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Maryland County Court, Probate, Tax and Other Miscellaneous Records
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See Also Researching Court Records, Researching Probate Records, Research In Immigration & Naturalization Records and 
Researching Tax Records
On-Site County Court Records Search - Find nearly any Maryland court record online! Many court records are not digitized yet, which signifies the only way to obtain these records is by visiting the actual Pennsylvania courthouses. Someone from our network of court-runners will go retrieve the records and then send you the outcomes. Average response time is 38 hours. Maryland Civil Records include Lawsuits, Bankruptcies, Liens and judgments, Marriage/divorce judicial proceeding, Child custody, Civil rights violations ands Other. Maryland Criminal Records include Violent offenses, Theft and robbery, DUI/DWI's, Drugs and alcohol, Sexual crimes, Some traffic violations, Behavioral.
Definitions of Common Court Terms
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Maryland Court Records
See Also Research In State Court Records
In many cases, efforts to recover the early proprietary records of Maryland, which were privately kept by the Calvert family, have been successful although some material has disappeared. The earliest surviving proprietary and royal papers for the period 1637 to 1785 were published in Calendar of Maryland State Papers No. 1 The Black Books (1943; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967). At the Maryland State Archives are various records of and indexes to the provincial and general court (1658-1805) and the chancery (equity) court (1668-1851). An index to depositions from a variety of sources, 1668-1789, was published in the Maryland Historical Magazine 23 (1928): 101-54, 197-242, 293-343. Other early court and related records have been published and indexed, such as provincial and county records from 1637 to the 1780s in volumes of The Archives of Maryland.
Many twentieth century court records are still in the counties, with earlier records or copies in the state archives. In the orphans' court, the clerk of which is the register of wills, are wills and other estate records. Taxes and road surveys are in the commissioner's office. It should be noted, however, that much more material has been transferred from the counties to the state archives since the publication of the work, and updated information should be sought in Annapolis.
Before 1777 estates were recorded in the Prerogative Court, thus the records are "complete" despite courthouse fires and other losses at the county level. These include wills, inventories, accounts, balances of final distribution, and testamentary proceedings, all indexed at the state archives.
- Submit a website for Maryland Court Records
- Order County Court, Civil or Criminal Records
- Maryland Court Books at Amazon.com
- Research In State Court Records
- Colonial Courts and Their Records
- State Courts and Their Records
- Federal Courts and Their Records
- Court and Legal Records
- Contents of Court Records
- Published Court Records
- Court, Land, Wills & Financial - Court records are an often overlooked, yet very valuable tool for finding information to assist you in your research. Land records, such as deeds, allow you to tie an ancestor to a specific place at a point in time. Other court records like those dealing with finances and estates often list related family members or give interesting details like the total value of property owned by your ancestors to add interest to your family history.
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- Search County Criminal Records with a Criminal Background Check
- Search for Registered Sex Offenders in your local Area
Maryland Probate Records
See Also Research In State Probate Records
After 1777 probates were recorded in the county orphans' court. Indexes to wills kept in courthouses have been published for the counties of Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Charles, Garrett, Harford, Howard, Kent, Prince Georges, St. Marys, Somerset, and Washington. Some abstracts are found in journals, such as those for Frederick County in Western Maryland Genealogy, as are indexes, such as that for Carroll County in the Carrolltonian (1984). Other county estate records that have been published include administrations, inventories, guardianship bonds, and distributions.
While some early original will books and other record volumes of estate records have been retained in the counties, most of these have been transferred to the state archives and are also available there on microfilm. Films of early records are found in a few of the counties.
- Submit a website for Maryland Probate Records
- Maryland Calendar of Wills: This database contains wills of Maryland residents from 1635-1685, yet there are many wills to be found even into the eighteenth century.
- Maryland Probate Books at Amazon.com
Maryland Immigration & Naturalization Records
See Also Research In State Immigration & Naturalization Records
Immigration: Ships' passenger arrival lists for the Port of Baltimore, 1891-1948 (earlier lists are in Washington, D.C.) and indexes to such lists for 1820-1952 are at the National Archives Mid-Atlantic Region and the Maryland Historical Society. The index, 1820-1909, is also available at the Baltimore City Archives.
Naturalization: Naturalizations granted in U.S. district and circuit courts in Maryland (Baltimore) are available on microfilm at the National Archives-Mid-Atlantic Region in Philadelphia, with an index for the years 1797-1951. Some early naturalization petitions were destroyed by fire. The index is also available at the Baltimore City Archives and Maryland Historical Society. The Maryland State Archives has index/abstract cards for these courts for the period 1797-1906, as well as indexes for 1925-51 and for the naturalization of soldiers, 1918-23. Other naturalization records are available at the Maryland State Archives and in the county courthouses. Citizenship was granted in the provincial period, 1634-1776, by the court, legislature, or the governor and council, and these records are indexed at the Maryland State Archives. The Maryland State Archives also has an index to naturalizations, 1781-1906, granted by the General Courts of the Eastern and Western Shores and in certain county courts. There are separate indexes for naturalizations in Baltimore City (1793-1933) and Baltimore County (1872-1902). Records for some counties have been published, such as those for Frederick County, 1785-1850.
- Submit a website for Maryland Immigration Records
- Naturalization Petitions of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, 1906-1930
- Indexes to Naturalization Petitions to the U.S. Circuit and District Courts for Maryland, 1797-1951
- Immigration & Emigration - As our ancestors moved from one country to another, details about their lives were recorded on passenger lists and government documents. Immigration and emigration records can help you learn where your ancestors originally came from, where they went, when they left, who they traveled with, and more.
Maryland Tax Records
See Also Researching in Tax Records
Available at the Maryland State Archives with index is a Maryland tax assessment of 1783, which is “more complete” than the 1776 or 1778 “censuses”. Robert W. Barnes and Bettie Stirling Carothers abstracted the 1783 tax list of Baltimore County, Maryland
The earliest tax records are to be found among the proprietary papers, dating from the 1630s. Some early tax records have been published, such as Raymond B. Clark, Jr., and Sara Seth Clark, comps., Baltimore County, Maryland, tax list, 1699-1706
