Reference & Research
350 Rowe Boulevard
Annapolis, MD 21401
MD toll free (800) 235-4045
or (410) 260-6400
fax: (410) 974-2525
email:
ref@mdsa.net
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Maryland State Archives Reference & Research |
350 Rowe Boulevard
Annapolis, MD 21401
MD toll free (800) 235-4045
or (410) 260-6400
fax: (410) 974-2525
email:
ref@mdsa.net
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|
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Immigration & Naturalization Records
American Sources Giving Clues to Overseas Origins Land Grants: It was the custom in Maryland
and perhaps elsewhere for settlers taking up a tract of land to give a
name to the tract of land. Sometimes the name might be that of a place
name in their European home, and this might provide a clue to the place
of origin.
Church
Records: Church records often give clues to the origins of the
parishioners. In the eighteenth century Anglican churches occasionally
gave the overseas place of birth of individuals, and German churches would
often contain obituaries of older parishioners, many times telling where
they were born and when they came to the New World. Quakers routinely recorded
the certificates of transfer brought by members from their previous meeting.
In Baltimore in the early 19th century the Roman Catholic church gave quite
complete details of the origins of French emigres.
Indentured Servants and Convicts: In Maryland there exists a
considerable body of data, only now being investigated as a source for
identifying a large group of colonial immigrants - indentured servants
and convicts. For a long time this group was overlooked by genealogists
because no one realized the importance of these humble folk as potential
ancestors. At least one historian stated categorically that modern Marylanders
need not worry: these "undesirables" could not possibly have been ancestors
of people living today. Nevertheless, recent research has begun to refute
this view and has examined convicts and indentured servants as individuals.
While some of these examples have been discussed from the standpoint of
Maryland records, remember that other colonies and states will have many
of the same types of records. See also the Early Settlers Index by Carson Gibb.
Provincial Court Land Records and Judgments:
The Maryland State Archives contains two series of records known as the
Provincial
Court Land Records, and the Judgment
Records. Contained in these records are a number of lists of convicts
who were transported to Maryland. There is a complete name index to all
names in the land records, and the transportees are designated as "conv."
County Court Proceedings: County
court proceedings are filled with references to the activities, legal and
otherwise, of early Marylanders, and since the clerks were anxious to identify
individuals properly, servants were usually so designated. Servants appeared
when as minors, their ages had to be judged, when they petitioned for their
freedom, when they had been captured after running away, and when they
were accused of bearing baseborn children.
County Land Records: There are indentures
of servants recorded in the Baltimore County land records, and the published
abstracts of Dorchester and Talbot County land records contain similar
indentures. The court and land records of Queen Anne's County contain many
references to convicts. These have been abstracted by Robert A. Oszakiewski
and published in aa article in the Maryland Genealogical Society
Bulletin.
Newspaper Notices:
Newspapers contained many advertisements for runaway servants, often giving
a physical description, age, and place of origin. Cox has abstracted many
(but not all) advertisements for runaway servants in the Maryland Gazette,
but a 1990 book, The Maryland Gazette, 1727-1761, by Karen Mauer
Green is the best source for Maryland runaway servants for that period
published to date. Kenneth Scott and Robert K. Headley in abstracting records
of Pennsylvania and Virginia newspapers (respectively), have included many
references to Maryland runaways. Newspapers also contain notices of arrivals
of ships carrying redemptioners or convicts. These can be compared with
lists of ships published in Coldham, to give some idea of the possible
destination of the convicts contained in Coldham's work.
Convict Lists: The Maryland State Archives contains two volumes
with names of convicts: The Anne Arundel Convict Record, 1771-1775 (MSA
C57
and CM952),
and the Baltimore County Convict Record, 1770-1783 (MSA C309
and CM154)
have been transcribed and published as part of Peter Wilson Coldham's The
King's Passengers to Maryland and Virginia (Westminster: Family Line
Publications). There is also a Talbot County Court Convict Record, 1727-1733
(MSA C1855).
Merchants' Records: Merchants engaged in shipping servants to
the colonies often kept lists of sales of convicts. The Cheston-Galloway
Papers, at the Maryland Historical Society,
contain many references to the sales of indentured servants and convicts
and have been described in a paper by Robert Oszakiewski.
Early Settlers of Maryland: See also the Early Settlers Index by Carson Gibb for names of settlers, both free and indentured, culled from land and patent records. Includes the earlier lists from Gust Skordas' book Early Settlers of Maryland.
(Naturalizations, Provincial, Index), 1637-1776. See also Jeffrey and Florence Wyand, Colonial Maryland Naturalizations. Index 41. MSA S1414
(Naturalizations, Index), 1777-1917. Indexes General Courts of the Eastern and Western Shores, 1781-1805, and some county courts. See Passenger and Immigration Lists Index for citations to printed works on immigration (most not available at the Archives). Index 42. MSA S1415
(Naturalizations, BA and BC, Index), 1796-1933. Indexes all courts in Baltimore County before 1851 and Baltimore City. Please include all information on the card on your request slip. See also Michael H. Tepper, Passenger Arrivals at the Port of Baltimore, 1820-1834. Index 43. MSA S1416
(Naturalizations, BA, Index), 1852-1918. See also Indexes 42 and 43. Index 44. MSA S1417
(Naturalizations, Federal, Index), 1797-1906, 1925-1951 and naturalizations of soldiers, 1918-1923. For 1797-1906, the index card is the only record. After 1906, the records are at the Federal Records Center in Philadelphia. Index 142. MSA S1463
During the colonial period there were very few naturalizations, except
for settlers from the continent of Europe. English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish
settlers were all considered merely to have moved from one part of the
empire to another. Naturalization requirements in English Law (before 1776)
required the alien to be a Protestant, to have lived in the colony for
seven years, and to take an Oath of Allegiance to the King. Maryland changed
the law in 1779. The revised law allowed anyone professing a belief in
the Christian religion to become a naturalized citizen. Obviously no Oath
of Allegiance to the King was required. The text of the 1779 law was published
in English, French and German in the Maryland Gazette (Annapolis)
April 4, 1793. [1793 Naturalization Law SPECIAL COLLECTIONS (Maryland State
Law Library Collection of the Maryland Gazette, 1729-1839): Maryland Gazette
(Annapolis) April 4, 1793. MSA
SC 2311.] Naturalization records in Maryland for the colonial
period have been published by Jeffrey A. and Florence Wyand, and for the
period 1784 through 1854, by Robert Oszakiewski. These and other books
dealing with the naturalization process may be consulted at the Maryland
Archives Library.
After the revolution, naturalizations could take place in any U. S.
District Court, and any court of record in the individual states. All proceedings
were required to be recorded. Children under 16 acquired citizenship through
the naturalization of their parents. Between 1855 and the Cable Act of
1922, a woman automatically became a citizen by either marrying a citizen
or by the naturalization of her husband.
Federal Law requires that the would be alien file a written Declaration
of Intention. Naturalization could occur any time after a 5-7 year
residence in the country, and a 1 year residence in the jurisdiction. Final
citizenship papers might not be filed in the same Court of Record in which
the Declaration of Intention was filed. Naturalizations might also be recorded
for Minors who entered the country before age 21, or for persons who gained
US Citizenship after serving in the military. In addition to the two basic
kinds of naturalization documents, researchers may want to consult the
Guide
to Government Records for other types of Naturalization records such
as Applications, Certificates, Oaths and Petitions. See also MARYLAND INDEXES available in the Search Room.
As a result of Congressional Legislation in 1812 all British aliens
had to register their residence. These have been compiled and published
in a book by Kenneth Scott. Also, in 1812 Maryland naturalized all
those resident in the state since 1789.
Agencies that issued naturalization records include the: Governor and
Council, the General Assembly (until the Revolution), Federal Courts, County
Courts, County Circuit Courts, the General Court of Eastern/Western Shores,
and in Baltimore City, the: City Court, Criminal Court, the Superior Court,
and the Court of Common Pleas.
Types of Naturalization Records
Very few passenger lists for Maryland in the colonial period exist,
but between 1634 and 1680 persons arriving in Maryland could be identified
by their claims for land. With the abolition of the head right system in
1680, newcomers to Maryland were no longer automatically entitled to land
for immigrating themselves, transporting others, or for completion of service.
It was almost an article of faith that colonial passenger lists for the
18th century were practically non-existent for colonial Maryland.
That picture is changing, thanks to the work begun by P. William Filby,
former Librarian of the Maryland Historical Society. His multi-volume Passenger
and Immigration Lists Index, published by Gale Research, originally
appeared in three volumes c. 1980, and annual supplements from 1982 to
the current year have brought the number of names found in published passenger
and immigration lists to several hundred thousand
In addition to the multi-volume Passenger and Immigration List Index
project, Mr. Filby also compiled a Bibliography of Published Passenger
Lists.
Most passengers lists for Maryland can be found at either the Maryland
Historical Society or National Archives.
One category of record that should not be overlooked are the British
genealogies that mention relatives who have gone to the New World. In the
16th and 17th centuries, heralds from the College of Arms would visit the
various counties and record the pedigrees of families who aspired to armigerous
status. Occasionally there would be references to younger sons who had
migrated.
In the 18th and 19th centuries ambitious compilers of county histories
would include pedigrees of the principal families of the county. Again,
there would be the occasional reference to a relative who had gone to America,
or perhaps even to a specified destination.
Finally, in the 19th and 20th centuries, the various volumes of pedigrees
of landed gentry, peerage, and baronetcies, published by the Burkes would
contain many references to American settlers.
Two of the most prolific researchers in this field today are Peter Wilson
Coldham and David Dobson. Coldham has published numerous books and articles
on the references to American settlers found in English records, and Dobson
has published numerous works on references to American settlers found in
Scottish records.
Coldham's book English Adventurers and Emigrants, 1661-1733 contains
items found in examinations in equity and criminal cases.
Dobson and Coldham are following the trail blazed by John C. Hotten,
whose Original Lists of Persons of Quality, Emigrants, Religious Exiles,
Political Rebels . . . and Others who went from Great Britain to the American
Plantations, London; 1874, has been republished by the Genealogical
Publishing Company.
Henry F. Waters, a New England antiquary, sailed for England in May
1883 and researched records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury found
at that time in Somerset House, London. In the space of a year he found
over six hundred wills relating to American families. Many of his findings
were published in the New England Hist. and Genealogical Register,
and later in book form, as Genealogical Gleanings in England, published
by the Genealogical Publishing Co.
In 1932 and 1933 George Sherwood published two volumes of notes on early
immigrants who were not in the Hotten List.
Between 1903 and 1929 Lothrop Withington published abstracts of 17th
and 18th century wills and administrations pertaining to Virginia and Virginians
in the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. These were later
published in book form, Virginia Gleanings in England, published
by the Genealogical Publishing Co.
The Virginia Colonial Records Project is an attempt to locate all manuscript
material in England relating to the colony of Virginia, and to procure
microfilm copies of that material, and if microfilm is not available, by
some other photographic process. This project was described by Edward M.
Riley in an article in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly
of June 1963.
For German immigrants, Don Yoder and Annette Burgert are doing important
work in tracing the origins of German settlers in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
Questions regarding Archives collections and services should be directed
to the Reference Services Department at:
ref@mdsa.net
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