Address: Maryland Hall of Records, 350 Rowe Blvd, Annapolis MD, 21401
Telephone number: 410-260-6487
Contact information: MDA Helpdesk External
Hours of service: See main page
Open to the public: Yes; appointments are encouraged.
Interlibrary loan: No.
Reference policy: Reference requests are accepted by: telephone, email, in person
Background note: The Hall of Records, predecessor of the Maryland State Archives, was created as an independent agency in 1935. The Hall of Records was incorporated into the Department of General Services in 1970. In 1984, it was renamed the Maryland State Archives and became an independent agency within the office of the Governor. The Archives' holdings date from Maryland's founding in 1634, and include colonial and state executive, legislative, and judicial records; county probate, land, and court records; church records; business records; state publications and reports; and special collections of private papers, maps, photographs, and newspapers.
Archives, manuscripts, correspondences, and/or oral histories
Church records for over 250 churches in Maryland and surrounding states. The earliest date from 1663, and extend to the present day; the majority of the records are from the 19th and 20th centuries. These include administrative records and minutes; membership records; registers of births, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and deaths; financial records; cemetery records; and other materials such as pamphlets, deeds, letters, parish school lists, and unpublished parish histories. Among the denominations represented in the collection are the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church, Baptists, the Church of God, Free Methodists, Lutherans and Evangelical Lutherans, Methodists, Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, the Society of Friends (Quakers), and the United Brethren. Restrictions apply to some recent (since 1920) materials. In most cases both original documents and microfilm copies are available; access to original documents may be restricted such as post-1940 baptisms of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Consult Archives staff or the website for details.
Microforms
See archival section. Many of the religious records in the collection are also available in microfilm.
Vertical files
Approximately 12 cubic feet of material related to Maryland churches.
African Methodist Episcopal Church--Maryland; Baptist Convention of Maryland; Catholic Church--Maryland; Church of God--Maryland; Church records; Free Methodist Church--Maryland; Methodist Church--Maryland; Protestant Episcopal Church--Maryland; Society of Friends--Maryland; United Brethren--Maryland
Quaker Records in Maryland Publication Collection External by 
