Dr. Lois Green Carr, distinguished historian and preeminent authority on life in 17th and 18th century Maryland, secured a grant from The Society of the Ark and the Dove to preserve and make her research notes digitally accessible through the Maryland State Archives. Spanning her career, Dr. Carr's notes document information about the early residents of St. Mary's County, Maryland. Entries vary from just a name to more complete biographical information, including family relationships and political positions held in the colony.

The Career Files consist of over 47,000 5x8 index cards and slips of paper, with both typewritten and handwritten research notes about over 6600 individuals . They were created as a result of a grant provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities in the 1970s. Record stripping began with the records of the Provincial Court, for information about every identified St. Mary's County inhabitant. Probate records, particularly from Maryland's Prerogative Court followed next. Third, additional information about people identified through court records was uncovered by searching record indices at the Maryland State Archives. Fourth, researchers examined St. Mary's County quitrent rolls for 1659 and 1704 for landowners who may not have been mentioned in other records. Finally, all of the information gathered was combined into an alphabetical file, and summary cards were prepared for each individual.

How to use the Carr files:

Abstracts of these entries can be found at the following links:
Men - MSA SC 5094
Women - MSA SC 4040

To see the Career File note cards for a specific individual, you must first find the reference (PIN) number associated with that person, using the indexes which follow. Then enter the number in the search form provided. For example, George Macall will be found in the Men's Career File index under 'M' with a reference number of 2707. Use the hyperlink at the top of the page to go to the search form, and enter 2707 into the correct box. You will be returned all of the hyperlinks to the Career File images for 2707. (Note: Until we are able to fix this search page your going to have to follow certain steps. Once you enter the search page by entering in a pin number you'll receive a hit. When the link opens it will return a page not found. Take 209.116.251.240 out of the address bar and replace with mdsa.net. Press enter and this will take you to the appropriate page.)

See the indexes for Men - MSA SC 5094, and for Women - MSA SC 4040.

You may also browse the Career Files. (Please note, these files are arranged numerically, and not necessarily alphabetically.)
Men - MSA SC 5094
Women - MSA SC 4040

Return to Historical and Biographical Series at the Maryland State Archives