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When it comes to uncovering ancestors in colonial Maryland, probate records are a fantastic place to start. These records include wills, estate inventories, and administration accounts—documents that are often packed with details you won’t find anywhere else.
First things first: figure out the county where your ancestor lived—or might have lived. In the 1600s and 1700s, Maryland was divided into a handful of counties, many of which later split. For example, if your family was in Frederick County in the mid-1700s, earlier records might be filed under Prince George’s. It’s always worth checking neighboring counties, especially when records come up dry.
Once you have the right county, head to probate abstracts or court record books. Wills are typically organized by year and then by the name of the deceased. You’ll find entries listing heirs, land descriptions, debts owed, and sometimes surprisingly specific bequests like a Bible, a milk cow, or even a set of silver spoons. These little details help paint a vivid picture of your ancestor’s world.
Estate inventories are just as valuable. They list everything the person owned at the time of death—items in the kitchen, in the barn, or out in the fields. You can tell a lot about someone’s lifestyle, wealth, or trade just by reading through what they left behind.
Keep an eye out for:
- Witnesses and executors. These people were often close relatives or trusted friends. If a will was witnessed by someone with the same surname—or even a different surname that keeps popping up—it might be worth exploring further.
- Guardian bonds. If the deceased had minor children, the court often appointed a guardian and documented it. That’s a key clue when tracing younger generations.
- Orphans court records. Maryland had a special court to deal with estates of deceased parents. These records can lead you straight to family groups that aren’t clearly defined in other sources.
- Relationships named outright. Phrases like “my beloved wife Elizabeth,” “my eldest son John,” or “my daughter Sarah, now married to Thomas Clark” are gold for connecting generations and verifying family links.
Another trick? Look for probate delays. Some people died without a will, and the estate might not have been probated until months—or even years—later. Don’t just search the year you think they died; widen the window a bit to catch those late filings.
Finally, remember that spelling was fluid back then. If you’re not seeing your ancestor, try variations on the name—especially with older handwriting, where a long “s” can look like an “f” and clerks often wrote names the way they sounded.
Digging through Maryland probate records is part research, part detective work—and honestly, part storytelling. With a little persistence, you’ll find names, relationships, occupations, and stories that bring your Maryland ancestors to life in a way few other records can.