Talbot County, Maryland Genealogy

United States

Maryland

Talbot County

Guide to Talbot County, Maryland ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Maryland Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Easton Organized: February 19, 1661 Parent County(s): Kent Neighboring Counties Anne Arundel  • Calvert  • Caroline  • Dorchester  • Queen Anne's See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

Talbot County was named for Lady Grace Talbot. The county is located in the east-central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Talbot County Courthouse
11 North Washington Street, Suite 16
Easton, MD 21601
Phone: 410-822-2611
Talbot County Website

Clerk of the Circuit Court has marriage records from 1799, divorce and land records from 1776, court records from 1818 and land records from 1662.
Register of Wills has the probate records.

Talbot County, Maryland Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1898	1794	1898	1818	1662	1668	1790
*Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1898. General compliance by the 1910s.

Record Loss

Many court records have been lost. For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see: Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill at 24-7 Family History Circle. When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle at Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog. Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.

Boundary Changes

Created February 19, 1661 from Kent County. County seat: Easton Queen Anne's County was set off 9 April 1706 For animated maps illustrating Maryland county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Maryland County Boundary Maps" (1637-1997) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Towns
Easton (county seat) Oxford	Queen Anne (partly in Queen Anne's County Saint Michaels	Trappe
Unincorporated communities
Bozman Claiborne McDaniel	Neavitt Newcomb Royal Oak	Sherwood Wittman Wye Mills
Census-designated places
Cordova	Tilghman Island

History Timeline

• Named for Grace (Calvert), Lady Talbot, the wife of Sir Robert Talbot 2nd Baron of Carlton, Kildare, and daughter of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore. She was the sister of Cecelius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, and 1st Proprietor Governor of Maryland.

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Talbot County, Maryland online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com MDGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project MDInterment MDGravestones Billion Graves
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves FamilySearch Places
See Maryland Cemeteries for more information

All Saints Cemetery Chapel Cemetery DeShields Cemetery Doverbrook Cemetery Fairview Cemetery Graham Cemetery Hole-in-the-Wall Cemetery John Wesley Cemetery Kemp Cemetery Kings Creek Cemetery

Landing Neck Cemetery Merrick Cemetery Old John Wesley Cem. Old Paradise Cemetery Old St Joseph Cemetery Oxford Cemetery Paradise Cemetery Piney Hill Cemetery Queen Esther Cemetery Rattlesnake Point Cemetery

Readly Cemetery Richland Memorial Park Roberts Cemetery Round Top Graveyard Royal Oak Cemetery St James Cemetery Saint Johns Cemetery Saint Lukes Cemetery Saint Pauls Cemetery

Saint Stephens Graveyard Spring Hill Cemetery Third Haven Meeting Burial Ground Tilghman Island Cemetery Upper Bambury Cemetery Walnut Grove Cemetery Windy Hill Cemetery Woodlawn Memorial Park Wrights Cemetery Wye Mills Cemetery

The Political Graveyard is a great resource for Politicians that were born, lived and died in Talbot County.

Published Transcriptions:

• Tombstone inscriptions and map of graves at Wye House, Talbot County, Maryland Tombstone inscriptions and map of graves at Wye House, Talbot County, Maryland
• Tombstones of Talbot County
  

For more information about Cemeteries in Maryland please refer to the Maryland Cemeteries page.

Census Records

For tips on accessing Talbot County, Maryland Genealogy census records online, see: Maryland Census.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	13,084	—
1800	13,436	2.7%
1810	14,230	5.9%
1820	14,389	1.1%
1830	12,947	−10.0%
1840	12,090	−6.6%
1850	13,811	14.2%
1860	14,795	7.1%
1870	16,137	9.1%
1880	19,065	18.1%
1890	19,736	3.5%
1900	20,342	3.1%
1910	19,620	−3.5%
1920	18,306	−6.7%
1930	18,583	1.5%
1940	18,784	1.1%
1950	19,428	3.4%
1960	21,578	11.1%
1970	23,682	9.8%
1980	25,604	8.1%
1990	30,549	19.3%
2000	33,812	10.7%
2010	37,782	11.7%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Federal Census reports available 1790-1930 including slave and veterans schedules.

Church Records

• 1668-1995 Maryland, Church Records, 1668-1995 at FamilySearch — index- How to Use this Collection
• Maryland State Archives' Guide to Maryland Religious Institutions is not intended to be a complete listing of all Religious institutions in Maryland. It was originally based upon the churches recorded by the Federal Works Progress Administration during a records survey conducted from 1935 to 1941. It has been expanded by later acquisitions from religious organizations to the Maryland State Archives.

The following records, taken from its collection, have been digitized and made available to view for free online:

• Methodist, Bayside Charge Collection 1902-1967 (includes membership, church, and historical records for various congregations)
• Protestant Episcopal (Church of England), Christ Church, St. Peter's Parish, Easton, Md. 1681-1956 (includes parish registers and other various records)

Church of England
St. Michael's Parish

• 1672-1704 Leach, M. Atherton. "Register of St. Michael's Parish, Talbot County, Maryland, 1672-1704," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 29 (1905):427-438. For free online access, see WeRelate.
• 1708-1985 Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 at Historical Society of Pennsylvania ($), free to members of the society; Also available at Ancestry ($). This database is incomplete for all counties.

Contains the church records of:

• St. Michaels: St. Michael's Protestant Episcopal Parish

St. Peter's Parish - records have been digitized, see above.
St. Paul's Parish

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places
  

Emigration and Immigration

Oxford has been a port since colonial times. Unfortunately, no official passenger lists survive for the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries.

The New Early Settlers of Maryland database is a great place to start searching for immigrants who had arrived in the colony by the 1680s. The database "comprises 34,326 entries from Gust Skordas' Early Settlers of Maryland and Carson Gibb's Supplement to the Early Settlers of Maryland." Available online, courtesy: Maryland State Archives.

Other Talbot County immigration resources include:

• Coldham, Peter Wilson. "Correspondence with the American Colonies 1739-1782," The Genealogist, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Spring 1998):108-128; Vol. 12, No. 2 (Fall 1998):189-205. Overseas correspondence of a resident of Oxford [Talbot County] with the following surname: Crookshank. Available at FHL.
• List of imported servants and convicts from Europe who served labor terms in Colonial Talbot County, Maryland (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database. Includes Richard J. Cox's abstracts of Maryland Gazette runaways.

Genealogies

• Barnes, Robert W., F. Edward Wright, Vernon L. Skinner and Henry C. Peden. Colonial Families of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. 23 vols. Westminster, Md.: Family Line, 1996-2003; Lewes, Del.: Delmarva Roots and Colonial Roots, 2007. FHL US/CAN Book 975.21 D2b v. 1 ff. Talbot County families appear in Vols. 4-5, 7, 11, 13, and 21.

• Banning - Armstrong, Zella. Notable Southern Families. Chattanooga, Tenn.: Lookout Publishing Company, 1918. Vol. 1. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library FamilySearch Digital Library.
• Caulk - Russell, George Ely. "The Swedish Settlement in Maryland, 1654," The American Genealogist, Vol. 54, No. 4 (Oct. 1978):203-210. FHL 973 D25aga v. 54
• Neale - Neall, Harry Levy and Rosalie S. Neall Cunningham. Genealogy of the American Family of Neall: It Being a Branch of the Bedfordshire, England Family of Neale, from Whose Members, Circa 1630, Came the Emigrants Who Founded the Early American Family of Neale Who Settled at Accomack, Virginia, and Salem, Massachusetts, Some of the Succeeding Generations Finding Their Permanent Location of the Eastern Shore of Maryland: This Family History Has Its More Intimate Relationship in the Descendants of Francis Neale, a Quaker, Whose Children Changed the Spelling of Their Surname to Neall. Haywood, Calif.: R.N. Cunningham, 1969. FHL Collection 929.273 N259n
• Ungle - Pitman, H. Minot. "English Origin of Ungle Family of Maryland," The American Genealogist, Vol. 29 (1953):86. To locate digital pages use search form at American Ancestors ($); first select American Genealogist, The from the Database list. Then select Volume number. FHL Collection 973 D25aga v. 29.

Land and Property Records

Through a Joint eGovernment Service of the Maryland Judiciary and the Maryland State Archives, free images and indexes of the complete series of Talbot County Deed Books (1662-present) have been uploaded to their website: A Digital Image Retrieval System for Land Records in Maryland. (Requires free registration.)

Local Histories

• History of Talbot County, Maryland, 1661-1861. 1915. Comp. by Oswald Tilghman. Baltimore, Maryland : Williams & Walkins Co. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Vol. 1 - Google Books, Vol. 2 - Google Books, Ancestry ($); At various libraries (WorldCat). Vol. 1 contains biographies, vol. 2 contains history.
• Brief Talbot County History

Maps and Gazetteers

• FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Military Records

Revolutionary War

Talbot County men served in the 3rd Maryland Regiment.

• A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841. Digital version at Google Books et. al. 1967 reprint: FHL Collection 973 X2pc 1840. See Maryland, Talbot County on pages 127-128.

War of 1812

• List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance... Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883. FHL Collection 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. See Vol. 5, Maryland, Talbot County, pp. 155-156. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.

Civil War

• 1861-1865 - Maryland, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
• 1861-1865 - Maryland, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index- How to Use this Collection

Regiments. Service men in Talbot served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Talbot:

- 1st Regiment, Maryland Eastern Shore Infantry, Company H

World War II

• 1940-1945 - Maryland, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Newspapers

• Talbot County newspapers are identified in "Guide to Maryland Newspapers," available online, courtesy: Special Collections, Maryland State Archives.
• 1800-1804 Herald and Eastern Shore Intelligencer (Easton, Md.) at Google News.

Probate Records

Online Probate Records

• 1634-1777 Probate Records, Colonial Index, 1634-1777, Maryland State Archives
• 1635-1743 Maryland Calendar of Wills 1635-1743 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
• 1635-1777 Maryland Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1777 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
• 1796-1940 Maryland Probate Estate and Guardianship Files , 1796-1940 at FamilySearch images - How to Use this Collection

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

• 1678, 1681 1678 and 1681 Talbot County tax list, available online, courtesy: MDGenWeb.
• 1783 Talbot County Tax List of 1783: This is an alphabetical index to names to all property owners assessed. The index cards at the Maryland State Archives include county, hundred, names of tracts of land and whether individuals were paupers or single males as provided in the law.

Vital Records

Marriage

• 1658-1940 Maryland County Marriages, 1658-1940 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
• 1666-1970 Maryland Marriages, 1666-1970 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
• Maryland Marriage References by Robert Barnes - free.
• Marriage Records - Maryland State Archives

Death

• 1898-1944 Maryland Death Index 1898-1944

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Talbot County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Maryland Archives and Libraries.

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.

• Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator

Local Centers and Libraries

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Talbot County. For state-wide library facilities, see Maryland Archives and Libraries.

• Talbot County Free Library
  Maryland Room
  100 W. Dover Street
  Easton, MD 21601
  Phone: 410-822-1626
  Fax: 410-820-8217
  Website

Societies

Listed below are societies in Talbot County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Maryland Societies.

• Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)
  National Headquarters
  1776 D Street NW
  Washington, D.C. 20006
  Phone: 202-628-1776
  Website
  Local DAR chapter:
  General Perry Benson Chapter
  Easton, MD
  Website
  

Websites

• Talbot County, Maryland Genealogy, History and Facts (Genealogy Inc)
• The USGenWeb Archives Project for Talbot County.
• The USGenWeb Archives Project for Talbot County. (Backup site)
• "Talbot Co.," in Genealogical Sources in Periodicals at The Maryland State Archives.
• FamilySearch Catalog - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.

Family History Library