Montgomery County, Maryland Genealogy

United States

Maryland

Montgomery County

Guide to Montgomery 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: Rockville Organized: September 6, 1776 Parent County(s): Frederick Neighboring Counties Frederick  • Howard  • Prince George's  • Arlington (VA)  • Fairfax (VA)  • Loudoun (VA)  • District of Columbia (DC) See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

Montgomery County was named for Richard Montgomery. The county is located in the northwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse

Montgomery County Courthouse
50 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 240-777-9400
Toll-free (in Maryland) 888-287-0593
Montgomery County Website

Clerk of the Circuit Court has marriage records from 1799, divorce, court and land records from 1776.

Montgomery 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	1799	1898	1776	1776	1777	1790
*Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1898. General compliance by the 1910s.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county. The 1830 Census is missing.

Boundary Changes

Created 6 September 1776 from Frederick County. County seat: Rockville 1791, portions of the county (including Georgetown) along with portions of Prince George's County were ceded to form District of Columbia. 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:

Cities
Gaithersburg	Rockville (county seat)	Takoma Park
Towns
Barnesville Brookeville Chevy Chase Chevy Chase View	Chevy Chase Village Garrett Park Glen Echo Kensington	Laytonsville Poolesville Somerset Washington Grove
Villages
Chevy Chase Section Three Chevy Chase Section Five Martin's Additions	North Chevy Chase Drummond Friendship Heights	Oakmont
Unincorporated communities
Ashton Beallsville Boyds	Derwood Dickerson Hyattstown	Sandy Spring Shady Grove
Census-designated places
Ashton-Sandy Spring Aspen Hill Bethesda Brookmont Burtonsville Cabin John Calverton (partly in Prince George's County Chevy Chase Clarksburg Cloverly Colesville Damascus	Darnestown Fairland Forest Glen Four Corners Friendship Village Germantown Glenmont Hillandale (partly in Prince George's County) Kemp Mill Layhill Leisure World Montgomery Village	North Bethesda North Kensington North Potomac Olney Potomac Redland Silver Spring South Kensington Travilah Wheaton White Oak

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Montgomery County, Maryland online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com USGenWeb 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

• "Brown Family Cemetery, Montgomery County, Maryland," The American Genealogist, Vol. 51, No. 2 (Apr. 1975):110. FHL 973 D25aga v. 51
• Riggs, Ronald Paul and John Frederick Dorman. "Two Montgomery County, Maryland, Cemeteries," The American Genealogist, Vol. 50, No. 2 (Apr. 1974):91. FHL 973 D25aga v. 50. Peter Family Cemetery and Offutt Family Cemetery.

Census Records

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

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	18,003	—
1800	15,058	−16.4%
1810	17,980	19.4%
1820	16,400	−8.8%
1830	19,816	20.8%
1840	15,456	−22.0%
1850	15,860	2.6%
1860	18,322	15.5%
1870	20,563	12.2%
1880	24,759	20.4%
1890	27,185	9.8%
1900	30,451	12.0%
1910	32,089	5.4%
1920	34,921	8.8%
1930	49,206	40.9%
1940	83,912	70.5%
1950	164,401	95.9%
1960	340,928	107.4%
1970	522,809	53.3%
1980	579,053	10.8%
1990	757,027	30.7%
2000	873,341	15.4%
2010	971,777	11.3%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

• The 1830 Census is missing.
• Provincial Census of 1776, Frederick County; Including Lower Potomac Hundred, August 22, 1776; George Town Hundred, August 22, 1776; [Unnamed] Hundred, including present Montgomery County, 1776; Elizabeth Hundred, July 22, 1776 (24 pages of facsimile reproductions); Sugar Land Hundred, September 2, 1776; North West Hundred, September 2, 1776 is available online, see pages 177-257 of:
• Maryland Records: Colonial, Revolutionary, County and Church from Original Sources. By Gaius Marcus Brumbaugh. 1915. Vol. 1. Baltimore, Md.: Williams & Wilkins Company. Available online at Google Books.
• 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.

Church of England

• All Saints Parish
• Eden Parish
• Prince George's Parish
• St. Peter's Parish

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places
  

Emigration and Immigration

• 1897-1952 - Maryland, Baltimore Passenger Lists Index, 1897-1952 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
• Coldham, Peter Wilson. "Intercepted Letters Relating to America 1777-1811," The Genealogist, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Fall 2000):184-200; Vol. 15, No. 1 (Spring 2001):53-74. Overseas correspondence of residents of Georgetown with the following surnames: Beatty, Deakins, Forrest, Johns, Levy, Magruder, Mason, and Stoddert.
• List of imported servants and convicts from Europe who served labor terms in Colonial Montgomery County, Maryland (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.

Genealogies

• Allnutt - Allnutt, Ernest C. "William Allnutt and Wife Sarah (Mears) Talbott, Widow of John Talbott of Calvert County, Maryland: The Progenitors of the American Colonial Family of Allnutt with One Line of Their Descendants in Montgomery County, Maryland," Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin, Vol. 33, No. 4 (Fall 1992):712-766. FHL CD-ROM no. 9 pt. 208.
• Austin - Galau, Jeane K. The Austin Family of Montgomery County, Maryland and Ohio County, Kentucky: With Related Lines. 3 vols. Menasha, Wisc.: J.K. Galau, 1978-1979. FHL Book 929.273 Au76, 3 volumes.
• Baker - Hurley, William Neal. Baker Families of Maryland. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, Inc., 2001. FHL Book 929.273 B167Hwn.
• Chilton - Dorman, John Frederick. "The Chilton Families of Virginia and Maryland," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 11, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1967):71-78; Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1967):121-125; Vol. 11, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1967):167-174; Vol. 12, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1968):15-18; Vol. 12, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1968):83-86; Vol. 12, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1968):109-113; Vol. 12, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1968):169-175; Vol. 13, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1969):32-36; Vol. 13, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1969):65-71; Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1969):177-180; Vol. 14, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1970):15-22; Vol. 14, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1970):75-82; Vol. 14, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1970):123-128; Vol. 14, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1970):165-168; Vol. 15, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1971):32-41; Vol. 15, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1971):122-124; Vol. 15, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1971):259-264; Vol. 16, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1972):301-306. To locate digital pages use search form at American Ancestors ($); first select Virginia Genealogist, The from the Database list. Then select Volume number. FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 11-v. 16.
• Hennage - Rubincam, Milton. "The Hennage Family of Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1975):163-169. To locate digital pages use search form at American Ancestors ($); first select Virginia Genealogist, The from the Database list. Then select Volume number. FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 19 (1975).
• Miles - Hurley, William Neal. Our Maryland Heritage, Book Thirteen, Miles Families, Primarily of Montgomery County, Maryland, But Including Members of the Family Found in Other Counties of Maryland and Elsewhere. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, Inc., 1999.
• Rawlins - Lancaster, Jeannie. "Rawlins Family," Tree Builders, Christian County Genealogical Society, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Fall 2006):57-67.

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 Montgomery County Deed Books (1777-present) have been uploaded to their website: A Digital Image Retrieval System for Land Records in Maryland. (Requires free registration.)

Local Histories

• The History of Montgomery County, Maryland. 1879. By T.H.S. Boyd. Clarksburg, Md. : T.H.S. Boyd. Online at: Hathitrust, Internet Archive; At various libraries (WorldCat).
• History of Western Maryland. 2 volumes. 1882. By J. Thomas Scharf. Philadelphia : L. H. Everts. Online at: Hathitrust, Vol. 1 - Internet Archive, Vol. 2 - Internet Archive; At various libraries (WorldCat).

Maps and Gazetteers

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

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Military Records

Revolutionary War

• 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. 1967 reprint: FHL Collection 973 X2pc 1840. See Maryland, Montgomery County on page 127.
• Revolutionary Records of Maryland. By Gaius Marcus Brumbaugh. 1924. Washington, D.C.: R.H. Darby Print. Available online at FamilySearch Digital Library. Contains the 1778 Oath of Fidelity lists for Montgomery County.

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, Montgomery County, pp. 152-153. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.

Civil War

Regiments. Service men in Montgomery 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 Montgomery:

• 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

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

• Montgomery County newspapers are identified in "Guide to Maryland Newspapers," available online, courtesy: Special Collections, Maryland State Archives.

Probate Records

Online Probate Records

• 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

• 1733 Russell, Donna Valley. "1733 Taxables," Western Maryland Genealogy, Vol. 3, No. 3 (July 1987):99-103.
• 1783 Montgomery 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

Death

• 1898-1944 Maryland Death Index 1898-1944

Research Facilities

Archives

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

• The Montgomery County Archives
  8540 Anniversary Circle
  Gaithersburg, MD 20877
  Phone: 301-926-5002 or 301-340-282
  Website

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 Affiliate Libraries

• Seneca Maryland Family History Center
• Washington DC Family History Center

Libraries

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

• Jane C. Sween Research Library
  42 W. Middle Lane
  Rockville, MD 20850
  Phone: 301-340-2974
  Website
• Montgomery County Historical Society Library
  111 W. Montgomery Avenue
  Rockville, MD 20850
  Email: pandersen@montgomeryhistory.org
  Website

Museums

• Montgomery County Historical Society Museum
  111 W. Montgomery Avenue
  Rockville, MD 20850
  Phone: 301-340-2825
  Email: info@montgomeryhistory.org
  Website

Societies

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

• Montgomery County Genealogy Club
  http://montgomeryhistory.org/genealogy/
  Meeting at 7:30 PM the last Wed of the Month Sept-May
  Meeting location:
  Rockville Senior Center
  1150 Carnation Dr.
  Rockville, MD
  Phone: 240-314-5019
  

Websites

• Montgomery County, Maryland Genealogy, History and Facts (Genealogy Inc)
• The Montgomery County MDGenWeb Project, a member of The MDGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
• "Montgomery Co.," in Genealogical Sources in Periodicals at The Maryland State Archives.
• The USGenWeb Archives Project for Montgomery County.
• The USGenWeb Archives Project for Montgomery County. (Backup site)
• 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

Research Guides

• Andersen, Patricia Abelard. “Research in Montgomery County.” Maryland Genealogical Society Journal 51, no. 2 (2010): 207-217.
• Cook, Eleanor M. V. Guide to the Records of Montgomery County, Maryland: Genealogical and Historical. Westminster, Md.: Family Line Publications, 1989.

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