HISTORICAL SOCIETY of HARFORD COUNTY, Inc.

Indices, Files, Family Histories, and Reference Books
Held by the Library of the Historical Society of Harford County
Bel Air, Maryland 21014
by
Henry C. Peden, Jr.
2005

    Researchers will find a wide variety of records that have been collected by the Library of the Historical Society of Harford County, mostly over the last 20 years from the time the library was located on Courtland Street across from the Harford County Circuit Courthouse to our present location which was the Bel Air Post Office until 1991.

Marriage Licenses - The Historical Society maintains the original marriage licenses from 1865 through 1990 that came from the Harford County Courthouse. These are arranged by year and then by groom's surname. There were two types of forms used between 1865 and 1889. On the larger form, it gives the name of bride & groom, their age, their occupation, place of residence, and date the license was issued. On the back is the actual marriage part which names the bride and groom again, plus the date of marriage, the place, sometimes at the brides home, sometimes at a church and sometimes" At the top of the hill". On the smaller form, it just gives the date, name of bride and groom, the minister's signature and sometimes the church's name. After 1900, a standard form gives bride and groom's name, their age, their occupation, date of marriage, the name and signature of the minister, and the name of his church and its location. [Note: Our library has Edna A. Kanely's Directory of Maryland Ministers, 1634-1990 which can be checked to see where that minister served and which will direct you to the church where the marriage ceremony may have been performed. Some ministers may not appear in the book if they were "street preachers" like some Methodists in Baltimore City.]

Obituary Card Index - This is an obituary file on 3x5 cards arranged alphabetically. They list the name of the deceased, date of death, age (sometimes), residence (sometimes), and the date of the newspaper. Most of these obituaries were taken from The Aegis newspaper, which dates from 1857 (but our index is incomplete so the newspaper should still be checked). This was done first by the WPA, then later by volunteers of The Historical Society of Harford County.

Cemetery Card Index - This file of 3x5 cards is an alphabetical listing A-Z of many burials in Harford County cemeteries, except the three large memorial gardens (Bel Air , High View, and Harford). Copying, recording, and correcting tombstone inscriptions is an on-going project. Reasonable requests for printouts are available for a small fee. Direct your request to the Society at the address above (Attn: Cemetery Record Copies).

1850 Census of Harford County Card Index - This is an abstract of the 1850 Census of Harford County prepared by Mary Wright Barnes on 3 x 5 cards.

Indentures and Guardianship Index, 1774-1809 - This 3x5 card file contains the names of indentures and guardianships gleaned from records of the Orphans Court of Harford County from 1774 to 1809 by Shirley L. Reightler in 1990. The information was taken from Book No.1 (1777-1799), Book No.2 (1800-1809), and Minutes (1774-1788).

Family Name Index - This 3x5 card file contains the surnames of the people for whom we have information either in books (that have no indices) or material in our vertical files. The key word "Shelf' on the card directs the researcher to a particular book on our shelf (which the researchers can retrieve themselves) or the key words "Vertical file" which will direct them to our file cabinets (which the researcher must request from our staff).

Special Collection: Peden Index to Surnames - The Society has received genealogical research notes and papers compiled by local researchers over many, many years and then donated to our library. This 3x5 index card file was prepared under the direction of Henry C. Peden, Jr., Library Director, in the year 2000. Many families mentioned therein have been cross-referenced by surname with the family file and name of the collection. The collections are identified by the name of the compiler. So far, we have the research notes and charts prepared by George W. Archer, Evelyn Moore Best, Helene Davis, Esther Hannon, Shirley Reightler, Benjamin Silver, and Maurine Schmitz.

Births &: Anniversaries: Bishop Card File - This 3x5 card file has been prepared under the direction of Margaret S. Bishop, former Family History Librarian, for a number of years. It contains abstracts and newspaper clippings for births and anniversaries over the past 20-30 years. It supplements information contained in our vertical files.

Vertical Files - These files have correspondences from researchers who have sent letters to the Society which also includes a copy of the response that was sent to them. Some of these date back to the late 1970's. Also in these files would be obituaries from the 1970's to date. Some obits will appear from earlier years some back into the late 1800's if they were donated to the Society. There also may be small family histories (that range from 2 to 10 pages ) in these files as well.

Main Card Catalog - Self-explanatory. It lists our library holdings using the Dewey Decimal System, except maps, which is an on-going project (The 1858 and 1878 maps of Harford County are available for sale).

Historic Site Survey Index - This 3x5 card file contains the names of many historic sites in Harford County which have been identified by the local government and which files are now maintained in our library. The card contains a code number, which pertains to a particular survey file that is available to researchers upon request.

Family Histories - These are compiled family histories that have been given to the Society over the years. We currently have the following genealogies:

ADY, ALEXANDER, ALMONY , AMOS, ANDERSON, ARCHER, ASCHERFELDS, ASHTON,

BAHR, BAILEY, BAKER, BALDERSON, BARNES, BARTON, BAY, BAYLESS, BEALL, BEAN, BENNINGTON, BERRY, BLAIR, BONNET , BOSLEY, BOYD, BRIARLY, BRINEGAR, BROWN, BULL, BURNS, BUSSEY,

CALVERT , CARROLL, CHAUNCEY, CHENOWETH, CLARK, COALE, COCKEY, COLLIER, COLLINS, CONNOLL Y ,COOPER, CORSE, CRAWFORD, CULLUM, CURRIER,

DALLAM, DAY, DEAVER, DECKMAN, DEMOSS, DITTO, DOYLE, DUHAMEL, DUNBAR, DURBIN, DURHAM,

EDWARDS, ELICOTT , ELLIOT , ENGLAND,

FADELEY, FISHER, FLETCHER, FORWOOD, FRANK, FROST,

GALBREATH, GALLION, GILBERT, GILBREATH, GLACKIN, GLADDEN, GLENN, GREENIAND, GRIER, GUYTON,

HALL, HAMMOND, HANNUM, HARFORD, HARKINS, HARVYE, HAWKINS, HEADINGTON, HEAPS, HEATON, HENDERSON, HENRY, HODGE, HOLLOWAY, HOLTER, HOOPERS, HOOPES, HOOVER, HOPKINS HORNER, HUGHES, HUSBAND, HUTCHINS, HUTCHINSON,

JACKSON. JEWELL, JONES,

KELLY , KELSO, KENLEY, KIRKWOOD, KISER, KNOPP,

LANCASTER, LEMASTER, LITTLE, LIVEZEY, LOWE, LUKEN,

MACATEE, MacCUBBIN, MANIFOLD, MAULDIN, McADOWS, McCANN, McCLUNG, McCOMAS, McCULLOUOH, McFADDEN, McKAIG, McMASTER, McNUTT , MERCER, MERRITT, MICHAEL, MILLANGES, MILLER, MITCHELL, MOORE, MORGAN, MORRIS, MURPHY,

NAEFF, NAVE, NEFF , NELSON, NORRIS,

O'DANIEL, O'FARREL, ONION, OSBORNE,

PACA, PARRISH, PARSONS, PEARCE, PHILLIPS, POCOCK, POE, POTEET, PRESBURY, PRESTON, PROCTOR, PUE, PUNTENNEY, PYLE,

REED, RENSHAW, RICHARDSON, RICKETTS, RIDER, RILEY, ROBINSON, ROBY, ROGERS, ROUSE, ROWE, RUTLEDGE,

SCHWARZTRAUBER, SCARBOROUGH, SILVER, SLADE, SMITH, SMITHSON, SPENCER, STANDIFORD, STILLINGS. STREETT, STUBB, STUMP,

TAYLOR, THOMPSON, TROYER, TRUMAN, TUCKER, TURNER, TYDINGS,

VANCE,

WALSH, WARNER, WEBB, WEBSTER, WEST, WHEELER, WHITCRAFTS, WHITE, WHITEFORD, WILEY, WILLIAMS, WIMMER, WISE, WRIGHT,

YARISH,

ZOOK, ZOUCK, ZUCK, ZUG.

Microfilm Collection - The microfilm collection at the current time has some church records, local newspapers and Harford County census records as shown below:

• Census Records
       Harford County, Maryland: 1790 -1920 censuses (1890 is not extant).
• Church Records
       Havre de Grace Methodist Church, 1849 -1976
       St George's P. E. Parish Register, 1681 -1903
       St John's P. E. Parish Register, 1787 - 1899
• Newspapers     Details of Newspapers on Microfilm
       Aberdeen Enterprise (March, 1908 - December, 1909)
       Aegis & Intelligencer (January, 1865 - December, 1907)
       Baltimore Weekly American (February, 1853 - August, 1865)
       Bel Air Times (June, 1884 - March, 1917)
       Evening News (Baltimore) (August, 1873 - January, 1875)
       The Democratic Ledger (February, 1896 - December, 1902; March, 1907 - May, 1934)
       Harford Democrat (January, 1856 - December, 1920)
       Havre de Grace Republican (October, 1868 - December, 1940)
       Madisonion/Harford Madisonian (September, 1836 - March, 1857)
  
• Other Records
       1798 Federal Assessments for Harford and Charles County
       Harford County Adjutant General's Enrollment Record 1862
       Maryland Society, Sons of the American Revolution, Applications, 1889 - 1983