley, Jr. This book is a compilation of census records of Montgomery County, Maryland, in the year 1850, covering the five election districts then existing: Cracklin, Clarksburg, Medley, Rockville and Berry. The compilation is presented in the same form as the original census, and includes all information found there, with certain exceptions. All information relative to the free inhabitants of the county is included, as well as a listing of the slave population. Within each district, the book is divided into four sections. Section One contains the names of the free inhabitants within the district, with age, race, occupation, value of real estate and personal property, and level of education given for each. Section Two contains a tabulation of numbers of slaves held. Sections Three and Four list data on only the three districts of Cracklin, Clarksburg and Berry. Section Three contains names of persons who died during the preceding year, plus age and cause of death. Section Four lists the productions of agriculture during the preceding year. The book closes with general statistics of selected Maryland counties including Frederick, Prince George�s, Montgomery and Washington. A fullname index is also included. 1998, 359 pp., 8.5x11, fullname index, cloth, $53.00 #ZH862

History of Cecil County, Maryland, and the Early Settlements Around the Head of Chesapeake Bay and on the Delaware River, with Sketches of Some of the Old Families of Cecil County - George Johnston. A rare and excellent chronicle of this historically important area. The saga begins with Capt. John Smith's exploration of this area and his account of the Susquehanna Indians. Other Indian tribes are also described. William Clayborne established his trading post on Kent Island as early as 1627. As the Virginia Company and the Calverts (the Lords Baltimore) accumulated property at a furious pace, immigrants from other countries attempted to stake their claims to a share of the New World. Subsequent to exploration by Henry Hudson and Captain Mey, the Swedes established a colony at Wilmington. Later came Peter Stuyvesant and the Dutch, followed by various religious groups: the Jesuits, Friends and Episcopalians. As immigration continued, roads, hotels and towns grew up to serve the needs of the settlers, and eventually the Mason-Dixon line was drawn between Maryland and Pennsylvania. Much of this book is devoted to the role of Cecil Countians in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Virtually no stone is left uncovered in this county history, from the development of industry, transportation and business, to the establishment of the Presbyterian and Methodist churches. Genealogists will find these chapters bursting with names of Cecil County pioneers. The final chapter includes sketches of these families: Churchman, Defoe, Evans, Gilpin, Hall, Hartshorne, Hyland, Leslie, Mauldin, Mitchell, Rudulph, Rumsey. A new fullname and subject index has been added to the original edition. (1881) reprint, 569 pp., new fullname plus subject index, paper, $39.50 #ZJ539

The British Invasion of Maryland, 1812-1815 - William M. Marine. This book presents the history of the British invasion of Maryland during the War of 1812. The volume includes the events leading up to the declaration of war against Great Britain, plus chapters about the privateersmen, the Chesapeake expedition, Blarney's flotilla, and Caulk's Field. Many details of the conflicts are included such as the battles at Frenchtown, Havre de Grace, Bladensburg, Washington, North Point and Baltimore. Also included is an appendix giving the Maryland roster of 11, 000 soldier names. They are listed in alphabetical order by last names and include rank and the company they served. In the appendix is also a list of names of those belonging to the Society of the War of 1812 in Maryland and the National Society United States Daughters of War of 1812, State of Maryland, at the time of the book's original publication. Both of these are arranged in alphabetical order and list who the member is descended from. Includes a pullout map of the Chesapeake campaign in 1814. (1913) reprint, 519 pp., map, original full name plus subject index, paper, $37.00 #ZM063

Maryland as a Proprietary Province - Newton D. Mereness. The deep waters of the Chesapeake Bay and the fertile tobacco-growing lands of Maryland became a top priority for colonization in the early 1600s, when troubles with Spain gave a new urgency to England's need to establish permanent settlements in the New World. Read here about the English monarchy, the Maryland Charter, the lord proprietor, development of the proprietary government, the petition of the Virginians against the Maryland Charter, boundary disputes, the Protestant Revolution of 1689, and industrial, social and political development. Part I comprises five chapters. Chapter I, Land and the Land Office, explains the feudal features of the land system including the granting of land, freeholds, manors, jurisdiction and administration, and more. Chapter II, Territorial Revenue, discusses grounds for opposition to territorial revenue, complaints about the prices asked for vacant lands, quit-rents, ferry licenses, port duties, collection and its effect upon the government. Chapter III, The Activity of the Assembly in Territorial Affairs, examines the "Mediaeval Fief vs. the Maryland Assembly" and problems between the people and the lord proprietor. Chapter IV, The Industrial Development, deals mostly with the tobacco industry and discusses attempts to diversify into other areas of economic development. Chapter V, The Social Development, discusses political activity in the 17th and 18th centuries and the "divergence of extremes between social classes," including discussion of slaves, servants, paupers, insolvent debtors, the failure to educate children of the middle class, the education of "favored sons" in schools outside of the province, the affluence of the upper social extreme, and the concentration of wealth and power. Part II, Government, contains eight chapters and examines every aspect of the development of government from the province to the modern state. Important influences here were finance, religion (including the influence of the Jesuit Priests, the Quakers, the Catholics and the Church of England), local government, the administration of justice, the breakdown of relations with the home government, and the participation of our Maryland forefathers in events of national importance such as the Stamp Act. An everyname index aids researchers. (1901) reprint, 530 pp., index, paper, $36.50 #ZM161

Abstracts of Marriages and Deaths and Other Articles of Interest In the Newspapers of Frederick and Montgomery Counties, Maryland, 1831-1840 - L. Tilden Moore. This comprehensive new collection of newspaper articles from Frederick and Montgomery Counties, Maryland, covers marriages and deaths in addition to numerous reports of the daily experiences of the people who lived there, providing insight into life in the early 1800s. Some of the other subjects reported in these newspapers include: accidents, fires, court business, elections, official appointments, and crimes and punishments. At times, the newspapers of this era read more like the society pages than a modern journalistic medium, reporting notable visitors, church activities, society meetings, remarkable weather, and incidences of extraordinary produce or livestock. Although the majority of the information found in these articles deals specifically with this section of Maryland, some reports on newsworthy people and events, taken from newspapers outside the area, are cited. The articles from each newspaper are arranged by the year of publication, and each article is individually numbered for easy reference. The data is drawn from eight different local newspapers which went through numerous permutations of names over the decade covered. A subject and name index is included. (1991) reprint, 431 pp. , original fullname plus subject index, paper, $32.00 #ZM555

Side-Lights on Maryland History - Hester Dorsey Richardson. This author served as President of the Public Records Commission of Maryland 1904-6; and was active in several other historical organizations. She was therefore well qualified to select what she called "gleanings from the manuscript records of the State and the original Calvert papers, many of which were unknown or not easily accessible to the earlier students of Maryland history." "The articles now collected under the same title as when published serially in the Baltimore Sunday Sun from May 17, 1903, to December 25, 1904, were written principally from the data collected during many years devoted to the daily study of the unindexed manuscript records of the State, as a purely antiquarian fad, without any thought of preparing the information gleaned for publication. "Finding in this reading of the records at first hand, ...the author's researches have taught her that Maryland, the Palatinate of the Lords Baltimore, in which they possessed royal rights and privileges, was not one of 'Their Majesties' Plantations' to which convicts were transported by royal mandate... Instead of convicts there were ladies of high degree, and courtiers from the English capital; instead of a penal colony, she found that the Lords Baltimore had a little kingdom 'beyond seas' to which the 'Conditions of Plantations,' offered by the Proprietary, attracted many land-hungry young Englishmen of good blood and adventurous spirit-the spirit of the pioneer..." Volume 2 contains exhaustive records of various early families of Maryland, thoroughly indexed, and including many coats of arms. Cited in the Harvard Guide to American History, this history contains many lesser known vignettes, with lists of colonial militia and family profiles. Each volume contains an everyname index and a general index. Illustrations include portraits, places and objects of historical significance, and autographs. (1897) reprint, 958 pp., 2 vols., illus., indices, paper, $62.00 #ZR318

The Chronicles of Baltimore: Being a Complete History of "Baltimore Town" & Baltimore City from the Earliest Period to the Present Time - Col. J. Thomas Scharf. The compiler sought to record a very complete history of Baltimore, and succeeded admirably. This work is drawn from a very extensive and impressive collection of sources. In his effort to be comprehensive the author even went so far as to read all the newspapers which had ever been published in Baltimore in search of little-known facts and events. The result is a work filled with interesting tidbits, as well as the major sweep of the city's history, and a great deal of information on people associated with its development. The book begins with the explorations of Capt. John Smith and continues down through 1873. Col. Scharf was born in Baltimore in 1843, and became a prominent lawyer and historian. This work is but one of many by him which are cited in the Harvard Guide to American History. Copies of the original edition of this important local history are very difficult to find. (1874) reprint, 2 vols., 756 pp., index, paper, $49.50 #ZS130

History of Talbot County, Maryland - Oswald Tilghman. This important work of Maryland history will be welcomed by all who wish to know of its historical beginnings, political contests, religious conflicts, progress in education, industrial development, social life, and finally of the notable citizens who established its greatness. Volume I contains fifty biographical sketches of notable citizens. Volume II relates the history of Talbot County from its early settlement down to the beginning of the Civil War, with particular stress on the Colonial, Revolutionary, and War of 1812 periods. (1915) reprint, 1204 pp., 2 vols., illus., index (Volume I only), paper $73.50 #ZT342

Maryland and Delaware Genealogies and Family Histories - Donald Odell Virdin. This bibliography of genealogies and family histories contains over 800 titles about Maryland families and over 200 titles about Delaware families. In addition to Maryland and/or Delaware, many of these families had ties to other states as well. The book is divided into two sections, Maryland and Delaware. Within each section, books are listed alphabetically by surname; allied family names which are included in the titles can be found in the cross-reference index. Each section also contains names and addresses of local genealogical and historical societies from both states, more than 100 in total. (1993) reprint, 114 pp., 8.5x11, index, paper, $25.50 #ZV368

The Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland. A Genealogical and Biographical Review from Wills, Deeds and Church Records - J. D. Warfield. The first 40 pages present a highly detailed history of the region, commencing with the people and events in colonial Virginia that led to the settlement of Maryland under Lord Baltimore. The book consists mainly of the biographical section, which is brimming with genealogical information, gathered mostly from probated wills. This information includes the names of the heirs and often describes tracts of land bequeathed by the deceased. The book also gives biographical information about several governors, historical accounts of the Legislature of 1651, and descriptions of many interesting documents. (1905) reprint, 597 pp., illus., index, paper, $41.00 #ZW068

Abstracts from the Port Tobacco Times and Charles County Advertiser - Roberta J. Wearmouth. Life in Charles County was marked by currents of change that would lead to two major events before 1900: completion of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad in late 1872 led to the founding of La Plata, and the continuing effort to move the county seat from its two-century-old site on Port Tobacco Creek to La Plata's more promising location on the Pope's Creek Branch of the railroad. The reader will find newspaper items of historical and genealogical interest, such as local events, marriages, deaths, court cases, and real estate listings.

Vol. 2, 1855-1869. 1991, 216 pp., index, paper $22.00 #ZW106

Abstracts from the Port Tobacco Times and Charles County Advertiser, Volume 5: 1844 - 1898 - Roberta J. Wearmouth. Volume five describes the decline of old Port Tobacco, which happened so quickly that in 1909 the Baltimore Sun newspaper described it as a ghost town. After about two decades of political and social strife marked by great bitterness, the promoters of LaPlata as the new county seat brought victory to their cause. The Charles County courthouse in Port Tobacco was destroyed in a sensational fire in August 1892. All records stored in the main block of the courthouse, such as County Commissioner�s minutes, School Board records and the Law Library, were reduced to ash. Fortunately, many of the records were duplicated in the newspapers, and are preserved in these abstracts. Here you will find marriages, births, deaths, court records, real estate transactions, election results, names in the news, business notices and important local events. Includes a fullname index. 1998, c341 pp., fullname index, paper, $29.50 #ZW104