Research Guides: Primary Sources: Maryland & Baltimore History

Baltimore & Maryland History

Resources for the history of Baltimore and Maryland are found throughout the Library's collections, as well as online.The Special Collections department of the Library maintains the Arnold Collection of works on Maryland history, along with archival holdings. Additional local history resources are listed on the Local History Resources Guide.

Titles listed are representative, not comprehensive lists of what is available.

Research Collections

Baltimore City Archives
Coverage: Index Only
Website and users' guide to using the Baltimore city archives for research.
Maps of Historic Districts in Baltimore City
Maps of historic districts in Baltimore, with detailed descriptions of the architecture and and significance of the area.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map: Baltimore 1890
Digitized Sanborn map: Baltimore, Baltimore County from the Library of Congress.
Baltimore City, Coleman Directories [African-American]
Described as the, "THE FIRST COLORED Professional, Clerical and Business DIRECTORY OF BALTIMORE CITY " Produced annually, starting in 1913-14 thru 1946.
Digital Sources for Local History Research [Baltimore]
This is a sortable and searchable list of digital collections and resources related to Baltimore neighborhood history and architecture.
Baltimore Research Resources
From the Eisenhower Library at Johns Hopkins University
University of Baltimore Oral History Collections
Collections at UB include: Baltimore Neighborhood Heritage Project; Baltimore '68; Baltimore Voices Company; East Baltimore Oral History; Jo An Robinson/Gertrude Williams collection; Negro League Oral History; People's Community Health Center Oral History; Penn-North Oral History; Reservoir Hill Oral History; Stone Hill in Hampden.
Baltimore 68: Riots and Rebirth (University of Baltimore)
The University of Baltimore has established a Web presence for the work presented during the conference "Baltimore '68". The site includes over sixty oral histories, digitized newspaper clippings, local government documents, news footage, and numerous photo galleries along with a chronology of events and commentary that provides context for the primary source material.
Local History Resource Wiki
A collection of links relating to regional Maryland history with an emphasis on Baltimore. Includes contact and collection information for libraries, museums, historical societies as well as locations of historical newspapers, oral histories, digital images and illustrations, and online documentary projects.
Afro Newspaper Morgue Collections
Coverage: Index Only
The Afro Newspaper Morgue Collections include newspapers stories, materials related to the story,including photographs, related article clippings and ephemera arranged by subject matter.

Maryland State Archives
The Maryland State Archives is the historical agency for Maryland and serves as the central depository for government records of permanent value. Records date from the founding of the colony in 1634 to the 1990s. Open to the public. Located in Annapolis.
Maryland Historical Society
Founded in 1844, the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS) is the state’s oldest continuously operating cultural institution. With over 350,000 objects and seven million books and documents, this institution now serves upward of 100,000 people through its museum, library, press, and educational programs.
Digital Maryland
Digital Maryland (previously Maryland Digital Cultural Heritage or MDCH), is headquartered at the Enoch Pratt Free Library/State Library Resource Center in Baltimore. The mission is to facilitate the digitization and digital exhibition of the historical and cultural documents, images, audio and video held by Maryland institutions.
Marmia: Mid-Atlantic Regional Moving Image Archive
MARMIA focuses on collecting records of marginalized individuals and communities within the Mid-Atlantic, as well as marginalized audiovisual technologies and genres. Content hosted by Mid-Atlantic Media.
Maryland History by the Object
Archaeological artifacts provide a unique window into the past. This blog will highlight some of the seven million archaeological objects curated at the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps: Maryland
Fire insurance maps available from the Library of Congress.
Maryland State Sheet Maps & State Map Series
This collection includes downloadable JPEG and TIFF or JP2000 images of selected, printed maps found in the Government Publications and Map collections at Johns Hopkins University.
Comprehensive Guide to the Manuscript Collections at the Maryland Historical Society
Coverage: Index Only
This guide represents a combination of two previously published works: Avril J. M. Pedley, comp., The Manuscript Collections of the Maryland Historical Society (Baltimore, 1968) and Richard J. Cox and Larry E. Sullivan, eds., Guide to the Research Collections of the Maryland Historical Society (Baltimore, 1981).

Additional local history resources are listed on the Local History Resources Guide produced by Special Collections.

Probing the Past: Virginia and Maryland Probate Inventories, 1740-1810
Coverage: Full Text
Probate records provide valuable information about the lifestyles of people during the colonial and early national periods.Included in the database are 325 inventories of the household items that provide insight into furnishings, dining habits & behavior
Genealogy Guide [MD State Law Library]
The Maryland State Law Library's new Genealogy web pages include infromation on finding death records, obituaries, graves, cemeteries, and burial records, wills and probate, internet sources on genealogy, and law and genealogy.
Maryland Probate Records (FamilySearch)
A comprehensive collection of online lists and information on colonial Maryland probate courts. Many of the resources are free from the Maryland State Archives, others are by subscription.
Maryland Marriages, 1666-1970 (FamilySearch)
Name index to marriage records from the state of Maryland. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and Family History Centers. Due to privacy laws, recent records may not be displayed. The year range represents most of the records. A few records may be earlier or later.
Maryland, Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999 (FamilySearch)
Images of probate records from court record collections from the Register of Wills in Maryland counties. Probate records often include wills, and other records dealing with the administration of estates including bonds, inventories, guardianships, real estate, and various indexes to the records.
Maryland Land Records
The Maryland Judiciary, the 24 elected Court Clerks of Maryland and the Maryland State Archives have joined in partnership to provide up to date access to all verified land record instruments in Maryland. This is a free service but you must apply for an account.
Maryland Judiciary Case Search
This website provides public access to the case records of the Maryland Judiciary. Information is available on all civil, traffic, and criminal cases in the state. This information includes defendant name, city and state, case number, date of birth, plaintiff name (civil cases only), trial date, charge, and case disposition.
Maryland Censuses [scanned microfilm reels]
Scanned National Archives microfilm reels of the decennial censuses in Maryland.

Federal Population Census - Maryland-1800-1930
Call Number: Microfilm Drawers #42-47
The Decennial census rolls for Maryland and parts of Pennsylvania and Virginia. Soundex rolls for locating individuals, with instructions, available.
Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving in Baltimore 1820-1891
Call Number: Microfilm Drawers #27-28
Includes index rolls.
Index of Maryland colonial wills, 1634-1777, in the Hall of Records, Annapolis, Md. by James M. Magruder, Jr.
Call Number: REF F180 .M23 1999
Publication Date: 1999
Index to marriages and deaths in the (Baltimore) Sun 1796-1860 by var.
Call Number: REF F189.B153A23
Publication Date: var.
Multiple volumes, Marriages and Deaths 1796-1850, index to marriages only 1850-1860.
Magruder's Maryland colonial abstracts; wills, accounts, and inventories, 1772-1777 by Magruder, James Mosby, 1899-
Call Number: REF F180 .M27
Publication Date: 1968
Sanborn fire insurance maps- Maryland by Sanborn Map Company
Call Number: Microfilm drawer #30
Publication Date: 1983
The Library holds maps from the cities of Barton, Cumberland, Frostburg, Grantsville, Kitzmiller, Lonaconing, Midland, Mount Savage, Oakland, and Westernport.

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