Maryland Genealogies

Before the Maryland Historical Magazine began publication in 1906 there were very few printed accounts of Maryland families. Emily Emerson Lantz and others ran a weekly series entitled Maryland Heraldry in the Baltimore Sun from 1905 to 1908; J. D. Warfield published his Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties in 1905; and of course there were the ubiquitous mug books containing accounts of "leading families" of the various counties of Maryland. Whatever the degree of accuracy of these various compendia, they contain little or no documentation. Moreover, the accounts of the various families do not follow any systematic format, and tracing a given individual's ancestry back to the immigrant ancestor may require a close reading of the entire article.

With the very first issue of the Magazine, however, the Maryland Historical Society began publication of articles pertaining to old families. Volume I of the Magazine contained accounts of the Brooke and Tilghman families, the articles spanning several issues. Since 1906 the Magazine has included articles on families from all parts of the state—from the Goldsboroughs, Lloyds and Tilghmans of the Eastern Shore, to the Lowndes, Spriggs, and Taskers of southern Maryland; from the Todds, Merrymans and Gists of central Maryland, to the Brengles and Fritchies of western Maryland.

While the families included in this consolidation of articles from the Magazine arrived, for the most part, in the early colonial period, the articles are by no means limited to families of British extraction. The Fritchies and Brengles were of German descent, and the Cohens were a noted Jewish family in nineteenth-century Baltimore. The LeComptes were of French origin. Most of the articles begin with the first member of the family in Maryland and trace descendants in the male line down to the early eighteenth century. The format is the so-called "New England Register" plan, with the immigrant ancestor described, then his children, then his grandchildren, etc., generation by generation. The work of the various authors is based, by and large, on primary sources rather than on pretty stories and family traditions. Perhaps because the first articles established such a high standard of scholarship most of the subsequent articles maintained that standard.

The most prolific contributor of genealogical articles was Christopher Johnston. When he died the newspapers devoted much time, space, and attention to his career as one of the world's eminent authorities on cuneiform writing, but mentioned his genealogical work only briefly. Nevertheless, his genealogical work has benefited many, not only in his capacity as verifying genealogist for the Colonial Dames of America and as editor of a volume of genealogies of the members of the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Maryland, but as the author of over twenty articles on Maryland families which appeared in the Magazine from 1906 to 1923. Another genealogist whose numerous articles appeared in the Magazine was Francis B. Culver, born in Baltimore in 1868. In his vita, filed in the Dielman-Hayward file at the Maryland Historical Society, he discusses many aspects of his life, education, and career, and in one laconic phrase adds: "am interested in historical and genealogical research." His articles appeared in the Magazine from 1915 to 1945. Like Johnston he was also editor of a volume of lineages of members of the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Maryland. In format and style his articles closely resemble those of Johnston's.

Other authors who contributed several articles were Emerson B. Roberts and John Bailey Calvert Nicklin. Roberts' special area of interest was the Eastern Shore of Maryland, while Nicklin published articles between 1921 and 1934 on the various branches of the Calvert family. Contemporary genealogists are represented by Edwin W. Beitzell and Dr. John Walton, both of whom contributed articles on the Gerard family.

While most of the articles reprinted here are family lineages, tracing all lines of descent in the male line from a common ancestor, there are other types of articles as well. For example, there are Bible records, such as those of the Winchester, Owings, Price, and related families, contributed by Ferdinand B. Focke.

A few articles discuss in great detail the various theories concerning the origin of the immigrant ancestor. Examples of this type of article are those dealing with the Cromwell family, and Edward Dorsey. A third type of article deals with families from the same locality who are closely related through a series of marriages. Several of Emerson B. Roberts' articles fall into this category.

It would be wrong to suppose that none of the articles contain errors; indeed some corrections to the articles were published in the Magazine itself. Nevertheless, most of the errors in the articles are errors of omission rather than commission. Newer sources of genealogical material, better means of preservation, and easier means of travel to record repositories have all contributed to greater research possibilities; still, the articles that first appeared in the Magazine set a standard that has often been met but seldom surpassed.

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Here's a list of recent Maryland based databases Ancestry put online with the ones mentioned above. The books themselves are recent works (in copyright) and unless you purchase each volume, or find them in a library, you will not be able to access this data elsewhere then Ancestry.