St Marys County Maryland Genealogy and History

County Seat: Leonardtown

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St. Mary's County, Maryland holds rich colonial history as the birthplace of Maryland. This genealogy page offers essential local records, including 17th-century land patents, church registries, probate files, and vital statistics housed at the county courthouse and the Maryland State Archives.

Search Free St. Mary's County, Maryland Genealogy and Family History Records Online including census, cemetery, vital, military and other genealogical and historical records that can be used for your family history research.

St Marys County, Maryland genealogy and family history page is a place where you can come in and research your genealogy and family history. We also do our best to provide a history of the area, to provide you with an overview of the time in which your ancestors lived.

We regret that we are unable to do personal research for you. All genealogical and family history records we come across are being added to this website. Please keep checking back.

Historical Overview

• St. Mary’s County was founded in 1637.
• It was the first European settlement in Maryland.
• Early families arrived on the Ark and the Dove.
• Records often date back earlier than most US regions.

St. Mary's County Communities

• Town: Leonardtown (county seat).
• Census-designated places: California, Callaway, Charlotte Hall, Golden Beach, Lexington Park, Mechanicsville, Piney Point, St. George Island, Tall Timbers, Wildewood.
• Unincorporated communities: Abell, Avenue, Beachville-St. Inigoes, Beauvue, Bushwood, Chaptico, Clements, Coltons Point, Compton, Dameron, Drayden, Great Mills, Helen, Hollywood, Hopewell, Huntersville, Hurry, Loveville, Maddox, Morganza, Oakley, Oakville, Oraville, Park Hall, Ridge, St. Inigoes, St. Mary's City, Scotland, Spencers Wharf, Valley Lee.

St. Mary's County Genealogy Records Available

• Births, Marriages, Deaths: State-mandated registration began in 1898.
• Early Marriages: County clerk records date back to 1799.
• Church Registers: Catholic and Anglican parishes hold baptism and burial entries from the 1600s.
• Federal Census Records: Available from 1790 through 1950, Special Schedules: 1850 and 1860, slave schedules document enslaved populations.
• Land Patents: Early colonial grants track property ownership and migration.
• Wills and Probate Records: Inventories and accounts date back to 1658.
• Court Proceedings: Provincial and county court judgments detail early legal disputes and indentures.

Our Free St Marys County Maryland Genealogy Records Online

Genealogical Research in St. Mary's County, Maryland

• The St. Mary’s County Genealogical Society Collection: Located in the Maryland Room at Leonardtown Library contains local family histories, county and Maryland history, Census, cemetery records, marriage licenses, and county and Maryland death records.
• St. Mary's County Historical Society: Their holdings include 19 file cabinet drawers containing files on 1,135 families in St. Mary's County. These files contain family histories contributed by family members, newspaper clippings, articles and family genealogies.
• Genealogical Publishing Company: Access the GPC eBook Library at your convenience with a new subscription platform, 800+ of the best titles in genealogy & family history. $

If you know of a St Marys County Genealogy link that should be added to this list, please Contact us

Adjacent counties

• Calvert County (northeast)
• Charles County (northwest)
• Somerset County (southeast)
• Northumberland County, Virginia (South)
• Westmoreland County, Virginia (southwest)
• Dorchester County (east)