Genealogy

Important Announcements

• Sacramental Registers Digitization Project
• Resources for Black Catholics
• Foreign and Citizenship Document Requests

 

Sacramental Registers Digitization Project

In 2018, the Archdiocese of Baltimore initiated a project to digitize its sacramental registers in a public/private partnership with the leading family history website FindMyPast.

The goals of the project are two-fold:

• To create preservation copies of the sacramental registers maintained by the Archdiocese’s parishes and institutions in accordance with canon law
• To participate in the Catholic Heritage Archive created and maintained by FindMyPast.

The Catholic Heritage Archive will make available to genealogists the digitized records of collaborating dioceses in the United States, Ireland, and Great Britain that are one hundred years and older.

Individuals interested in the records of the Archdiocese of Baltimore will be able to browse them for free on the Catholic Heritage Archive website. To access these records, individuals will be required to create an account with FindMyPast. A paid subscription will be required only if you wish to access the centralized index that is being prepared for the records or any of FindMyPast’s other resources. Many records are already available to view online. More will be added as the project comes to completion. Please make use of FindMyPast’s customer support service for questions on how to create an account or navigate the website. The archives staff is unable to provide these services. Helpful videos on how to do research with the records available on their website can be found on Youtube.

Click here to see a list of parishes.

 

Resources for Black Catholics

Two resource pages are now available for those researching their black Catholic roots and for learning more about Baltimore’s Black Catholic community. A third resource page, entitled “Primary Sources,” has just been added to allow genealogists and students of history to access original records from our collections in digitized format. The records featured have been selected for the information they contain regarding the individuals who have comprised the Catholic community in the Archdiocese of Baltimore over its history. 

• Notable Black Catholics
• Researching Your Black Catholic Roots
• Primary Sources

 

 Foreign or Dual Citizenship Document Requests

A resource page has been created to assist individuals applying for foreign or dual citizenship.

• Resource Page
• Foreign or Dual Citizenship Document Request Form

 

 

Sacramental Records

If you need an official copy of your own baptismal or marriage certificate, please see the Research and Reference page for instructions on how to request one.

What We Do and Do Not Have
We only have records for the parishes within the current boundaries of the Archdiocese of Baltimore (est. 1789), which is comprised of the following counties: Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, and Washington. The Archdiocese’s earliest records are those for St. Peter’s pro-Cathedral (1770-1841) in Baltimore City and date back to 1782.

We have compiled a list of published and electronic family_history_resources that includes transcriptions of sacramental registers and census records.

Individuals interested in sacramental records for parishes outside the current boundaries of the Archdiocese of Baltimore will need to contact the diocese responsible for that territory today for assistance. The Archdiocese does not have any sacramental records for parishes outside of its current boundaries in its holdings. Maryland counties outside the boundaries of the Archdiocese of Baltimore:

Archdiocese of Washington: Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s.

Diocese of Wilmington: Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico, and Worcester.

Delaware

The Diocese of Wilmington has made available online burials at diocesan cemeteries. Baptisms and marriages through 1900 will soon be added.

Washington, D.C.

The early sacramental records for Holy Trinity Church, Washington, D.C., have been digitized and are available through Georgetown University.

Colonial, Revolutionary, and Early National Era Records in Maryland

The Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits, were in charge of the mission to Catholics in the British colonies of North America, which was headquartered in Maryland. Please note that very few records have survived for these periods and none prior to 1759. The majority of these records have been transcribed and published in works that include Edwin Beitzell’s The Jesuit Missions of St. Mary’s County (rev. ed.; priv. publ., 1976), Joseph C. Cann’s History of Saint Francis Xavier Church and Bohemia Plantation Now Known as Old Bohemia (Old Bohemia Historical Society, 1976)*, Timothy O’Rourke’s Catholic Families of Southern Maryland: Records of Catholic Residents of St. Mary’s County in the Eighteenth Century (Baltimore: Genealogical Publ. Co., 1985) and Colonial Source Records: Southern Maryland Catholic Families (Parsons, KS: Brefney Press, 1981), F. Edward Wright’s Vital Records of the Jesuit Missions of the Eastern Shore, 1760-1800 (Silver Spring, MD: Family Line Publications, 1986), and Agnes Kane Callum’s Flower of the Forest: Black Genealogical Journal (1982-1998). The original records can be found at the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in the Joseph Mark Lauinger Library at Georgetown University, where the Archives of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus are housed.

The Southern Maryland Studies Center, located at the College of Southern Maryland, has a number of local history and genealogy collections in their holdings. Visit the webpage to view online finding aids and exhibits.

*: Located in the Archives of the Diocese of Wilmington.

Resources currently available online for colonial records:

Timothy J. O’Rourke’s Catholic Families of Southern Maryland, reprint (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2003). Limited Preview

Early Colonial Settlers of Southern Maryland and the Northern Neck Counties of Virginia

The Biographies page on the Maryland State Archives’ website has a number of helpful resources culled from the records that have survived from the colonial period. 

Christina K. Schaefer’s Genealogical Encyclopedia of the Colonial Americas (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2000). Limited preview

In the absence of sacramental records, civil records are another resource for researching your family history. For example, county clerks in the state of Maryland have been required to issue marriage licenses since 1777 and court clerks have been required to record marriages by banns since 1890. The Maryland State Archives has created a number of guides to assist researchers who are interested in consulting these records. Another helpful resource is Edna Kanely’s Directory of Ministers and the Maryland Churches They Served, 1634-1990 (Westminster, MD: Family Line Publications, 1991), 2 vols.

For information on other Maryland-related records that have been published, visit the websites of Heritage Books, HistoryK Press, and AncestorStuff.

Restrictions on Sacramental Records

According to the policy approved by the Archbishop of Baltimore, access to records available online through FindMyPast are subject to the following restrictions:

• Baptism less than 100 years old are closed to the public.
• All other sacraments and death/burial/interment records less than 50 years old are closed to the public. 

Information contained in the records:

1. Baptism: dates of birth and baptism; name of child; names of parents, sponsors (godparents), and officiating priest.
2. First Communion and Confirmation: date of first communion or confirmation; name of child and officiating priest or bishop. Please note that parishes are not required under canon law to maintain first communion registers, although many do.
3. Marriage: date of marriage; names of parties being married and places they are from, names of parties’ parents; names of official witnesses, and name of officiating priest.
4. Death or Interment: name and age of deceased; dates of death and burial; cause of death; place of burial; and name of officiating priest. (Contains only the names of individuals whose funeral Mass was held at the parish.)

NOTE: Variations in the spelling of surnames are quite common. It is recommended that you look under any possible spelling variation when searching the records.

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Sacramental Registers on Microfilm

Efforts to microfilm the sacramental registers of the parishes that comprise the Archdiocese of Baltimore have been undertaken twice in the past seventy years. The first attempt was made in 1954 at the request of Archbishop Francis P. Keough. The Maryland State Archives initiated a second attempt beginning in 1977. A majority of the parishes participated in the first microfilming project. Less than half participated in the second. To see a list of all of the parishes that participated in one or both of the microfilming projects, please click here. The list has been organized first by county, second by city or town name, and third by parish name. Parish establishment date and microfilm collection have also been listed.

The Maryland State Archives has begun to digitize the vital records it has on microfilm. Sacramental registers of the following Catholic parishes can be viewed online through the Maryland State Archives website. Search for the parish by name. Registers that have been digitized will be hyperlinked.

Parish Name	Est. Date	City
St. Alphonsus	1845	Baltimore
St. Francis Xavier/St. Paul	1863/1888	Baltimore
St. Ignatius	1853	Baltimore
St. James the Less	1834	Baltimore
St. John the Evangelist	1853	Baltimore
St. Joseph	1793	Emmitsburg
St. Mary Star of the Sea	1868	Baltimore
St. Michael	1852	Frostburg
St. Patrick	1790	Cumberland
SS. Philip and James	1897	Baltimore
St. Wenceslaus	1872	Baltimore
St. Vincent de Paul	1841	Baltimore
Holy Cross Cemetery (closed)	1863	Baltimore

 

Microfilm copies of the registers microfilmed by the Maryland State Archives are available for researchers to work with online at the Catholic Heritage Archives and onsite at the Maryland State Archives and the Associated Archives at St. Mary’s Seminary & University. The Maryland Center for History and Culture (formerly known as the Maryland Historical Society) has acquired copies of the Maryland State Archives’ microfilm for the following parishes: Baltimore City – Basilica of the Assumption, St. Peter’s Pro-Cathedral, Holy Cross, Immaculate Conception, Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Alphonsus, St. Ann, St. Francis Xavier, St. James the Less, St. John German, St. John the Evangelist, St. Mary Star of the Sea, St. Michael the Archangel, St. Patrick, St. Peter the Apostle, and St. Stanislaus; Outside Baltimore City – Mt. St. Mary’s/St. Mary’s of the Mountain, Emmitsburg, St. Augustine, Elkridge, St. Ignatius, Hickory, St. John the Evangelist, Frederick, St. John the Evangelist, Hydes/Long Green, St. Mary of the Mills, Laurel, St. Michael, Frostburg, and St. Mary of the Annunciation, Lonaconing.

The Maryland Center for History and Culture (formerly known as the Maryland Historical Society) also has acquired the microfilm for a number of Maryland parishes located in the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Wilmington. Please check their online catalog for a complete listing.

The sacramental registers microfilmed by the Archdiocese are available for researchers to work with online at the Catholic Heritage Archive and at the Associated Archives. Parishes that do not appear on the list will have to be contacted directly. Click here for current parish contact information.

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Onsite Research

You are welcome to visit the Archives by appointment to examine the sacramental registers we have on microfilm and to consult the resource and reference material we have compiled for genealogists. Reference staff is also available to assist patrons. Click here for information on how to schedule an appointment, which are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays (9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.) . There is a $10.00 Reading Room fee for each patron. Please also consult the resources available on this page to for suggestions on how to prepare for your visit.

Submitting a Request

If you are unable to visit the Archives in person, we do provide limited genealogical research services. Fees, services, required and helpful information are outlined below. 

All genealogical requests must be submitted in writing. We DO NOT take genealogical requests over the telephone. You have the choice of submitting a sacramental records request form or a written request. Please click on the Contacts link for address information.

Genealogical Policy
Sacramental Records Request Form

Fees:

1. Research fees are charged on an hourly rate. The charge is $30.00 for the first hour and $30.00 for each additional hour up to 3 hours total. A check or money order for $30.00 made payable to “Associated Archives at SMSU” must accompany the research request. Payment by credit card is also accepted. The hourly fee will cover research on any number of ancestors an individual wishes to research. NOTE: Do not send more than $30.00 with the initial request. If the request requires more than one hour to complete, the researcher will be billed for any additional fees. If you wish to time limit the time spent researching your request to 1 hour, please indicate such information in the initial request. The normal response to genealogical inquiries is either an abstract from the register or a photocopy of the record from the microfilm. Genealogical copies of sacramental certificates are available for $5.00 per certificate.
2. If the researcher has the name of the individual and the place and date of the sacrament at the time of the request, there is a charge of $10.00 per individual to request a copy of the record. There is an additional charge if a genealogical copy of a sacramental certificate is requested of $5 per individual.

Required Information

Because there is no central name index, we will need the following information before we can examine the records:

1. Parish in which the sacrament was administered or name of the officiating priest. If you do not know the name of the parish but have a local address, we may be able to identify the parish where the sacrament was administered from this information. In some instances the name of the town will suffice (excluding Baltimore City). If you do not have a local address, you can find this information from two sources: 1) a city/town directory and 2) federal census records. Online resources for Maryland directories are available through the University of Maryland. A complete set of Baltimore City Directories is also available in the Maryland Department at the main branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library (400 Cathedral St., Baltimore, MD 21201) together with many other helpful resources. The Baltimore City Archives has most complete listing of directories available online. If your family lived outside of Baltimore City, contact the local public library of that community for information on their directory collection. Address information can also be found in the Federal Census Records available online through the Maryland State Archives. Please note that Baltimore City renumbered its street addresses in 1886. If you are looking for a family member’s address prior to 1886, remember to also consult the 1887 Baltimore City Directory, which has a conversion chart, to learn the new number assigned to the old street address. If you have ward information, the Baltimore City Archives has made available ward maps that cover the period 1797-1918.

If you are trying to locate the names of parishes located within the different wards of Baltimore City, the Archives has prepared a list based on an 1877 ward map of Baltimore City. Please click on the below link to see a copy of this list. 

1877 Baltimore City Wards and Parishes

The Archdiocese has had a number of national parishes over the course of its history. A national or ethnic parish is established to serve the needs of a particular ethnic group, especially that of language. Immigrants and the children of immigrants frequently attended national parishes when they were available. To see a list of the national parishes established within the Archdiocese’s current territorial boundaries, please click on the below link.

National Parishes

2. Date sacrament was administered.

3. Name(s) of individual(s) receiving the sacrament.

Please note that the Associated Archives only has the sacramental records for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore. We do not have government records (such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, death certificates, etc.), records from other Roman Catholic dioceses or religious denominations.

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Other Types of Records

Student Records

Archdiocesan Schools
Individuals interested in obtaining a copy of their student transcript should contact the elementary, middle, or secondary school directly if it is still open. If the school has been closed but the parish is still open, contact the parish for assistance.* (Click here to search for school and parish contact information.)

*: Please note that in accordance with Maryland State law, the Archdiocese is not required to maintain the records for closed elementary schools.

The records for the following closed schools are maintained by the Maryland State Department of Education: The Cardinal Gibbons School, Baltimore, Mt. St. Agnes High School, Baltimore, St. Andrew’s Business School, Baltimore, St. Martin’s High School, Baltimore, St. Michael the Archangel Business School for Girls, Baltimore, St. Michael the Archangel High School, Baltimore, St. Paul’s Commercial School, Baltimore, and Trinity Preparatory School, Ellicott City. Individuals interested in obtaining a copy of their student transcript should contact the Nonpublic Schools Approval Branch of the Maryland State Department of Education directly for assistance.

If you are interested in the records of a private school that has been closed, contact the religious community that ran the school directly for assistance:

Men’s Religious Communities
Women’s Religious Communities

Individuals interested in post-secondary school records will need to contact the institution’s Registrar’s Office directly.

Sulpician Schools in Maryland
Student records for St. Charles’ College (1848-1969), the Liberal Arts College of St. Mary’s Seminary & University (1969-1977), and St. Mary’s Seminary & University (est. 1791) are maintained by St. Mary’s Seminary & University and are closed. If you are an alumnus interested in obtaining an official copy of your transcript, please send a fax or letter (no e-mails) with name, date of birth, address to which transcript should be sent, and signature to:

Registrar, St. Mary’s Seminary & University
5400 Roland Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21210
Fax: 410-864-4205.

Note: St. Mary’s Seminary & University has designated certain information contained in the records of its students as “Family History Information.” This includes: 1) full name, 2) date and place of birth and/or baptism, 3) parents’ names and place and date of marriage; 4) siblings’ names; 5) education; 6) sponsoring diocese; 7) date and place of ordination; 8) other similar information such as a photograph. Family History Information will be disclosed for deceased students only. Permission of a person authorized by St. Mary’s Seminary & University is required for access to Family History Information within 50 years of a student’s death. After 50 years there is no restriction on access to this information. If you are interested in obtaining information on students that attended a Sulpician school in Maryland, including St. Mary’s College (1799-1852), for your family history, please submit your request in writing to the Associated Archives, providing as much information as you can on the student (ex., full name, place and/or date of birth, approximate years attended) along with your questions. There is a $10.00 research fee for each name submitted.

Family History Information Request Form

We have made available student lists that were prepared for each of the above institutions at different points in their history. Please click on the appropriate link to access the list as a .pdf document.

St. Charles’ College and High School, 1848-1897
Information on students is organized by year of enrollment. An alphabetical index of names can be found at the end. (Note: The original campus of St. Charles’ College and High School was destroyed by fire in 1911, including its records. The list is not comprehensive, but is the most complete one to exist for the students who attended the school during the pre-1911 period.)

St. Mary’s Seminary & University, 1791-1916
This is a list of students who completed their studies at the seminary and were ordained through 1916. Students who departed the program before ordination were not included. The following information is listed: student name, sponsoring diocese, ordaining bishop, and date of ordination.

St. Mary’s College, 1799-1852
Information on students is organized by year of enrollment and was compiled from surviving records for the college. The list is not comprehensive, but is the most complete one to exist.

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Orphanage and Medical Records

The Archives does not maintain the records for any of the orphanages that operated in the Archdiocese. The records for the following orphanages were transferred to Associated Catholic Charities when they were closed: St. Anthony’s Orphan Asylum (1854-1943), St. Elizabeth’s Home for Colored Infants and Children (1881-1960), St. Francis’ Orphanage for Colored Children (1889-1950), St. James Home for Boys (1878-1949), St. Mary’s Female Orphan Asylum (1818-1960), St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys (1866-1950), and St. Vincent’s Infant Home (1856-1960). Individuals interested in obtaining information from these records will need to contact Associated Catholic Charities directly to request assistance (Records, Center for Family Services, Associated Catholic Charities, 2300-B Dulaney Valley Road, Timonium, MD 21093). These records are not open to researchers. Please submit all requests in writing.

Individuals interested in the records of orphanages operated in what is now the Archdiocese of Washington will need to contact Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington directly. Surviving records for the following orphanages are located at The Catholic University of America: St. Vincent’s Orphan Asylum (1825-1968) and St. Rose’s Industrial Home for Girls (1868-1946).

For information on all other orphanages, please contact the Archives and we will try to assist you in locating the records.

The Archives does not have medical records for any of the hospitals or clinics operated in the Archdiocese. Individuals will need to contact the hospital or clinic directly to request assistance.

Marriage Tribunal Records

The Archives does not have any records relating to annulments. All records of annulments are held by the Marriage Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, 320 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, 410-576-6920. Records of the Marriage Tribunal are not available for genealogical investigation under any circumstances.

Death Certificates

The Catholic Church does not issue death certificates. This right is reserved to the state alone. Parishes maintain death or burial registers, which record the date of death, date and place of burial, and cause of death. A copy of the information recorded in a death or burial register is not recognized as an official record of death. 

If you are unable to locate where a family member was buried, a death certificate may provide this information. Visit the Maryland State Archives to learn what records are available and how to access them. To request a copy of a death certificate, you will need to contact the Maryland State Office of Vital Statistics Administration (post-1969 at 410-764-3038 or 800-832-3277) or the Maryland State Archives (pre-1969 at 410-260-6400). See also the Vital Records Indexing Project sponsored by the Maryland State Archives.

Cemetery Records

Parish cemetery records are maintained at the parish level. Click here for a list of the cemeteries operated in the Archdiocese. If the parish cemetery you are interested in has closed, click here for information the Archives has compiled on closed cemeteries. If the cemetery you are interested in does not appear on the list, please contact the parish or the Archives directly for information. 

New Cathedral Cemetery, Baltimore: The cemetery records of New Cathedral Cemetery, 1871-1977, have been microfilmed and are available for researchers to work with at the Associated Archives and the Maryland Center for History and Culture (formerly known as the Maryland Historical Society). You may also contact New Cathedral Cemetery (4300 Old Frederick Road, Baltimore, MD, 21229; 410-566-7770) for assistance with your request. A searchable burial database is now available on the cemetery’s website.

Redemptorist Cemeteries, Baltimore has information on the cemeteries connected with the parishes staffed by the Redemptorist Fathers in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, including genealogical services. 

St. Paul’s Cemetery, Ellicott City: A map index and transcription of monuments has been prepared for the cemetery of St. Paul’s Church, Ellicott City, and is available to search online. Find A Grave has also created a page for the cemetery.

St. Peter the Apostle Cemetery, Baltimore: The Archives accessioned the surviving records for St. Peter’s Cemetery in 2023. A review of the records reveals that there are many gaps in the records and that surviving records are incomplete.

Description of Records

Record of Deeds, 1851-1889
Permit for Interment Stubs, 1918-1921; 1926-1931; 1929-1931
Interments, Alpha, 1924-1936
Register of Lot Owners by Section, A-T, 1851-1965
Lots Sold, 1851-1889 (Alpha)/Accounts Receivable, 1851-1875
Lots transferred back to cemetery, not dated
Care-Special, Annual, Perpetual, 1904-1914
Cash Receipts, 1925-1931
Maps and Plans – Assorted

The Baltimore County Genealogical Society  has digitized these records. They are available to view onsite at the Society and the Associated Archives at St. Mary’s Seminary & University.

The most comprehensive resource created for the cemetery’s surviving records is the Franke Index. A project carried out under the direction of Mr. Nelson E. Franke in the 1980s, Mr. Franke consulted the following records to compile the card catalog that has come to be known as the Franke Index: St. Peter the Apostle Church death registers, 1875-1959; St. Peter Cemetery Deeds, 1851-1889; Interments, 1924-1936; and Register Lot Owners by Section, A-T, 1851-1965. A card was created for every name found in the records and the information varies greatly. Some cards will list date of death only while others will list such details as date of interment, lot location, or date of purchase. An electronic version of the card catalog was also created. Researchers can access the Franke Index in both formats.

Microfilm: Available at the Maryland State Archives, the Maryland Center for History and Culture, and the Associated Archives at St. Mary’s Seminary & University

Electronic (digitized print version): Available on the website created for the cemetery and maintained by the cemetery’s caretakers, Jonah House: https://stpeterscemetery.wordpress.com/st-peters-records/

A number of the cemetery’s records have been transcribed and published in the Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin. Researchers can access issues of the journal online if they are a member of the Society or at any library that has a subscription to the journal.

Register of Lot Owners by Section, A-T, 1851-1965
St. Peters Cemetery, 1851 – 1960s by Edna A. Kanely, Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin, 27:2 (Spring 1986); 28:3 (Summer 1987)

Interments
Miscellaneous Interments at St. Peter’s Cemetery by Pat Czerniewski and Robert Barnes, Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin, 30:1 (Winter 1989)

Tombstone Inscriptions
St. Peters Cemetery – Tombstone Inscriptions by Artis King, Edna Kanely and Jean Brandau, Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin, 27:4 (Fall 1986); 28:2 (Spring 1987); 29:1 (Winter 1988)

St. Peters Cemetery Inscriptions by Patricia Dockman Anderson, Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin, 32:1 (Winter 1991)

 

St. Vincent’s Cemetery, Baltimore (closed): The Friends of St. Vincent Cemetery (est. 2010) is a volunteer organization dedicated to restoring the cemetery, with the ultimate goal of developing it into a memorial. To read more about their work, find out how to volunteer or make a donation, and learn about the cemetery’s history, which includes an index of burials, please visit their website: www.stvincentcemeterybaltimore.org.

Other Resources

For those researching their German roots, German Marylanders has made available on its website information on and transcriptions for a number of cemeteries with ties to the state’s German community, including: St. Alphonsus Church, Holy Cross Church, Holy Redeemer Cemetery, Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, and St. Vincent de Paul Church, all in Baltimore, St. John Church, Frederick, St, Joseph Church, Taneytown, and SS. Peter and Paul Church, Cumberland.

If you are uncertain where the person you are searching for is buried, Find a Grave is a searchable online database with information on cemeteries around the country.

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Helpful Information

• Guides on how to read Latin baptismal and marriage records:

Baptismal Record
Marriage Record

• Catholic Directory Collection

A directory on the Catholic Church in the United States has been published annually since 1833.* The directory has had several publishers and titles over the course of its history, including the Catholic Almanac or, the Laity’s Directory, the Metropolitan Catholic Calendar & Laity’s Directory, and Sadlier’s Catholic directory, ordo and almanac. Since 1912 it has held the title of the Official Catholic Directory and is published by P.J. Kenedy & Sons. Useful information found in the directory, which is organized by diocese, includes the names, addresses, and establishment dates of parishes and an annual list of clergy serving in the U.S. Directories can be found in most diocesan and religious archives, including the Associated Archives, and at Catholic institutions of higher learning. A number of directories from the nineteenth century have been digitized and can be accessed through Google Books, Villanova University, and the Hathi Trust.

*: Except for the years 1862-1863, due to the Civil War.

• Archdiocese of Baltimore History Resources Online

The Catholic Red Book of Western Maryland (Baltimore: The Red Book Society, 1909).

Thomas J. Stanton’s A Century of Growth: or, the history of the Catholic Church in Western Maryland, vol. 1 (Baltimore: John Murphy Co., 1900)

• Maryland Resources Online

The Maryland State Archives has developed many resources for individuals researching their Maryland ancestors. We recommend that you visit their website to learn not only what local records are available for researchers, but for suggestions on how to get started in your research: Guide to Family History Research in Maryland.

Civil Birth, Marriage, and Death Records: The Maryland State Archives has made available online a number of indices to civil birth, marriage, and death records. You can also find information on which indices are available on the State Archives’ search room computers. 

The Historic Maryland Newspapers Project is an ongoing effort to digitize Maryland’s newspapers and make them accessible for free through the Library of Congress’ Chronicling America website.

Legacy of Slavery in Maryland, a program sponsored by the Maryland State Archives, makes available a number of resources to help individuals research their African American roots, including a searchable database.

FamilySearch.org has made available through their website a number of free family history and genealogy records for Maryland, including: Deaths and Burials, 1877-1992; Marriages, 1666-1970; Civil War Service Records of Union and Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865; Naturalization Indexes, 1797-1951; and Probate Estate and Guardianship Files, 1796-1940.

The Maryland Center for History and Culture (formerly known as the Maryland Historical Society), the Maryland Genealogical Society, and the Baltimore City Archives also have many helpful resources for researching one’s family history.

• Other helpful resources:

Baltimore City Directories are available online through the Baltimore City Archives and the University of Maryland.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has a number of helpful resources for researching your family tree, including Federal Census Records, as well as information on how to care for your documents and photographs.

Enoch Pratt Free Library (Maryland Department and Historical Newspapers)

Genealogy Center, Allen County (IN) Public Library (has an excellent collection of published and online resources regarding Maryland)

History At Home: A Guide to Genealogy will get you started on on how to start researching your family tree with a number of helpful resources

Sites recommended for researching the town or city were your German ancestors lived, include Meyers Gazeeter and Kartenmeister. 

For assistance in starting your search for Native American ancestors, see the webpage: Indigenous Peoples of the United States

For Irish ancestors, see National Library of Ireland, Microfilmed Sacramental Records, Irish Genealogy, or Ulster Historical Foundation

For assistance in understanding or translating terms you encounter in the records, see Archaic Medical terms or Genealogy Latin Dictionary

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