Dorchester County, Maryland Genealogy Records

Listed record inventories

Selected holdings and indexes for Dorchester County, checked against the repository descriptions linked below. Date spans may contain gaps; an index is not a complete set of original records.

See the repository's descriptions and search options

Repository access note: Selected Maryland State Archives catalog series. Separate paper, microfilm and electronic catalog records may describe overlapping material; the format and series identifier are retained in each title. Electronic does not guarantee unrestricted online images. Consult the individual series page for restrictions, location and missing volumes.

Sources: the catalogs and repository descriptions linked on the entries above. Selected inventories do not establish complete coverage of every record type or online access to original documents. Read the repository access note for source dates and limitations.

Where to find the records

• Find Dorchester County's official website

  We haven't checked this county's website yet, so this opens a web search. Look for an address ending in .gov, then find the clerk of the circuit court and the register of wills.

• The clerk of the circuit court

  Land records and marriage licenses, and civil and criminal cases.

• The register of wills

  Wills, estates and guardianships.

• The Maryland State Archives

  In Annapolis: most of the counties' older records, from colonial land and probate records to court and church records.

• Maryland State Archivesfree

  The state archives in Annapolis, with most of Maryland's older county records and its online land records (MDLandRec).

• FamilySearch Catalogfree

  Search by place for "Maryland, Dorchester" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.

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Boundaries and parent counties

Formed from: Somerset County, Talbot County

Check the parent counties for earlier records: Somerset County, Talbot County

Later formed partly from Dorchester County: Caroline County, Queen Anne's County

Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1669, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.