Databases

Databases and Searchable Websites

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SUBSCRIPTION DATABASES--These are subscription databases available only on-site at the MdHS:

Early American Newspapers -- searchable and browsable newspapers from 23 states and the District of Columbia from the 1690s to 1876, including such Maryland newspapers as the Baltimore Patriot, the Federal Intelligencer, and the Republican Star.

HeritageQuestOnline including:

US Censuses, 1790-1930 -- The digitized images include ALL surviving US censuses. However, only 1790-1820, 1860-1870, 1890-1930 are currently searchable by name. For the other censuses, click on "Browse" on the menu bar across the top (just under the Census-Books-PERSI-Freedman's-Rev War line).
Freedman's Bank -- The records of this bank for African Americans in the post-Civil War period (1865-1874) often includes age, place of birth and residence, and family members' names. The Baltimore branch records include information on more than 17,000 depositors, while the Washington, DC branch records include information on more than 22,000 depositors.
PERSI--Periodical Source Index -- indexes genealogical and local history journals; check the online catalog to see if we subscribe to a particular journal.
Revolutionary War Pension Records -- from the National Archives, these usually include narratives and family information.
Local History Books -- includes more than 25,000 books on local history and genealogy.

JSTOR -- searchable and browsable collection of scholarly journals from many disciplines from their initial publication to the last 5 years; includes history journals such as the American Historical Review, Civil War History, English Historical Review, Journal of American History, Journal of the Early Republic, Journal of Southern History, New England Quarterly, and the William and Mary Quarterly.

MdHS CATALOG AND COLLECTIONS WEBSITES -- These MdHS sites are available from anywhere.

MdHS Online Catalog -- includes books, pamphlets, current periodicals, and microfilm as well as entries for all processed manuscript collections and some photograph collections.

MdHS Library Collections -- includes suggestions for finding different types of materials in the MdHS Library and links to online finding aids. Much of this material is NOT in the MdHS Online Catalog.

MdHS Painting Collection -- includes digital versions of nearly all the paintings in the MdHS Museum Collection. Most paintings are not on display in the Museum.

FREE DATABASES AND WEBSITES

The databases and websites listed below are free and are available from anywhere. The listing of non-MdHS websites is intended only for informational purposes and is not an endorsement of these sites by the MdHS. The MdHS has no control over the content of non-MdHS sites.

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Architects and Buildings

Magazines and Journals

Maps

Newspapers

Statistics

Architects and Buildings

Archival Collections

Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 -- includes 22 Maryland slaves.
The Frederick Douglass Papers -- papers of the great Maryland-born African American leader.
Guide to the Microfilm Edition of the Charles Carroll of Carrollton Family Papers -- the MdHS has this microfilm, which mostly comes from our collections.
National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections

Books

The Capital and the Bay: Narratives of Washington andthe Chesapeake Bay Region, ca. 1600-1925

Genealogy

Access to Archival Databases -- from the National Archives. Includes more than 9 million enlistment records for World War II and records of more than 600,000 Irish who arrived in New York during the Irish Famine of 1846-1851, among other items.
African American Cemeteries Online -- mostly for Dorchester and Somerset Counties.
African Americans in Maryland -- from the Maryland State Archives.
Biographical Files on Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Marylanders -- from Dr. Lois Green Carr and the Historic St. Mary's City Commission, hosted by the Maryland State Archives.
Blacks Residing in Baltimore -- transcribed by Louis Diggs, Jr., from nine city directories, 1810-1866, at Afrigeneas.
City Directories -- from the Maryland State Archives (please keep in mind that there are many more Baltimore City directories that have not been digitized).
Ellis Island Passenger Arrivals -- from the American Family Immigration Family Center/Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.
FamilySearch Census Records -- 1880 US, 1881 British, 1881 Canadian censuses.
FamilySearch International Genealogical Index -- partially indexes vital records from around the world.
FamilySearch Social Security Death Index -- includes information through recent months.
Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware -- Paul Heinegg's books available freely online.
Maryland Genealogical Society--Baltimore City Church Register Transcriptions
Maryland Genealogical Society--Maryland Members' Ancestry Project
Maryland GenWeb Data Archives
Maryland Vital Records Indexing Project -- from the State Archives, includes indexes to death certificates from Baltimore City, 1875-1991, and the counties, 1898-1991.
Rootsweb -- vast searchable user-submitted databases.
Runaway Slave Ads for Baltimore County, Maryland, 1842-1863 -- transcribed by Julie DeMatteis and Louis Diggs, Jr., at Afrigeneas

Government Records

Access to Archival Databases -- from the National Archives.
Archives of Maryland Online --published Maryland records, largely governmental.
Early State Records of Maryland -- scanned by the Maryland State Archives from the Early State Records microfilm compiled and edited by William Sumner Jenkins.
Maryland Government Historical List of Officeholders -- from the Maryland State Archives.
Maryland Vital Records Indexing Project -- from the State Archives, includes indexes to death certificates from Baltimore City, 1875-1991, and the counties, 1898-1991.

Grey Literature

Chesapeake Bay Grey Literature -- more than 94,000 pages of scientific reports from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and other agencies.

Magazines and Journals

Making of America -- Cornell University -- includes 287 books and more than 100,000 articles, 19th-century.
Making of America -- University of Michigan -- includes 9,500 books and approximately 50,000 articles, mostly 19th-century.
Internet Library of Early Journals -- includes Gentleman's Magazine and The Builder.

Maps

American Revolution and Its Era: Maps and Charts of North America and the West Indies, 1750-1789 -- from the American Memory Project.
Civil War Maps -- from the American Memory Project.

Library of Congress Maps
Sachse Birds' Eye View of Baltimore, 1869 -- interactive map from the Library of Congress.

Newspapers

Baltimore Sun Archives (1990-present) -- searchable for free, you'll have to pay a fee if you want to see an entire article as opposed to a summary.
Maryland Gazette (1727-1839) -- scanned PDFs at the Maryland State Archives, scroll down the page.
Maryland Newspapers -- scanned PDFs at the Maryland State Archives, including Baltimore American and Commercial Daily Advertiser (1802-1807); Cambridge Chronicle (1830-1857); Cecil Whig (1870-1874); Centreville Observer (1871-1918); Ellicott City Times (1870-1879, 1892-1895, 1898-1899); Montgomery County Sentinel (1860-1872); Queenstown News (1888-1903); Republican Star, or, Eastern Shore General Advertiser (1802-1803).
Virginia Gazette -- 18th-century Williamsburg newspaper from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
Washington Post Archives (1877-present) -- searchable for free, you'll have to pay a fee if you want to see an entire article as opposed to a summary.

Statistics

US Census Bureau -- includes Bicentennial edition of Historical Statistics of the United States and the annual volumes of Statistical Abstracts, 1878-present; presents information in pdfs, so please do not save them to MdHS computers, just exit when you're done.
US Historical Census Browser --this University of Virginia site includes summary data for US censuses by state, county, and city.

Updated on March 14, 2006