Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History & Culture Enduring Connections: Exploring Delmarva's Black History

Our Sources

We have compiled original and transcribed sources that document the African-American experience in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Together they enable researchers to discover new themes and stories that highlight the enduring connections within Delmarva's Black communities.

The Nabb Center acknowledges that historical records may contain harmful language that reflects attitudes and biases of their time. We do not alter, edit, or modify original records or original captions, as they are part of the historical record. We're also working to address harmful language that may appear in staff-generated descriptions.

Here is the complete list of sources we have transcribed or extracted, with information about each to help you gauge their usefulness for your purposes. Please remember that many of these sources are not the complete record; individuals denoted as people of color were extracted from larger sets of records. New sources will be continually added as we continue this project.

Showing only the sources that match the selected filter and name entered above.
  • 1798 Federal Direct Tax of Slaveowners

    Tax Assessments • 930 Records • Added June 6, 2022

    This source was extracted from The 1798 Federal Direct Tax of Somerset County, Maryland, which documented the description of the land, commercial buildings, number of slave owners, and a description of each d…

  • 1800 U.S. Census Free Black Heads of Household

    Censuses & Lists • 894 Records • Added January 9, 2023

    The 1800 Census was the second census recorded in the United States. These records include individuals who were listed as "negro" or "mulatto" on the Delmarva Peninsula. Part of these records were originally tr…

  • 1810 U.S Census Free Black Heads of Household

    Censuses & Lists • 696 Records • Added January 18, 2022 • freeafricanamericans.com

    The 1810 Census was the third census recorded in the United States. These records include individuals who were listed as "negro" or "mulatto" on the Delmarva Peninsula. These records were originally transcribed…

  • 1820 U.S. Census Free Black Heads of Household

    Censuses & Lists • 550 Records • Added January 18, 2022 • freeafricanamericans.com

    The 1820 census was the fourth recorded in the United States. Questions from this census differed from years prior by asking for the number of individuals either free or enslaved within their household and thei…

  • 1830 U.S. Census Free Black Heads of Household

    Censuses & Lists • 2,205 Records • Added July 9, 2021 • archive.org

    The 1830 census of the United States recorded every head of household in the country (note: Somerset and Queen Anne's counties in Maryland are missing), with others in the household tallied by age range. This t…

  • 1832 Census of Free Blacks in Maryland

    Censuses & Lists • 13,069 Records • Added July 6, 2021

    The 1832 census of free Blacks was taken by the sheriffs in Maryland and overseen by a 3-person board of managers who were members of the Maryland State Colonization Society. According to the 1831 “An Act re…

  • 1850 U.S. Census Free Blacks

    Censuses & Lists • 17,358 Records • Added November 9, 2021

    The 1850 census was the seventh census recorded in the United States. These records include all individuals who were listed as 'Black' or 'Mulatto' in the field that denoted racial identity. For individuals who…

  • 1850 U.S. Census Slave Schedule

    Censuses & Lists • 14,844 Records • Added July 6, 2021

    During the 1850 census, a separate 'slave schedule' enumerated the enslaved people in the United States. Enslaved people were not listed by name and instead were listed by slaveowner in each county and election…

  • 1860 U.S. Census Free Blacks

    Censuses & Lists • 22,907 Records • Added July 6, 2021

    The 1860 census was the eighth census recorded in the United States. These records include all individuals who were listed as 'Black' or 'Mulatto' in the field that denoted racial identity. For individuals who …

  • 1860 U.S. Census Slave Schedule

    Censuses & Lists • 10,332 Records • Added July 7, 2021

    During the 1860 census, a separate 'slave schedule' enumerated the enslaved people in the United States. Enslaved people were not listed by name and instead were listed by slaveowner in each county and election…

  • 1890 Special Census of Civil War Veterans

    Military • 563 Records • Added June 30, 2022

    In 1890, the United States conducted a special census of veterans of the American Civil War; the 1890 population census for the United States was destroyed in a fire. This compilation currently includes Black M…

  • Abstract of Find A Grave Profiles

    Cemetery • 4,963 Records • Added June 7, 2022 • www.findagrave.com

    These records, abstracted from the world's largest gravesite database, Find a Grave, include the names, birthdates, death dates, and burial locations of people interred at known African-American burial sites in…

  • Abstracts From the Land Records of Caroline County, Maryland

    Land Records • 1,829 Records • Added November 27, 2023

    Caroline County was formed in June 1773 out of the parent counties of Dorchester and Queen Anne’s, Maryland; it borders Sussex County, Delaware. These land records were abstracted from the series of books en…

  • Abstracts From the Land Records of Dorchester County, Maryland

    Land Records • 302 Records • Added September 2, 2022 • mdlandrec.net

    This database contains extracts from the Abstracts From the Land Records of Dorchester County, Maryland series abstracted by James A. McAllister, Jr., the former Assistant Register of Wills of Dorchester County…

  • Abstracts from William Still's Underground Railroad

    Underground Railroad and Runaways • 162 Records • Added May 2, 2022 • archive.org

    This source was abstracted from William Still's 1872 Underground Railroad, which documented the narratives of individuals who had escaped slavery in the South. Stories of individuals who escaped from or throu…

  • Abstracts of Maryland County Land Records, 1769-1803

    Land Records • 900 Records • Added July 28, 2022 • mdlandrec.net

    This abstract of land records is extracted from the series of Maryland land record books by Leslie and Neil Keddie. The original records can be found on https://mdlandrec.net/main/index.cfm by searching the ap…

  • Abstracts of Petitions to Southern County Courts, 1775-1867

    Judicial • 91 Records • Added October 11, 2021

    Delmarva locations were extracted from the “finding aids” of microfilm series Petitions to Southern County Courts, 1775-1867, from Series II of Race, Slavery, and Free Blacks Part B (Maryland (1775-1866), D…

  • Abstracts of Somerset County Orphans Court Proceedings (Volumes 1-3), 1772-1792, 1811-1852

    Wills and Inheritance • 891 Records • Added October 14, 2021

    Abstract entries such as apprenticeships of free people of color and transactions regarding sales, sometimes including names, of enslaved people and the names of the deceased’s estate from which they came are…

  • Abstracts of Worcester Orphans Court Proceedings (Volumes 1-3), 1780-1832

    Wills and Inheritance • 1,083 Records • Added February 9, 2022

    These court proceedings detail the changing ownership of apprentices or the enslaved to other individuals. This abstract only contains data for people noted as "Free" or "Slave". These records of court proceedi…

  • Abstracts of Worcester Orphans Court Proceedings, 1848-1851

    Wills and Inheritance • 425 Records • Added June 20, 2023 • www.familysearch.org

    This source includes abstracts of references to free and enslaved Black individuals found in the Worcester County Orphans Court Proceedings (Liber TT5) 1848-1851. These Orphans Court records include Apprentice…

  • Accomack County Indentures, 1798-1835

    Apprentices and Indentures • 104 Records • Added October 20, 2021

    These indentures were transcribed by Gail M. Walczyk from the Court Records from Wills and Deeds to Orphans Accounts and published by Peter's Row in 2002. This compilation includes individuals noted as peopl…

  • Accomack County, Virginia Death Register, 1853-1896

    Vital Information • 3,887 Records • Added October 15, 2021

    Transcribed and compiled by Gail M. Walczyk, this register records the deaths of African Americans in Accomack County, Virginia between 1853 and 1896 (excepting 1861 to 1864).

  • Apprenticeships from the Somerset County Register of Wills (Indentures), 1864-1867

    Apprentices and Indentures • 796 Records • Added October 7, 2021

    The apprenticeship applications submitted to the Register of Wills documents the attempts of former slaveowners to maintain possession of the children of their recently freed slaves immediately after 1864 Maryl…

  • Apprenticeships from the Worcester County Register of Wills (Indentures), 1864-1867

    Apprentices and Indentures • 471 Records • Added January 10, 2022

    The apprenticeship applications submitted to the Register of Wills documents the attempts of former slaveowners to maintain possession of the children of their recently freed slaves immediately after 1864 Maryl…

  • Bible Records of Accomack and Northampton Counties, Virginia

    Family Bibles • 102 Records • Added July 2, 2024

    This source contains the births, deaths, marriages, and other familial records of both enslaved and free Black families in Northampton County and (additionally) Accomack County. The majority of the family bible…

  • Birth Register of Dr. Jesse Wanner, 1914-1922 (Wicomico County, MD)

    Vital Information • 662 Records • Added January 6, 2023

    This 1914 to 1922 birth registry from the office of Dr. Jesse Rosenberger Wanner includes the dates of birth and the physicians or midwives carrying out the births. Dr Wanner’s practice covered the Nanticoke…

  • Caroline County Mortality Schedule (1850-1880)

    Vital Information • 127 Records • Added November 27, 2023

    This abstract includes individuals who died within one year prior to June 1st of the decennial U.S. census in Caroline County, Maryland from 1850 to 1880. These schedules may be the only record of a person’s …

  • Cemeteries in Linda Duyer's 'One Kind Favor' book

    Cemetery • 333 Records • Added July 6, 2021

    Cemetery data is produced from Linda Duyer's book titled One Kind Favor: African American Burial Sites of Dorchester and Wicomico Counties, compiled in 1997. Data include tombstone transcriptions, family rela…

  • Certificates of Freedom in Dorchester County, Maryland 1806-1864

    Manumission & Freedom • 2,260 Records • Added September 9, 2024 • msa.maryland.gov

    This source was abstracted from the book Manumission Records 1806-1864 Dorchester County, Maryland transcribed by Elaine McGill. While the title of the book indicates manumission records, they are actually c…

  • Certificates of Freedom in Somerset County, 1821-1864

    Manumission & Freedom • 1,075 Records • Added July 7, 2021

    A Certificate of Freedom, issued by the Clerk of the Court of Somerset County, proved the status of Black individuals, in some instances preventing them from being resold into slavery. These certificates featur…

  • Coventry Parish Church Records, 1703-1899

    Births, Baptisms, Confirmations, and Funerals

    Church • 268 Records • Added June 27, 2023

    This source contains the baptisms, births, confirmations, and funerals of both enslaved and free Black people in Coventry Parish (Somerset County) between 1742 and 1896. Information in this source includes the …

  • Coventry Parish Church Records, 1703-1899

    Marriage Records

    Vital Information • 17 Records • Added June 27, 2023

    This source contains the marriages of both enslaved and free Black people in Coventry Parish (Somerset County) between 1843 and 1858. Information in this source includes the names of the bride and groom, slaveo…

  • Delaware Annual Conference Methodist Episcopal Church Memoirs 1865-1950

    Church • 477 Records • Added November 30, 2022

    The Delaware Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church was established in 1864 for African American Methodists in Delaware and the Mid-Atlantic region that included parts of Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ne…

  • Delaware Bastardy Bonds 1851-1890

    Vital Information • 36 Records • Added January 19, 2022 • archives.delaware.gov

    Bastardy Bonds posted by the father of an illegitimate child ensured reimbursement for the expenses acquired by those caring for the child. These data are abstracted from Delaware Public Archives' "Sussex Count…

  • Delaware Coroner's Inquests 1757-1890

    Vital Information • 97 Records • Added January 20, 2022 • archives.delaware.gov

    Coroner’s inquests are investigations into the deaths of individuals who died by a sudden, violent, unnatural, or suspicious manner, or who died without medical attendance. This data is abstracted from Delawa…

  • Delaware Enrolled Bills 1776-1911

    Laws and Legislation • 217 Records • Added January 19, 2022 • archives.delaware.gov

    Abstracted from Delaware Public Archives' partial index of legislation passed by Delaware's General Assembly from 1776 to 1911. This extraction lists legislation that refers to “negro,” "slaves," or “colo…

  • Documents from the Freedmen and Southern Society Project

    Manumission & Freedom • 48 Records • Added May 13, 2024 • freedmen.umd.edu

    This source compiles correspondences, testimonies, military orders, and other written documents from the edited volumes and project website of the Freedmen and Southern Society Project, which is supported by th…

  • Domestic Traffic Advertisements (Maryland State Archives: Beneath the Underground database)

    Slave Sales • 657 Records • Added August 31, 2022 • slavery2.msa.maryland.gov

    This source includes newspaper advertisements placed by slave traders to buy or sell slaves throughout the state. This source includes only records from Eastern Shore counties; for records from all other Maryla…

  • Dorchester County Circuit Court, Chattel Records, 1847-1860

    Slave Sales • 635 Records • Added March 1, 2023 • msa.maryland.gov

    This source was compiled from two volumes of Dorchester County Chattel Records (Libers FJH2 & WJ3) found online at the Maryland State Archives – Volumes 776 & 805. The original Libers include bills of sale fo…

  • Dorchester County Marriage Records, 1866-1906

    Vital Information • 2,621 Records • Added January 13, 2023 • guide.msa.maryland.gov

    The records in this collection contain the names, ages, occupations, marital status, marriage dates and locations (often someone’s home) of the marriages in Dorchester County, Maryland between 1866 and 1906. …

  • Enduring Connections Audio & Video

    Multimedia • 59 Records • Added August 9, 2023

    These audiovisual sources come from a variety of collections at the Nabb Research Center and primarily consist of oral history interviews, although there are some performances and events with audio. Videos are …

  • Family Bible of Grandmother Bradley

    Family Bibles • 9 Records • Added June 23, 2023 • www.dropbox.com

    This source documents the enslaved individuals born to the Bradley family in Maryland (likely western Wicomico County) from the years 1836 to 1861. This loose page was included amongst other family bible pages …

  • Family Bible of Isaac and Frances Molock (Dorchester County, Maryland)

    Family Bibles • 34 Records • Added June 23, 2023 • www.dropbox.com

    Recorded by Isaac and Frances Molock and later descendants, this source documents the births, marriages, and deaths of members of the Molock family, a Black family living in Dorchester County, Maryland, between…

  • Family Bible of Thomas Pollitt (Worcester County, Maryland)

    Family Bibles • 10 Records • Added April 12, 2023 • www.dropbox.com

    This bible, printed in 1767, was maintained by Thomas Pollitt of Worcester County, Maryland, who recorded the names and birthdates of 10 children of Titus and Rachel, two individuals who he (and later his child…

  • Family Bible of William Edward Colonna (Accomack County, Virginia)

    Family Bibles • 10 Records • Added June 23, 2023 • www.dropbox.com

    This source contains the births and deaths of children enslaved to the Colonna family in Accomack County, Virginia between 1846 and 1858. This source also includes the children's names, their mother's names, an…

  • Free Black Families of Colonial Delmarva (abstracted by Paul Heinegg)

    Biographical • 104 Records • Added June 17, 2022 • www.freeafricanamericans.com

    This source, abstracted from original records by Paul Heinegg, compiles the histories of free Black families that lived on the Delmarva Peninsula during the Colonial Era. Many of these families descended throug…

  • Freedmen's Bureau Correspondence on Schools, 1869-1870

    Education • 288 Records • Added August 25, 2023 • nmaahc.si.edu

    This source contains correspondence from agents and administrators of the Freedmen's Bureau requesting assistance for schools on Maryland's Eastern Shore and in Delaware. The records are dated from 1869 to 187…

  • Freedmen's Bureau Illegal Apprenticeship Complaints

    Apprentices and Indentures • 47 Records • Added July 28, 2022

    In 1864 Maryland ratified their constitution to free all enslaved people in the state. While apprenticeships had long been a practice in the region, formerly enslaved children and the children of former slaves…

  • Freedmen's Bureau School Reports, 1869-1870

    Education • 46 Records • Added June 23, 2023

    This source contains monthly reports from schools commissioned by the Freedmen's Bureau across the Delmarva Peninsula after the Civil War. The records are dated 1869-1870 and provide statistics and general rema…

  • Handsell Plantation Enslaved Peoples Database

    Censuses & Lists • 298 Records • Added June 22, 2022 • www.restorehandsell.org

    This source documents information about the individuals who were once enslaved by the owners of Handsell Plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland. Compiled and researched by the Nanticoke Historic Preservation…

  • Hiring Agreement from the Gilliss Family Collection, 1862

    Slave Sales • 2 Records • Added September 14, 2023 • libapps.salisbury.edu

    These two hiring agreements for people likely enslaved by the Gilliss family of Worcester County, Maryland come from the Gilliss Family Collection (1999.006) at the Nabb Research Center. The Gilliss Family Coll…

  • Hungary Neck District, Maryland Enslaved Peoples, Servants, and Slaveholders, 1635-1777

    American Origins (Nabb Research Center)

    Censuses & Lists • 135 Records • Added June 21, 2023 • webapps.salisbury.edu

    This source lists the names of enslaved peoples, servants, and slaveowners in the Hungary Neck district of Somerset County, Maryland between 1635 and 1777 which has been abstracted from inventories, tax lists, …

  • John E. Jacob Jr.'s City of Salisbury Surname Index and Abstracts, 1716-1864

    Land Records • 168 Records • Added November 30, 2021

    These notes, compiling the names of people noted as Blacks or negroes in the land records of Somerset and Worcester counties, were abstracted from the Nabb Center’s John Jacob Collection (1984.016) of note c…

  • John E. Jacob Jr.'s Lower Eastern Shore Indexes and Abstracts (Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester Counties)

    Land Records • 199 Records • Added October 21, 2021 • archive.org

    These notes, compiling the names of people noted as Blacks or negroes in the land records of Somerset and Worcester counties, were abstracted from the Nabb Center’s John Jacob Collection (1984.016) of note c…

  • Laws and Legislation Related to Slavery and Free Blacks in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia (1642-1860)

    Laws and Legislation • 180 Records • Added July 18, 2023

    This source compiles many of the laws that affected enslaved Americans and free Black people in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia between 1642 and 1860. Included are colonial and state-level laws, as well as pro…

  • Madison Circuit of the Delaware Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church baptismal records

    Church • 221 Records • Added July 6, 2021 • ia802808.us.archive.org

    This source documents the baptisms conducted by the clergy at Malone Methodist Episcopal Church, which was within the Delaware Conference's (African American) Madison Circuit in Dorchester County, Maryland. Dat…

  • Madison Circuit of the Delaware Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church marriage records

    Vital Information • 97 Records • Added July 7, 2021 • ia802808.us.archive.org

    This source documents the marriages conducted by the clergy at the Malone Methodist Episcopal Church, which was within the Delaware Conference's (African American) Madison Circuit in Dorchester County, Maryland…

  • Manumissions in Somerset and Worcester County Land Records, 1825-1866

    Manumission & Freedom • 1,352 Records • Added July 7, 2021

    This abstract includes deeds of manumission for formerly enslaved people found between 1825-1866 in Somerset and Worcester counties, Maryland. Included in the listing are the names of slave-owners and the ensla…

  • Maryland Colonization Society Manumission Books,1832-1860

    Manumission & Freedom • 1,138 Records • Added September 10, 2024

    This source contains abstracts from the book Volume 3 Maryland Colonization Society Manumission Book 1832-1860 abstracted by Jerry M. Hynson. (E 185.86 H9). It contains abstracts from the *Record of Manumissio…

  • Maryland Death Certificates (Somerset, Wicomico, Worcester Counties), 1910-1922

    Vital Information • 6,008 Records • Added May 20, 2024 • guide.msa.maryland.gov

    This source includes transcriptions of death certificates dating from May 1910 to March 1922 that document the deaths of Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester County, Maryland people who were recorded as Black (or…

  • Maryland Penitentiary Records (Maryland State Archives: Beneath the Underground database)

    Incarceration • 9 Records • Added August 31, 2022 • slavery.msa.maryland.gov

    This source includes data compiled from records of individuals arrested during the Antebellum period for slavery related crimes (specifically 1811-1864). This source includes only records from Eastern Shore cou…

  • Maryland Veterans of Color in the First World War

    Military • 1,646 Records • Added May 22, 2024

    This source was derived from two volumes of Maryland in the World War 1917-1919, published by the Maryland War Records Commission in 1933. Records include veterans of the First World War who were denoted as "…

  • Marylanders Sent to Liberia, 1820-1840

    Colonization • 274 Records • Added October 15, 2021

    Compiled from "Marylanders to Liberia” by Jerry M. Hynson, published in Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin Spring 1998 Volume 39 Number 2, which abstracted data from *U.S. Congress, Senate, Roll of Emig…

  • Medical Accounts Ledger of Alexander Hamilton Bayly, 1835-1847

    Miscellaneous • 127 Records • Added August 1, 2023 • archive.org

    This medical accounts ledger documents Alexander Hamilton Bayly's medical work in Dorchester County, Maryland from 1835 to 1847. Based in Cambridge, Bayly's patients lived across the county and included free Bl…

  • Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church baptismal records

    Church • 696 Records • Added July 7, 2021

    Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church, located in Princess Anne, Maryland, and originally part of the Delaware Conference, was started in 1885 to replace the John Wesley M. E. Church which was no longer adequ…

  • Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church funeral records

    Church • 93 Records • Added July 7, 2021

    Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church, located in Princess Anne, Maryland, and originally part of the Delaware Conference, was started in 1885 to replace the John Wesley M. E. Church which was no longer adequ…

  • Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church marriage records

    Vital Information • 503 Records • Added July 7, 2021

    Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church, located in Princess Anne, Maryland, and originally part of the Delaware Conference, was started in 1885 to replace the John Wesley M. E. Church which was no longer adequ…

  • Mt. Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church cemetery records

    Cemetery • 169 Records • Added July 6, 2021 • archive.org

    Mt. Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in Fruitland, MD (formerly known as Fork Town) in 1873. These cemetery records feature information of the deceased, showing birth dates as early as 1816 and de…

  • Mt. Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church baptismal records

    Church • 486 Records • Added July 6, 2021

    Mt. Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in Fruitland, MD (formerly known as Fork Town) in 1873. These baptismal records note the dates and names of individuals baptized from 1889 to 1917. Some record…

  • Mt. Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church marriage records

    Vital Information • 135 Records • Added July 6, 2021

    Mt. Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in Fruitland, MD (formerly known as Fork Town) in 1873. These marriage records document the names, ages, and residences of couples seeking union in Wicomico Co…

  • Northampton County, Virginia Register of Free Blacks 1853-1861

    Censuses & Lists • 293 Records • Added April 19, 2022

    This register notes the names, birthdates, appearances, and birthplaces of free Black people in Northampton County, Virginia from 1853 to 1861. The register was compiled and published by Frances Bibbins Latimer…

  • Pardon Records (Maryland State Archives: Beneath the Underground database)

    Incarceration • 18 Records • Added August 31, 2022 • slavery2.msa.maryland.gov

    This source includes Dockets (1862-1869) and Records (1845-1865) showing individuals pardoned from jail. This source includes only records from Eastern Shore counties; for records from all other Maryland counti…

  • Poll Books of Virginia Electors (Accomack and Northampton Counties), 1867 (Library of Virginia African American Narratives project)

    Voter Registration • 1,822 Records • Added November 2, 2021 • www.virginiamemory.com

    This source (and description) was extracted from data provided under Creative Commons from the Library of Virginia’s VIRGINIA UNTOLD: THE AFRICAN AMERICAN NARRATIVE project. The Library’s African American N…

  • Register of Individuals Enslaved at Brownsville, Virginia

    Censuses & Lists • 90 Records • Added June 13, 2022 • scrcguides.libraries.wm.edu

    Brownsville, an estate just east of Nassawadox in Northampton County on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, was owned by the Upshur family for many centuries and now stands as the headquarters to The Nature Conserva…

  • Robert Bell's Book of Slave Statistics, 1864-68 (Dorchester County, MD)

    Censuses & Lists • 1,464 Records • Added July 27, 2021

    This abstract comes from Commissioner of Slave Statistics, Robert Bell's book of slave statistics, recorded in Dorchester County, Maryland between 1864 and 1868. It was later transcribed by Elaine McGill. *A ta…

  • Roll of Deceased Ministerial Members of the Delaware Conference, 1867-1965

    Church • 326 Records • Added October 24, 2022 • www.barrattschapel.org

    The Delaware Conference was the African-American conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church that included the geographic area of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, as well as parts of New J…

  • Roll of Enlisted Men of the 7th Regiment (U.S. Colored Troops)

    Military • 1,251 Records • Added June 20, 2023 • www.google.com

    This roll of the enlisted men of the 7th Regiment USCT was abstracted from the 1878 book Record of the Services of the Seventh Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops from September 1863 to November 1866 compiled by Jo…

  • Runaway Slave Advertisements (Maryland State Archives: Beneath the Underground database)

    Underground Railroad and Runaways • 677 Records • Added September 30, 2022 • slavery2.msa.maryland.gov

    Included in this source are runaway advertisements that slaveowners placed in local papers in an attempt to retrieve their escaped slaves. Other advertisements were placed by County Sheriffs trying to return ru…

  • Segregated Schools on Delmarva

    Education • 277 Records • Added March 31, 2023

    These data were compiled from various sources that document the segregated schools on the Delmarva Peninsula, including African American Education in Delaware by Bradley Skelcher (1999), Landmarks by France…

  • Slave Jail Records (Maryland State Archives: Beneath the Underground database)

    Incarceration • 147 Records • Added August 31, 2022 • slavery.msa.maryland.gov

    This source includes names of individuals found in Baltimore City and County jail. This source includes only records from Eastern Shore counties; for records from all other Maryland counties, please visit the L…

  • Slave Sales in Somerset and Worcester County land records, 1825-1864

    Slave Sales • 1,876 Records • Added July 7, 2021

    This source was abstracted from land records that recorded information regarding slave sales including the names of the buyers, sellers, and names of the enslaved individuals. Also noted are the dollar amounts …

  • Somerset County Bond Book EB28, 1805-1815

    Wills and Inheritance • 79 Records • Added October 18, 2021

    This abstract includes data from Bond Book EB 1805-1815, which was transcribed by Rebecca F. Miller in 1993 (F187.S7 B6). This abstraction includes only records for people listed as "negroes," slaves, or free B…

  • Somerset County Bonds, 1827-1850

    Wills and Inheritance • 402 Records • Added December 2, 2021

    Somerset County Bonds 1827-1850 are contained in the Probate records under the Register of Wills (Somerset, Maryland). Entries pertaining to people noted as "negroes" were extracted from Bond Books JP8, JP13, …

  • Somerset County Marriage Records, 1796-1871

    Vital Information • 542 Records • Added August 2, 2021

    Abstracted from Roy C. Pollitt's 1986 transcription, Somerset County, Maryland Marriage Records, 1796-1871. Note that in most cases, the date recorded reflects the date the licenses were purchased, but the ac…

  • Somerset County Receipt Books (1808-1842)

    Wills and Inheritance • 150 Records • Added January 11, 2022

    These receipts regarding the guardianship of estates come from Somerset County receipt books EB 30 and JP 10, with dates ranging from 1808 to 1842. Items referencing people of color were abstracted by Rebecca F…

  • Somerset County, Maryland Board of County Commissioners: Assessment Ledger 1852-1866 (Barren Creek District)

    Tax Assessments • 89 Records • Added October 13, 2022

    This source is an abstract of the 1852-1866 Somerset County, Maryland tax assessment ledger for the Barren Creek District. This assessment also includes what became the Sharptown District. In 1867, both distri…

  • Somerset County, Maryland Board of County Commissioners: Assessment Ledgers 1852-1866 (Dames Quarter and Dublin Election Districts 4 & 8)

    Tax Assessments • 212 Records • Added December 15, 2023

    This abstract of the 1852-1866 tax assessment ledger is for Dames Quarter District 4 and Dublin District 8 of Somerset County, Maryland.
    Assessment records include taxable property, such as land, livestock, …

  • Somerset County, Maryland Commissioners of the Tax: Assessment Ledger 1817-1822 (Election District 2)

    Tax Assessments • 397 Records • Added October 12, 2022

    This extraction from the 1817-1822 Somerset County, Maryland tax assessment ledger is for District 2 (there were 3 districts during this period; District 2 included much of the central portion of the county at …

  • Somerset County, Maryland Commissioners of the Tax: Assessment Ledger 1823-1829 (Election Districts 1 & 3)

    Tax Assessments • 821 Records • Added September 6, 2022

    There were three tax districts in Somerset County, Maryland during this time period. It appears that only records from Districts 1 and 3 are extant; District 2 is missing. These assessment records include taxa…

  • Sussex County Almshouse Birth and Death Records

    Vital Information • 198 Records • Added January 18, 2022

    An almshouse provided charitable housing for the poor or landless of the county. These records are abstracted from Delaware Public Archives' "Sussex County Almshouse Births and Deaths." Data shows the births an…

  • Sussex County, DE Apprentice Indentures, 1822-1924

    Apprentices and Indentures • 1,602 Records • Added January 19, 2022

    These records document an agreement between an apprentice and master to learn a trade, such as farming, housekeeping, blacksmithing, etc. Agreements include terms of service, payment received at the end of serv…

  • Sussex County, Delaware Tax Assessments, 1801-1868

    (**Dagsborough and Lewes & Rehobeth Hundreds ONLY**)

    Tax Assessments • 2,091 Records • Added June 21, 2023

    This source details the property assessed for taxation of individuals in the Dagsborough and Lewes & Rehobeth Hundreds in Sussex Co., Delaware, ranging from the years 1801-1868. Enslaved persons (along with the…

  • Talbot County, Maryland Indentured Children 1796-1913

    Apprentices and Indentures • 812 Records • Added August 2, 2023 • guide.msa.maryland.gov

    This listing, extracted from Bound to Serve: The Indentured Children In Talbot County, Maryland 1794-1920 (F187.T2 L46 1983) by R. Bernice Leonard, contains indentures of “free” children that were filed …

  • Talbot County, Maryland Marriage Licenses, 1850-1875

    Vital Information • 474 Records • Added August 7, 2023 • guide.msa.maryland.gov

    This listing was abstracted from the book Talbot County Maryland Marriage Licenses 1850-1875 (F187.T2 L55) by R. Bernice Leonard. Her book is basically an index that includes the groom, bride, date and minis…

  • U.S Census Mortality Schedules (1850-1880)

    Vital Information • 866 Records • Added March 8, 2022

    This abstract includes individuals who died within one year prior to June 1st of the decennial U.S. census in Delaware and Virginia from 1850 to 1880. These schedules may be the only record of a person’s deat…

  • United States Colored Troops Gravesite Inventory

    Military • 167 Records • Added January 10, 2022

    This source was abstracted from Graven in Stone and Buried Under the Shield: A Guide to Gravestones of Maryland's Civil War Veterans by Ralph E. Eschelman and A. Douglas Rawlingson. The full inventory (MSA SC…

  • Upper Shore Manumissions (Maryland State Archives: Beneath the Underground database)

    Manumission & Freedom • 739 Records • Added August 2, 2023 • slavery2.msa.maryland.gov

    This source includes manumission records for Dorchester, Caroline, and Talbot Counties in Maryland. A manumission is the legal document freeing an enslaved person and can be found in land, probate, and chattel …

  • USCT 19th Regiment Bounty Roll

    Military • 185 Records • Added July 14, 2021

    Slaves mustered into the 19th Regiment, US Colored Troops (Dorchester, Somerset, and Worcester Counties, Maryland). Compiled by Linda Duyer from original versions of the Maryland Adjutant General Civil War Must…

  • USCT 9th Regiment Bounty Roll

    Military • 984 Records • Added July 7, 2021

    These records were compiled from Linda Duyer's One Kind Favor - See That My Grave's Kept Clean: African American Burial Sites of Dorchester and Wicomico Counties, Maryland. Duyer's listings were compiled dire…

  • Virginia Bills of Sale from Accomack County Deeds, 1701-1838 (Library of Virginia African American Narratives project)

    Slave Sales • 239 Records • Added October 29, 2021 • www.virginiamemory.com

    This source (and description) was extracted from data provided under Creative Commons from the Library of Virginia’s VIRGINIA UNTOLD: THE AFRICAN AMERICAN NARRATIVE project. The Library’s African American N…

  • Virginia Birth Index of Slaves, 1853-1865

    Vital Information • 1,616 Records • Added July 15, 2021

    From Leslie Anderson Morales (Editor) 2007 index of this record: In 1853, the Commonwealth of Virginia began an annual registration of births and deaths. The Birth Index of Slaves, 1853-1865 was later transcrib…

  • Virginia Certificates of Importation from Accomack County Deeds, 1701-1838 (Library of Virginia African American Narratives project)

    Slave Sales • 41 Records • Added October 29, 2021 • www.virginiamemory.com

    These records were recorded from Accomack County (Va.) Deeds, 1701-1838 (bulk 1737-1820). Beginning in 1778, Virginia law required enslavers who brought enslaved people into the state to register them with the …

  • Virginia Colonization Board Journal of Proceedings (Library of Virginia African American Narratives project)

    Colonization • 2 Records • Added November 1, 2021 • www.virginiamemory.com

    As early as 1691, the Virginia General Assembly began passing laws that forced free Black Virginias to leave the Commonwealth. Fears around insurrection and the desire to control Black bodies gave rise to insti…

  • Virginia Commonwealth Causes (Accomack County), 1815-1863 (Library of Virginia African American Narratives project)

    Laws and Legislation • 308 Records • Added October 29, 2021 • www.virginiamemory.com

    Commonwealth causes are criminal court cases filed by the state government that consist primarily of warrants, summons, subpoenas, indictments, recognizances, and verdicts handed down by juries and other legal …

  • Virginia Coroner's Inquisitions for Accomack County (1806-1873) and Northampton County (1728-1868) (Library of Virginia African American Narratives project)

    Vital Information • 126 Records • Added October 29, 2021 • www.virginiamemory.com

    Coroner’s Inquisitions are investigations into the deaths of individuals who died by a sudden, violent, unnatural, or suspicious manner, or who died without medical attendance. Documents commonly found in cor…

  • Virginia Deeds of Emancipation (Accomack County), 1701-1838 (Library of Virginia African American Narratives project)

    Manumission & Freedom • 716 Records • Added October 29, 2021 • www.virginiamemory.com

    Deeds of emancipation and manumission essentially provide the same information and there is little difference between the two. Both include the name of the enslaver, the name of the enslaved person to be freed,…

  • Virginia Free Negro Registrations , 1793-1861 (Library of Virginia African American Narratives project)

    Censuses & Lists • 32 Records • Added October 29, 2021 • www.virginiamemory.com

    Acts passed by the Virginia Legislature in 1793 and 1803 required every “free negro” or “mulatto” to be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the county clerk. This collection contains records…

  • Virginia Free Negro Requisitions for Public Use (Accomack County) (Library of Virginia African American Narratives project)

    Military • 39 Records • Added October 29, 2021 • www.virginiamemory.com

    Virginia enacted legislation during the Civil War to requisition enslaved and free Black people to work on military fortifications and other defensive works around the Commonwealth. The records found in this co…

  • Virginia Free Negro Tax Records (Accomack County) (Library of Virginia African American Narratives project)

    Censuses & Lists • 11,702 Records • Added October 29, 2021 • www.virginiamemory.com

    Free Negro Tax Records include “Free Negro Tax Lists” and “Free Negro Delinquent Tax Lists.” In 1801, the Virginia Legislature passed an act requiring commissioners of the revenue to annually return a c…

  • Virginia Freedom Suits, 1723-1860 (Library of Virginia African American Narratives project)

    Manumission & Freedom • 48 Records • Added November 1, 2021 • www.virginiamemory.com

    Freedom suits are law suits initiated by enslaved people seeking to gain their freedom. This collection includes petitions, records of suits, depositions, affidavits, and wills. They record enslaved peoples’ …

  • Virginia Indentures of Apprenticeship (Accomack County), 1802-1818 (Library of Virginia African American Narratives project)

    Apprentices and Indentures • 9 Records • Added November 1, 2021 • www.virginiamemory.com

    Indentures of apprenticeship are composed of indentures binding out free Black individuals, often children, to learn a particular trade or craft. These indentures may be written agreements between the family of…

  • Virginia Legislative Petitions, 1776-1853 (Library of Virginia African American Narratives project)

    Laws and Legislation • 45 Records • Added November 1, 2021 • www.virginiamemory.com

    Petitions to the General Assembly were the primary catalyst for legislation in the Commonwealth from 1776 until 1865. Public improvements, military claims, divorce, manumission of enslaved people, petitions for…

  • Virginia Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, 1846-1866 (Library of Virginia African American Narratives project)

    Manumission & Freedom • 80 Records • Added November 1, 2021 • www.virginiamemory.com

    In 1806, the General Assembly passed a law to suppress the manumissions of slaves. The law stated that all formerly enslaved people freed after May 1, 1806, who remained in the Commonwealth more than a year cou…

  • Virginia Public Claims, 1792-1858 (Library of Virginia African American Narratives project)

    Incarceration • 69 Records • Added November 1, 2021 • www.virginiamemory.com

    Localities and individuals submitted public claims to the Auditor of Public Accounts to obtain payment for services rendered to the state. The Auditor of Public Accounts was the chief auditor and accountant of …

  • Virginia Runaway Slave Records, (Accomack County, 1826, 1839) (Library of Virginia African American Narratives project)

    Underground Railroad and Runaways • 9 Records • Added November 1, 2021 • www.virginiamemory.com

    A “runaway slave record,” or as it is officially titled, “Runaway and Escaped Slaves Records, 1794, 1806-1863,” include accounts, correspondence, receipts, and reports concerning expenses incurred by lo…

  • Voter Registration Roll, Accomack County, Temperanceville district, 1902-1950s

    Voter Registration • 115 Records • Added July 7, 2021 • espl-genealogy.org

    This “List of Colored Voters Registered at Temperanceville Precinct in Atlantic Magisterial District” comes from the collections of the Eastern Shore Public Library. Registrations date from 1902 to the 19…

  • Voter Registration Roll, Somerset County, Asbury district, circa 1900

    Voter Registration • 91 Records • Added July 7, 2021

    This voter registration roll contains the names, ages, and literacy statuses for African American voters in the Asbury District of Somerset County, Maryland. Information about voter's previous voting activity i…

  • Voter Registration Roll, Wicomico County, Barren Creek district, circa 1885

    Voter Registration • 85 Records • Added July 7, 2021

    This voter registration roll notes the names, ages, and counties of birth for African American voters in Wicomico County, Maryland. Other information includes dates of naturalization or reasons for the disquali…

  • Voter Registration Rolls, Somerset County, 1870-1873

    Voter Registration • 2,969 Records • Added November 1, 2021

    This voter registration roll includes the names and district numbers of African American voters in Somerset County, Maryland from 1870 to 1873. The original rolls, dating 1870, 1872, 1873, come from Somerset C…

  • Voter Registration Rolls, Somerset County, circa 1920

    Voter Registration • 2,657 Records • Added March 15, 2023

    This voter registration roll includes the names, districts, political parties, and ages of Black voters in Somerset County, Maryland in 1920. The 19th amendment was ratified in 1920 extending the right to vote …

  • Voting Rights Laws and Legislation in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia

    Voter Registration • 9 Records • Added June 20, 2023

    This source includes compiled voting rights laws and legislation that applied to Black voters in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, as well as federal laws that affected the entire country. Included are proposed…

  • White's Chapel Church Records

    Baptisms

    Church • 39 Records • Added August 17, 2023 • www.dropbox.com

    Housed at the Charles Chipman Cultural Center in Salisbury, Maryland, this source contains the baptisms of members of White’s Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church (Wicomico Coun…

  • White's Chapel Church Records

    Marriages

    Vital Information • 131 Records • Added August 17, 2023 • www.dropbox.com

    Housed at the Charles Chipman Cultural Center in Salisbury, Maryland, this source contains the marriages of members of White’s Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church (Wicomico Cou…

  • White's Chapel Church Records

    Deaths and Funerals

    Vital Information • 9 Records • Added August 17, 2023 • www.dropbox.com

    Housed at the Charles Chipman Cultural Center in Salisbury, Maryland, this source contains the deaths and funerals of members of White’s Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church (Wi…

  • Wicomico County Marriage Records, 1867-1887

    Vital Information • 497 Records • Added November 1, 2021

    These records date from 1867-1887 and document marriages between people of color in Wicomico County, Maryland. The records were transcribed by L. Paul Morris from Wicomico County Circuit Court, Liber T.F.J.R.

  • Wills from Caroline, Kent, and Talbot Counties of Maryland, 1688-1886

    Probate & Other Court Records • 3,824 Records • Added October 10, 2023

    This source contains abstracts of wills from Talbot, Caroline and Kent Counties in Maryland. Probate dates within the series range between 1777-1872 for Talbot, 1688-1886 for Caroline, and 1777-1867 for Kent. …

  • Wills from Dorchester, Somerset, Worcester & Wicomico Counties of Maryland, 1783-1919

    Wills and Inheritance • 4,180 Records • Added March 8, 2022

    This source, depending on the county, contains abstracts of wills probated between 1783-1919, and consists of entries in which people referred to as "Negroes" are mentioned as a legacy, heir, or deceased indivi…

  • Wills from Sussex County, Delaware, 1751-1883

    Wills and Inheritance • 1,721 Records • Added September 26, 2022

    This source contains abstracts of wills probated between 1751-1883 in Sussex County, Delaware. Note that there are several gaps in this compilation (such as 1828-1851,1854-1855, and 1864-1869). This extract co…

  • Worcester County Land Records: Abstracts of Liber AG, AF, and AH, 1815 - 1818

    Land Records • 41 Records • Added July 6, 2022

    These records were extracted from a book of the same name; a project of the Lower Delmarva Genealogical Society and the Nabb Research Center from 1997. These three volumes of records are missing, due to a fire …

  • Worcester County Marriage Records, 1795-1865

    Vital Information • 41 Records • Added October 11, 2021

    This source is an abstract of records transcribed by Jody Powell in Worcester County Maryland Marriage Records, 1795-1865.