Maryland

In 1640 the Maryland Assembly provided for the recording of births, marriages, and burials by the clerk of ‘Every Court’; banns were to be posted three days before a marriage, but very few of these records exist. Those that do are indexed at the Maryland State Archives. When the Anglican Church became the official church of the colony in 1692, the parishes were instructed to register the births, marriages, and deaths of all residents except African Americans. Every county formed by 1770 has at least one pre-Revolution parish register, and many of these include African Americans.

The clerks of the county circuit courts were to record births and deaths beginning in 1865, but compliance was very poor. The City of Baltimore started recording births and deaths in 1875 and the counties in 1898. This arrangement of county and city recording merged into a state system in 1972. The first place to check for Maryland births (1898’1998), including those for Baltimore City (1875’1978), is the Maryland State Archives, which has microfilm of records and indexes. The state archives also has Maryland death records for 1898 to 1987 (indexes 1898’1968), with Baltimore City deaths for 1875 to 1987 (indexes 1875’1971). Birth and death records, but not corresponding indexes, are restricted births for one hundred years and deaths for twenty years. The state archives can certify births through 1924 and deaths through 1987. County civil marriage records from 1914 through 1950 are at the state archives but are indexed only to 1930.

Further information, restrictions, and fees are found online at Maryland State Archives.

You can read more information about Maryland Vital records at Maryland Vital Records.

Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org has a variety of collections available online. I’ve included their links in the Links section below.